Visa has announced a strategic expansion of its crypto-payments infrastructure by committing to support four stablecoins across four distinct blockchains. This move underscores the firm’s push into digital-asset rails and signals growing acceptance of stablecoins within mainstream global commerce.
Visa’s announcement signals a major step toward embedding tokenised money into the plumbing of modern payments. By enabling support for four stablecoins that operate on four unique blockchains, the company aims to offer banks, fintechs and merchants expanded options for settlement, conversion and cross-border value movement.
According to executive commentary, these stablecoins represent two major fiat currencies and will ultimately be convertible into more than 25 traditional fiat currencies globally. This builds on an existing base which already supports recognised tokens such as USDC, EURC, PYUSD and USDG across networks like Ethereum and Solana — the new expansion will likely add chains such as Stellar and Avalanche to the roster.
The rationale is clear: by adding multi-chain support, Visa can reduce dependency on any single blockchain, lower costs, and enable faster settlement windows. Payment corridors using stablecoins benefit from near-real-time clearing, reduced foreign-exchange friction and fewer intermediaries — appealing features for merchants, banks and global users.
The firm emphasises that card spending linked to stablecoins quadrupled year-over-year in its latest quarter. Monthly transaction volumes processed via its stablecoin-linked programs now run at an annualised rate above US$ 2.5 billion, and cumulative crypto / stablecoin flows processed since 2020 exceed US$ 140 billion.
Bridging stablecoins and traditional payments at scale
For partners, the implications are significant. Banks can now access “rails” built for tokenised money via a familiar payments provider, which lowers the barrier to entry compared to building custom infrastructure. Visa is also enabling institutions to mint and burn their own stablecoins through its tokenised-asset platform, further aligning its services with blockchain-native mechanisms.
On the merchant side, this means the possibility of accepting stablecoins directly — or receiving settlement in fiat after token conversion — which may expand the use cases of digital assets beyond trading toward everyday commerce. Nonetheless, there are operational and regulatory risks. Multi-chain integrations must ensure security, interoperability and consistent accounting across chains.
In summary: Visa’s plan to expand support for stablecoins across four blockchains marks a pivotal moment — migrating stablecoin settlement from niche use cases toward broader financial infrastructure. Execution, however, must sweep away friction, regulatory uncertainty and chain-specific limitations if this wave is to become mainstream.
