Visa Expands Its Capabilities: Support for Four New Stablecoins on Four Blockchain Platforms

Visa Expands Its Capabilities: Support for Four New Stablecoins on Four Blockchain Platforms

Global payments giant Visa has announced a significant change to its cryptocurrency strategy. The company plans to introduce support for four new stablecoins on four different blockchain networks, strengthening its position in the digital finance space and making it easier for banks and financial institutions to work with cryptocurrencies.

Visa CEO Ryan McInerney announced the move during a conference call on its fourth-quarter and year-end results. According to him, the expansion of the stablecoin offering is part of the company’s broader plan to respond to the dynamic growth of the cryptocurrency market and enhance the capabilities of the payment system.

“We are adding support for four stablecoins running on four unique blockchains, which will allow us to accept and convert them into more than 25 traditional fiat currencies,” McInerney said. The company hasn’t yet released specific details about these new stablecoins and networks, but the move significantly expands the number of supported blockchain platforms and currencies, bringing greater flexibility to users and partners.

Visa already supports several stablecoins, including Circle’s USDC and Euro Coin, as well as PayPal USD and Global Dollar on Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, and Avalanche. This expansion will further expand the number of supported networks and currencies, allowing banks and financial institutions, for example, to mint and burn their own stablecoins using the Visa platform.

McInerney emphasized that stablecoins are currently experiencing a special momentum. Since 2020, the volume of transactions with stablecoins has increased to more than $140 billion, indicating their growing importance in the world of digital finance. In the most recent quarter, global spending on Visa’s card services connected to stablecoins increased fourfold compared to the same period a year ago. Monthly transaction volume now exceeds $2.5 billion.

Visa is not only expanding its offering, but also stepping up its efforts to integrate stablecoins into traditional banking and international payments. McInerney indicated that expanding stablecoin support for banks and financial institutions and facilitating cross-border transactions will be key areas. As part of this strategy, the Visa Direct pilot has been running since September, allowing banks to pre-fund cross-border payments using USDC and EURC.

The next step, he said, will be to invest in a solution layer that allows, for example, to mint and burn their own stablecoins. “We are starting to enable banks to mint and burn their own stablecoins with the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform and are adding features to improve cross-border money movement with Visa Direct,” McInerney said.

This strategic shift suggests that stablecoins are becoming a key element of the global economy, with their transaction volume already reaching $46 trillion. Visa thus confirms its commitment to becoming a leader in the integration of blockchain technologies and stablecoins into the mainstream payment ecosystem, bringing greater flexibility, speed and security to the world of digital finance.

*This is not an investment recommendation.

The Coingarage Team