Visa Doubles Down on Stablecoins, Unveils New On-Chain Lending Rail

Visa has taken its involvement in stablecoins to new heights, introducing a platform that provides banks and fintechs with an easy-to-use toolkit for minting, holding, and moving digital dollars. The platform, called VSP, is currently in beta testing and will support the upcoming Open USD token as well as USDC later this year.

Visa has also announced a new on-chain lending rail that pairs real-time VisaNet settlement data with smart contracts to extend short-term credit on the blockchain. This move aims to address working capital crunches faced by crypto card issuers, which have grown quickly but struggle with cash flow as they wait for transactions to settle.

The growth of stablecoin-linked card programs has been rapid, with over 160 live worldwide and a payment volume increase of nearly 200% year-over-year. Visa's stablecoin settlement volume has also surpassed $20 billion annually, representing a significant milestone in the adoption of digital dollars.