Visa added five blockchains to its stablecoin settlement pilot as annualized volume reached $7 billion, up 50% from last quarter.
The collaboration adds to a rapidly growing list of initiatives between existing payment networks and digital asset firms.
Visa, Stripe and Zodia by Standard Chartered are notable early additions for Tempo as it begins to build out its validator set.
The firm’s application was approved on March 23, three days after it was submitted, appointing Visa the highest Super Validator weight.
Ethereum investor Stanley Druckenmiller has added his voice to the growing conversation around the future of digital finance, predicting that stablecoins could become the dominant force in global payment systems within the next few years. The veteran investor’s outlook reflects a broader shift among institutions and market participants toward viewing blockchain-based money as a critical financial infrastructure. Why Stablecoins Could Replace Traditional Payment Rails Stanley Druckenmiller, a prominent investor with exposure to Ethereum, is increasingly aligning his investment positioning with his outlook on the future of payments; one dominated by stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure. According to the Etherealize post on X, the veteran investor has publicly stated that stablecoins could power the entire payment system within the next 10 to 15 years. He further pointed to the clear advantages of blockchain-based money, such as greater efficiency, faster settlement, and significantly lower costs. Related Reading: Ethereum Remains The Top Network For Tokenized Assets As Adoption Grows This view is reflected in his exposure of the ETH ecosystem, in which Druckenmiller is listed among key backers of BitMine (BMNR), an Ethereum-focused treasury firm chaired by Tom Lee, which reportedly holds over $10 billion in ETH. Other notable supporters include ARK Invest and Bill Miller. Druckenmiller’s aligns with his recent bullish comments on stablecoins and blockchain payments. He frames blockchain and the use of stablecoins as highly practical tools for investors to invest their crypto and tokens, as they can significantly improve financial productivity. Ethereum As A Neutral Settlement Layer For Institutions The recent Cari announcement has reignited a critical debate around the future of institutional blockchain infrastructure, with much of the discussion focusing on architecture. Analyst Alex argued that the real issue lies in the business model of proprietary systems versus open standards. Related Reading: Ethereum Futures Volume Outruns Spot 6-to-1 As Macro Stress Weighs On Crypto The Government of propriety networks like Canton or Tempo will be controlled by a small group with disproportionate voting weight. They will be permissionless, but participants have to submit a Google form with opaque admission criteria to join. It’s unclear who decides this, but over time, the most influential participants will set the terms of access and pricing. From a bank’s perspective, this structure is familiar because it mirrors the early dynamics of legacy systems like SWIFT and Visa, locking in structural advantages while late joiners absorb the cost. As Alex noted, everyone wants to build the next SWIFT-killer, but nobody wants to join someone else’s SWIFT-Killer; a typical comment from banks. This is where Ethereum stands out as the only neutral settlement layer where that dynamic can’t take hold, because no single entity can capture it. The ETH network is the only place where every participant can permanently trust that no future coalition will rewrite the rules against them. From a game-theoretical standpoint, Alex concluded that ETH represents the only sustainable equilibrium as a global settlement layer for institutional finance that works long-term. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
The next trillion-dollar payments network won't have a checkout page. No card number, no CVV, no human at the keyboard. Just machines paying machines, thousands of times a second, for fractions of a cent.
The product, when first unveiled in 2025, was initially focused on Central and South American countries and is currently live in 18 countries.
Bridge has partnered with Lead Bank, a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot, to help businesses and fintechs offer stablecoin-backed Visa cards.
Despite crypto’s promise of faster, cheaper transactions, the payments giants aren’t buying the stablecoin pitch, at least not in developed markets.
