Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot by adding five blockchains—Polygon, Base, Canton Network, Circle’s Arc, and Stripe-backed Tempo—bringing the program to nine supported networks. The update highlights the ongoing push by major payments players to integrate stablecoins into real-time settlement and cross-border flows as adoption accelerates globally.
In its notice, Visa said the expanded network now covers Polygon, Base, Canton Network, Arc, Tempo, alongside the original partners Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar. The company also noted the program has reached about $7 billion in annualized run rate and has grown roughly 50% from the prior quarter. Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, framed the expansion as a recognition that partners are operating in a multi-chain environment and need options while Visa provides a common settlement layer across all of them.
Key takeaways
- Price move: Polygon (POL) traded around $0.091, roughly flat over the past 24 hours and down about 4% in the last week; Canton Network (CC) hovered near $0.15 after earlier spikes to $0.16 tied to a jump in daily volume.
- Catalyst: Visa expands its stablecoin settlement program to five more blockchains, reinforcing a multi-chain approach to tokenized cross-border payments.
- Implication: The expansion could boost stablecoin use in real-world payments and raise visibility for multi-chain settlement among institutions and developers.
What drove the move
The expansion to Polygon, Base, Canton Network, Arc, and Tempo deepens Visa’s effort to create a flexible, scalable settlement layer across a broader set of networks. The program originally connected Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar, and the new additions extend coverage to platforms favored for fast, low-cost transactions and regulated environments. Visa’s stated goal is to give partners a choice of networks while maintaining a unified settlement layer, reducing the friction of cross-network transfers.
Visa’s leadership stressed that the industry is moving toward multi-chain finance, with partners building on several networks and expecting settlement rails to accommodate that reality. Birwadker said the expansion comes as the ecosystem moves beyond a single-chain paradigm, enabling smoother cross-border flows in regions where stablecoins are already gaining traction. The company added that pilots have run across regions including Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, alongside USDC-linked card programs in more than 50 countries.
Beyond the corporate move, market participants see the broader context: global adoption of stablecoins—led by Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT—has picked up pace as regulators outline clearer rules and as institutions seek faster, cheaper settlement options. In this vein, executives from Polygon and Base highlighted the potential for real-world payments to scale through Visa’s network, with Polygon Labs’ Marc Boiron noting that the collaboration with Visa helps bring stablecoin settlement into daily use on a global scale. Base founder Jesse Pollak framed the development as part of “making stablecoin payments a daily reality for billions,” while Canton Network’s Eric Saraniecki underscored the emphasis on institutional compliance in regulated markets.
Market reaction
Despite the expansion, the immediate price response among the newly involved assets was restrained. Polygon, the token formerly known as MATIC, traded near $0.091, roughly flat on the session and down about 4% over the past week as larger crypto markets cooled after a stretch of gains. Canton Network traded around $0.15, having briefly touched $0.16 on higher daily volume before Bitcoin and Ethereum trended lower from recent highs.
Analysts cautioned that the price action in POL and CC reflects a broader market backdrop rather than a direct, one-to-one reaction to Visa’s move. Still, observers noted that the visibility from a major payments player could support longer-term network activity, particularly as merchants and financial institutions experiment with stablecoin settlements for cross-border transactions.
What analysts are saying
Industry voices highlighted the potential for meaningful disruption in settlement processes. Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, said the collaboration signals that stablecoins are moving into real-world payments at scale, adding that Visa’s global reach paired with Polygon’s infrastructure could make stablecoin settlement more practical and accessible for partners worldwide. Base’s Jesse Pollak emphasized the practical aim of making stablecoin payments a daily reality for billions of people, while Canton Network’s Eric Saraniecki stressed the importance of compliance as institutions adopt tokenized settlement in regulated environments.
Taken together, the commentary underscores a view that the latest expansion is not about a single protocol win but about accelerating the maturation of stablecoins as a core payments infrastructure. The emphasis on multi-chain interoperability—paired with a shared settlement layer—could help reduce fragmentation as stablecoins become a routine element of cross-border and domestic payments in more jurisdictions.
Bigger picture
The Visa rollout sits within a broader trend of traditional finance integrating blockchain-enabled settlement rails. The push toward stablecoins aligns with a wider narrative around faster settlement times, lower-cost cross-border payments, and improved interoperability across networks. With USDC-linked card programs expanding in over 50 countries and regulatory milestones appearing in major markets, institutional participants are increasingly weighing stablecoins as a legitimate part of the payments toolkit.
Investors are evaluating how this multi-chain approach could influence long-run demand for stablecoins, the utilization of public blockchains for settlement, and the resilience of tokenized payment networks under varying regulatory regimes. The ongoing expansion of network coverage by Visa also feeds into macro themes—central bank digital currencies, cross-border liquidity management, and evolving risk controls—shaping expectations for how quickly stablecoins can become a routine settlement mechanism rather than a niche, albeit rapidly growing, technology.
Looking ahead, observers will monitor further network additions and the pace of institutional onboarding. Key milestones to watch include continued expansion of networks under Visa’s program, progress in regulatory clarity for stablecoins in major markets, and any subsequent comments from Visa about the program’s impact on cross-border settlement volumes and merchant adoption.
