Massive Network Expansion and $7 Billion Milestone
Global payments leader Visa announced a major breakthrough in its global stablecoin settlement pilot on Wednesday, adding support for five new blockchain networks at once. The new additions are Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon, and Tempo, which increases the total number of supported networks from four to nine. Alongside this infrastructure expansion, Visa's annualized stablecoin settlement volume surged by a significant 50% quarter-over-quarter, officially crossing the $7 billion mark.
Visa explained that the current blockchain ecosystem, while vibrant, remains relatively fragmented. The core purpose of this multi-chain expansion is to build a single, unified infrastructure layer for its partners. The newly added networks will be deeply integrated with Visa’s existing supported blockchains—Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar—to form a larger, cross-network payment backbone.
This stablecoin settlement pilot has been underway for years across multiple global regions, including Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. More recently, Visa extended its USDC settlement services to the U.S. banking sector. According to official figures, Visa now supports over 130 stablecoin-linked card programs across more than 50 countries, demonstrating the vast scope and depth of its deployment.
Analyst Optimism, Regulatory Outlook, and New Partnerships
In response to Visa's proactive strategy, analysts at investment bank William Blair maintained their Outperform rating. The analysis report suggests the market has long underestimated the potential value that stablecoins, AI agent commerce, and various value-added services could bring to Visa in the long run. Analyst Andrew Jeffrey noted that while stablecoin settlements currently account for only a small fraction of Visa's overall payment network, transaction volumes are likely to gradually increase as corporate demand for stablecoin-based B2B settlements grows.
The report also highlighted Visa's active investment in emerging payment architectures, including driving the automation of digital commerce and participating in the European digital currency framework's interoperability initiatives. Analysts pointed out that Europe is continuously advancing infrastructure projects like the 'digital euro,' which could indeed pose regulatory pressure in the medium term. However, they also observed that Visa is actively developing various interoperability tools designed to connect central bank digital currency (CBDC) systems with existing traditional payment rails.
Beyond expanding public blockchain support, Visa also announced a separate partnership with 'on-chain bank' service provider WeFi. The two entities will collaborate to build a new crypto payment infrastructure. The standout feature is that consumers can enjoy the convenience of cryptocurrency payments while still maintaining 100% control over their assets, a proposition highly attractive to users who prioritize self-custody.