Stablecoin payments and transactions have experienced substantial growth alongside mainstream cryptocurrency adoption. Over a recent three-month period, stablecoin transaction volume surpassed $14.1 trillion, while transaction counts exceeded 3.9 billion.
As stablecoin usage integrates further into mainstream payment tools, Visa has incorporated stablecoins into its core strategy. This focus has driven a major milestone for the company, with its stablecoin settlement volume passing a $20 billion annualized run rate, representing a more than 15-fold increase compared to the previous year.
Card Programs and Monthly Volumes Surge
During Visa’s fiscal Q2, more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were live. Payment volume across these specific programs increased by close to 200% year-over-year.
Monthly stablecoin volume has also risen, reaching approximately $1.2 billion. According to Visa, a primary driver of this recent growth is the operational requirement for every card program to fund its daily settlement obligation prior to collecting funds from cardholders.
Expansion Into On-Chain Lending
In addition to payments, Visa is expanding its reach into on-chain lending, a rapidly growing sector in digital finance where over $16 billion in stablecoin-dominated loans moved through lending protocols over the course of a month, engaging more than 1.6 million borrowers.
Visa is connecting its VisaNet settlement data with blockchain-based lending infrastructure. This integration allows lenders to extend loans to finance payment obligations using VisaNet transaction data. Furthermore, lenders gain access to VisaNet settlement data to analyze borrower activity and evaluate financing requests.
Broader Market Implications
The broader adoption and usage of stablecoins by traditional financial institutions such as Visa highlight the growing role of digital assets. Other industry players are also making strategic moves, such as Circle's agreement to purchase Tazapay—which processes over $25 billion annually—for $400 million.
These developments reflect an increasing institutional focus on capturing market share in the stablecoin sector, expanding the overall user base for digital assets.
