Visa has long been at the centre of global payments and now sees stablecoins as a way to grow, not just to protect, its business. Visa’s head of crypto Cuy Sheffield’s team has broadened Visa’s stablecoin settlement business over the past year and formed global partnerships to issue stablecoins.
As per a recent report by Bloomberg, Sheffield has been leading the team that has expanded its stablecoin settlement work, teamed up with banks on launching tokenized assets, and struck deals with fintech firms worldwide.
Stablecoins Open New Avenues Without Replacing Visa’s Core
Analysts believe stablecoins may not threaten Visa’s core business so much as open new opportunities. Payments may cost less, but stablecoins still rely on services such as fraud protection, dispute handling, regulation checks, and connections to existing banking systems.
Richard Crone, Chief of Crone Consulting, said, “They are going after the land grab of empowering every possible stablecoin platform with a payment capability.”
Stablecoins have grown quickly, with their market value climbing 62% in the past year to over $270 billion, according to data on DeFiLlama.
Some forecasts see the market reaching $2 trillion within three years, according to Standard Chartered Bank. Still, they facilitate only about $30 billion of transactions daily, less than 1% of global money flows, according to a recent report by McKinsey & Co.
Visa itself has passed $200 million in total stablecoin settlement volume, supported by its Visa Tokenized Asset Platform and seven-day-a-week settlement service.
Visa’s interest in the sector is driven by strong infrastructure rather than fast disruption. The company sees particular promise in markets where banking is limited. “We don’t really think stablecoins solve much of a problem for retail payments,” Sheffield said.
“Visa’s data shows that most stablecoin activity today comes from high-value transfers, not everyday spending.” He added, “A stablecoin isn’t even a new currency, really. It’s just another way to represent an existing currency.”
Still, stablecoins could reshape Visa’s business in the long run. Lex Sokolin of Generative Ventures noted, “In the very long run, stablecoins may replace the future opportunities of the legacy Visa business and eventually supplant network operators. But Visa can disrupt itself.”
Visa is already taking steps in that direction. Its Tokenized Asset Platform, launched in 2024, enables banks such as BBVA to issue tokens on public blockchains. The company has also partnered with Bridge to launch stablecoin-linked cards in Latin America and is expanding settlement services across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
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