Visa is significantly expanding its global stablecoin settlement pilot program, announcing the addition of five new blockchains. This move brings the total number of supported blockchains to nine, reflecting the company’s commitment to adapting to the evolving digital asset landscape and the increasing adoption of stablecoins for global money movement.
New Blockchains Bolster Settlement Options
The newly integrated blockchains are Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon, and Tempo. These join the existing four blockchains previously supported by Visa: Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana, and Stellar. This expansion provides payment issuers and acquirers with a wider array of network choices for settling transactions, catering to the diverse needs of partners operating in a multi-chain ecosystem.
Meeting Partner Demands in a Multi-Chain World
Rubail Birwadker, global head of growth products and strategic partnerships at Visa, emphasized the strategic rationale behind the expansion. “Our partners are building in a multi-chain world, and they expect their options to reflect that reality,” Birwadker stated in a press release. “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.”
Stablecoin Settlement Volume Sees Substantial Growth
The expansion coincides with a notable surge in stablecoin settlement volume. Over the past year, Visa has observed stablecoins transition from a nascent innovation to a practical tool for global transactions. In the last quarter alone, the pilot’s annualized stablecoin settlement run rate increased by 50%, reaching $7 billion. Visa attributes this growth to the increasing confidence financial institutions, FinTechs, and payment providers have in blockchain infrastructure.
“Stablecoin settlement over blockchain infrastructure is becoming a viable complement to traditional settlement rails,” the company noted in its release. This sentiment was further echoed by Visa CEO Ryan McInerney during a recent earnings call, where he described Visa’s role as a crucial interoperability layer connecting blockchain infrastructure with real-world solutions.
Visa’s Evolving Role in Blockchain Infrastructure
Visa’s involvement in blockchain extends beyond its settlement pilot. The company has been actively participating in live pilots and regional rollouts of stablecoin settlement for several years. Recent reports indicate Visa’s growing role in blockchain infrastructure, including taking on validator positions on select networks. This strategic engagement allows Visa to facilitate transactions outside standard banking hours and support innovative use cases such as stablecoin-linked cards that enable consumers to spend digital assets at traditional merchants.
