Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to encompass nine blockchains, achieving an annualized run rate of $7 billion. Announced on April 29, the initiative now includes Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon, and Tempo, in addition to Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana, and Stellar. This represents a 50% increase from the previous quarter.
Visa’s pilot is still governed by its own terms, indicating stablecoins are increasingly used in the settlement layer of payment systems—typically invisible to consumers. This layer facilitates value transfer between issuers, acquirers, banks, program managers, and treasury systems post-transaction authorization. The update signals that stablecoins might become a parallel option within existing payment infrastructure.
Visa’s move suggests crypto adoption is progressing into the back office before it reaches consumer-facing interfaces like checkout screens. Although described as a pilot with undisclosed specifics regarding chain usage, stablecoin splits remain part of an optional settlement pathway alongside traditional methods.
The company has been incrementally building towards this integration. In 2023, Visa reported moving millions in USDC between partners on Solana and Ethereum to settle fiat-denominated VisaNet payments. The December 2025 update allowed U.S. issuer and acquirer partners to settle transactions using USDC with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank over Solana.
Visa’s April announcement also linked the blockchain expansion to more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programs across over 50 countries, indicating a broader payment operating model beyond mere ledger testing. The run rate update from $3.5 billion in December 2025 to $7 billion post-expansion highlights this progress.
Visa’s recent additions reflect diverse environments for partners: Arc provides USDC-denominated fees and privacy features; Base offers low-cost, fast-settling USDC payments; Canton ensures institutional privacy for stablecoin transactions; Polygon emphasizes global payments with lower costs; while Tempo focuses on dedicated payment lanes. Visa aims to make these differences manageable through a unified settlement layer.
With the crypto market valued at approximately $2.55 trillion and stablecoins accounting for around $319.802 billion in market capitalization, stablecoins are increasingly viewed as critical infrastructure within large payment networks. The adoption test now shifts towards their utility in value transfer post-transaction rather than consumer choice between wallets and cards.
Visa’s integration of stablecoin settlement with issuers, acquirers, banks, and card programs provides a practical example supporting the thesis that stablecoins are evolving into essential components of mainstream payment systems. The GENIUS Act is expected to offer regulatory clarity for this burgeoning market. Visa’s stablecoin-linked Visa cards are operational in 18 countries, with plans to expand.
While regulation remains an ongoing discussion, Visa’s initiative highlights real activity in the sector, albeit without detailed breakdowns per blockchain. Stablecoins are transitioning from trading assets to integral parts of the payment system infrastructure within mainstream payments. The challenge is whether this becomes a standard practice for global payment firms or remains a specialized option.