Visa Expands $7 Billion Stablecoin Settlement Pilot and Seeks External Partners

Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement pilot to an annual scale of $7 billion while searching for external settlement partners. Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK on August 3, with BVNK providing infrastructure that connects fiat currency and on-chain payments. Visa announced on April 29 that its stablecoin settlement pilot had grown by 50% compared to the previous quarter. While BVNK supported Visa Direct customers in pre-funding and disbursing funds using stablecoins, it was not a settlement function for Visa's entire payment network. Visa is pursuing its stablecoin strategy by separating external partners from its internal platform, having unveiled the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP) on July 16. The VSP is designed to allow financial institutions and fintechs to access and move stablecoins, with the initial supported asset being openUSD. ZeroHash announced on August 5 that it would provide pre-deposit and disbursement functions for stablecoins through Visa Direct. Visa is looking for settlement and over-the-counter trading partners with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Singapore, with support for openUSD included as a requirement. It has been confirmed that since BVNK's integration into Mastercard, Visa is seeking partners with multiple regional licenses and settlement and over-the-counter trading capabilities.