Visa Taps Blockchain Lending to Fuel Stablecoin Adoption
Visa is merging its core settlement network with blockchain-based lending to help fintechs access working capital, the company announced. This move aims to solve a working capital problem for stablecoin card programs running at scale on its network.
The payments giant's Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield noted that stablecoin-linked cards are 'changing how money moves' and creating room to rethink financial infrastructure behind payments.
Visa has already been testing this new model with Credit Coop, a decentralized lending protocol. Since 2023, Credit Coop has financed over $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume across participating facilities with zero defaults.
The stablecoin settlement volume on Visa's network has surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, up 15 times year-over-year. More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs are now active on the platform, with payment volume up nearly 200% year-over-year.