Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement Pilot to Nine Blockchains, Hits $7 Billion Run Rate
SAN FRANCISCO — Visa (NYSE: V) has significantly broadened its global stablecoin settlement pilot by integrating five additional blockchains, bringing the total to nine and achieving a $7 billion annualized settlement run rate—a 50% increase from the previous quarter.
The expansion, announced on April 29, 2026, adds Arc (from Circle), Base (from Coinbase), Canton Network, Polygon, and Tempo (backed by Stripe) to the existing networks of Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana, and Stellar. This move enhances flexibility for issuers and acquirers, enabling them to settle VisaNet obligations directly in stablecoins like USDC across chains suited to their needs, such as low fees on Layer-2 solutions like Base and Polygon or institutional features on Canton.
“Our partners are building in a multi-chain world, and they expect their options to reflect that reality,” said Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships at Visa. “Expanding our stablecoin settlement pilot program to more blockchains means our partners can choose the networks that best fit their needs, while relying on Visa to provide a common settlement layer across all of them.”
Rapid Growth and Broader Impact
The pilot’s volume surge from roughly $4.7 billion to $7 billion in annualized run rate over 90 days underscores stablecoins’ shift from speculation to mainstream payment and treasury operations. For context, this represents about one in every $2,000 of Visa’s $14.2 trillion in 2025 payment processing settled via stablecoins.
Visa now supports over 130 stablecoin-linked card programs in more than 50 countries, bridging digital assets with traditional merchant acceptance and facilitating seven-days-a-week settlements that reduce reliance on banking rails. Earlier expansions in 2024–2025 targeted regions like Latin America, Europe, and U.S. banks, with recent ties to Stripe’s Bridge extending coverage toward 100 countries.
Notable among the new chains is Polygon, which handled $650 billion in stablecoin transactions in February 2026 alone—the highest monthly volume on any blockchain—highlighting its role in high-throughput settlements. Visa’s validator nodes on Tempo, Arc, and Canton further signal deep infrastructure integration.
Strategic Positioning in Evolving Payments Landscape
This multi-chain approach positions Visa as a key bridge between traditional finance and decentralized networks, simplifying back-end processes for financial institutions and merchants amid rising stablecoin adoption across payments giants. Programmability via smart contracts could enable automated treasury and advanced payment logic, while supporting cross-border efficiency in underserved markets—though the pilot remains primarily B2B-focused.
As stablecoin momentum accelerates, Visa’s pilot demonstrates real institutional traction, complementing rather than disrupting its core card network.
Disclaimers: All contents in this article are for informational purposes only and does not constitute any form of advice.Third-party websites and their content are provided for informational purposes and user convenience only. Rola News does not control, endorse, or assume responsibility for any Third-party websites, including their content, accuracy, privacy practices, or any subsequent changes or updates made to them. This article is AI-assisted and has been reviewed by our editorial team.