Visa Dives Headfirst into Stablecoins, Doubling Down on Crypto Expansion
Visa, the payment giant, is doubling down on stablecoins. In July, the company introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), a plug-and-play toolkit for traditional banks and fintechs to manage stablecoins.
The platform allows banks to hold, move, and settle stablecoins using enterprise-grade security tools they're already familiar with. Initially, it will support Open USD, an upcoming token, followed by the popular USDC coin later this year.
Visa's newest move is an on-chain lending rail, announced on September 8th. This rail pairs real-time VisaNet settlement data with smart contracts to assess live settlement performance and extend short-term credit on the blockchain.
The company's stablecoin ambitions are growing fast: over 160 stablecoin-linked card programs are live globally, with a volume increase of nearly 200% year over year. Stablecoin settlement volume has just blown past a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times higher in a single year.
This development means less friction for crypto holders when moving cash between traditional banking systems and newfangled crypto platforms. Merchants receive local currency automatically, so there's no need to convince them to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Dogecoin.