Ethereum finds itself in an unusual position where the fundamentals are strengthening, but capital flows remain hesitant. On-chain activity and the real-world tokenization of assets point to a network that is becoming increasingly useful and more deeply embedded in financial infrastructure. The price action movement shows that ETH is stuck in a range where it is struggling to attract sustained momentum. Why Fundamentals And Price Are Diverging Ethereum is stuck in the middle, with the price hovering around $3,300, which is slightly up from earlier this month, but it remains compressed within the same triangle that has been forming since November. An investor known as Pepeisfriend mentioned on X that this kind of price action usually means pressure is building and a move is coming. However, the direction hasn’t been specified. Related Reading: Ethereum Outlook Has Improved, And It Could Outperform Bitcoin – Here’s What To Know As a result of this move, big money doesn’t seem very excited. ETH whales have been slowly reducing their exposure since mid-December, with no panic selling, just lightening positions. This kind of behavior signals a lower willingness from large investors to carry risk at these levels. The ETF flows have shown that there have been a few days of positive inflows, but the overall net flows are still negative, showing institutions haven’t truly rotated back into ETH the way they did during the previous hype phase. Meanwhile, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) activity looks weaker, and total value locked (TVL) has dropped noticeably, suggesting that on-chain capital is either leaving or just sitting on the sidelines. When DeFi isn’t active, ETH struggles to generate sustained upside momentum. Related Reading: Ethereum Price Finds Balance at Support—But the Next Move Matters Investor Pepeisfriend concluded that ETH isn’t bearish, but also not inspiring confidence for a breakout. This is a clear “wait for confirmation” phase that must be held, but probably still too early to go all-in or expect an immediate breakout. The Moment That Will Look Obvious In Hindsight While the market is obsessed with layer-1 competition, Ethereum is transitioning from a speculative asset into a yield-bearing, productive asset. Analyst Senior pointed out that on January 15, 2026, Sharplink Gaming deployed $170 million worth of ETH into a combined staking and restaking strategy on Linea. This move shows that institutional treasuries have moved beyond simple accumulation to active yield generation. At the same time, Visa is piloting stablecoin payouts directly on-chain, and EIP-7702 infrastructure is finally going live to eliminate biometric authentication seed phrases via Face ID. The user experience gap that once held ETH back has officially closed. This is the moment ETH is positioning itself as the most secure and liquid on-chain neobank financial platform in the world, and why the $3,500 breakout attempt will feel obvious. Featured image from Pexels, chart from Tradingview.com
Artemis research shows crypto credit and debit card spending is now rivaling peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers, with Visa capturing most on-chain volume through early infrastructure partnerships.
The new feature lets companies send money to digital wallets instantly, even outside banking hours.
Visa has opened stablecoin settlement to U.S. banks using Circle’s USDC on Solana, as institutional interest in crypto rails accelerates.
Initial participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which are settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain.
Visa's stablecoin settlement monthly volume has scaled to a $2.5 billion annualized run rate, according to the payments giant's CEO.
New Visa Direct pilot lets businesses send dollar-backed stablecoins like USDC to users’ digital wallets for near-instant access to earnings.
Visa’s growing stablecoin network positions it as the key infrastructure player in blockchain payments, while individual tokens risk becoming commoditized assets.
Visa CEO Ryan McInerney recently confirmed the payments giant is adding support for four stablecoins across four blockchains.
The payments giant’s latest report rebrands decentralized finance as “onchain finance” and positions Visa as the data and custody layer connecting banks to a $670B stablecoin credit market.
After sharing stablecoin plans, Cloudflare has joined forces with Visa, Mastercard and AmEx to build tools for the emerging world of agentic commerce.
Businesses would pre-fund their Visa Direct account with stablecoins instead of fiat, which Visa would count as "money in the bank."
The card will run on the Visa network and offers 2% in rewards, with potential for that to rise to as high as 3.5%.
Visa's platform now supports four stablecoins across four blockchains, including Ethereum and Solana.
Visa has revealed that it settled more than $200 million in stablecoin transactions during the second quarter of 2025, marking a notable step in its broader digital asset push. The company shared the update in its quarterly report, linking the rise in volume to its expanded stablecoin settlement framework. The payments giant said its 7-day-a-week […]
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Elon Musk has dreamt of a super app akin to WeChat since rebranding Twitter to X in 2022 following his $44 billion takeover.
The crypto card provider said demand is growing to make stablecoins spendable at merchants that accept Visa payments.
The card, facilitated by crypto card enabler Baanx, offers users 1% cashback in bitcoin (BTC) or USDC on purchases, and the ability to directly deposit paychecks into the on-chain card account via bank transfer.
The deal follows BVNK's $50 million fundraising round that included Haun Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and Tiger Global.
World, formerly known as Worldcoin, has officially launched its identity verification platform in the United States, according to an April 30 statement. The blockchain-based project enables users to confirm their humanity using a World ID, which can now be verified at dedicated centers in six key cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and […]
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World's big push to scale involves U.S. rollout, a new Visa card and partnership with Tinder's parent company.