Visa has announced the expansion of its stablecoin settlement program, incorporating five additional blockchain networks into its existing infrastructure. This development marks a significant milestone for the company, with its stablecoin settlement pilot now operating across nine distinct networks and boasting an annualized transaction volume of $7 billion, representing a 50% increase from the previous quarter.
The program enables issuers and acquirers to utilize stablecoins for transaction settlements, bypassing traditional banking channels. The newly integrated blockchain platforms include Coinbase's Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Circle's Arc, and Stripe-backed Tempo, which join the existing roster of supported networks, comprising Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar.
This strategic move by Visa coincides with the growing adoption of stablecoins, a class of cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of fiat currencies, as a preferred method for cross-border transactions. Through pilots and regional deployments, Visa has been exploring the potential of stablecoins, including the implementation of USDC settlement in conjunction with card programs across over 50 countries.
By facilitating near real-time transaction settlements via blockchain-based currencies, partners can circumvent the delays inherent in traditional banking systems. Visa's multichain approach is designed to provide partners with access to diverse liquidity pools without introducing unnecessary complexity. As stated by Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, 'Our partners operate in a multichain environment and expect their options to reflect this reality. By expanding our stablecoin settlement pilot to include more blockchain networks, our partners can select the networks that best suit their requirements while relying on Visa to provide a unified settlement layer across all of them.'