Visa Defies Stablecoin Disruption Threat Amid Record High

Visa (NYSE: V) is close to its all-time high, despite recent stablecoin partnership announcements that some thought would disrupt card networks. The stock traded between $378.50 and $381.77 on August 27, sitting just 1% below its record closing high of $384.14 set the previous day.

The same day, Visa announced a partnership with South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group to explore stablecoin issuance, remittance, and redemption using Visa's enterprise stablecoin platform.

This is not Visa's first foray into stablecoins; it piloted USDC settlement in 2021 and has since expanded the program through banking partners. The company's global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, Rubail Birwadker, said 'Our banking partners are not only asking for it, but they're also preparing to use it.'

Cathie Wood at ARK Invest argues that stablecoin rails can process trillions in transactions at substantially lower cost than card networks, which could potentially disrupt Visa's business model.