Visa's Stablecoin Settlement Surges Past $20 Billion

Visa's stablecoin settlement volume has surged to over $20 billion annually, up from just $1.3 billion a year ago. This growth is forcing card issuers and lenders to rethink how they finance settlements in the crypto market.

The expansion of stablecoin-linked cards, with over 160 programs live globally, is driving this increase. Payment volume across these programs has risen nearly 200% year-over-year.

However, this growth creates a new challenge: financing the settlement layer fast enough to keep up. Traditional credit facilities can be too expensive and slow for smaller programs that need capital drawn and repaid daily.

Visa is addressing this issue with Onchain Credit Coop, which has built a stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facility using smart contracts. This system enables lenders to compare network data with on-chain repayment history, reducing borrowing costs by up to 30% for participating programs.