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Visa (V) is delving further into the realm of cryptocurrency to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payment transactions.
Visa announced on Tuesday that the San Francisco-based company has enhanced its stablecoin settlement capabilities by integrating Circle's USDC stablecoin into the Solana (SOL) blockchain, known for its high-speed performance.
Visa proudly announced that it stands among the pioneering major financial institutions to embrace the Solana network for large-scale settlement operations.
The SOL token has surged by almost 2% following the news, whereas both bitcoin (BTC) and the comprehensive CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) have experienced declines.
Visa has initiated pilot programs in collaboration with merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei, both of which facilitate debit and credit card payment processing for businesses on a global scale. As per the statement, these programs empower their clients to opt for USDC stablecoin settlements in lieu of traditional fiat currencies.
The payments company initiated its initial trials with USDC for treasury operations back in 2021. During this period, the company conducted a pilot program in collaboration with the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, leveraging the Ethereum blockchain for facilitating cross-border payments executed through Crypto.com Visa cards.
“By leveraging stablecoins like USDC and global blockchain networks like Solana and Ethereum, we're helping to improve the speed of cross-border settlement and providing a modern option for our clients to easily send or receive funds from Visa’s treasury,” Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, said in a statement.
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This advancement marks yet another significant achievement for conventional financial institutions harnessing blockchain technology. According to research conducted by Bernstein, the stablecoin market has the potential to surge to a staggering $2.8 trillion within the upcoming five years. This remarkable growth is expected as global financial institutions and consumer platforms increasingly adopt these tokens on public blockchains to facilitate value exchange within their ecosystems.
Stablecoins are a particular category within the realm of cryptocurrencies, distinguished by their prices being anchored to an external asset, primarily the U.S. dollar. They are progressively gaining popularity as a means for facilitating remittances and serving as savings instruments in emerging economies.
PayPal, a leading fintech company, has recently introduced its very own stablecoin named PYUSD on the Ethereum blockchain.
