TLDR
Visas stablecoin settlement uses USDC (Circle), live over Solana and previously piloted on Ethereum, not other stablecoins like USDT or PYUSD yet, per recent announcements and coverage of the rollout in the U.S. USDC settlement on Solana.
- Networks: Solana now, with earlier pilots on Ethereum referenced by media coverage of the programs expansion beyond earlier Ethereum pilots.
- Participants: Initial U.S. banks include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, with broader availability planned through 2026 %%CKPROTECTED0%%.
- Scale: Visa reports a stablecoin settlement run rate of about $3.5 billion annually as of late November run rate figure.
Deep Dive
1. Stablecoin and Networks
The settlement rail is USDC, a fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by Circle, with on-chain settlement live on Solana and earlier pilots conducted on Ethereum.
- Media and finance outlets specify USDC as the stablecoin that Visa is integrating for U.S. institutions, delivered over Solana today USDC on Solana.
- Coverage also notes this expansion moves beyond earlier Ethereum-based settlement tests earlier Ethereum pilots.
If youre asking which stablecoins, its USDC. Operationally, expect Solana for production speed now, with Ethereum in the programs history.
2. Who Can Settle
Visas U.S. acquirer and issuer partners can settle in USDC, with initial participants Cross River Bank and Lead Bank.
- Initial U.S. banking participants are confirmed in rollout coverage participants noted.
- Broader availability in the U.S. is planned through 2026, according to the same reporting rollout timeline.
If you operate via these banks (or similar partners as Visa expands), you can settle funds in USDC and leverage faster, programmable treasury flows.
3. Magnitude and Plans
Visa cites a roughly $3.5 billion annualized stablecoin settlement run rate and ongoing work with Circle on infrastructure like the Arc chain.
- Multiple outlets cite Visas monthly settlement run rate annualizing at about $3.5 billion run rate figure.
- Visa plans to use Circles Arc (currently in testnet) and operate a validator node when live, per rollout coverage Arc and validator plan.
USDC settlement is not a small pilot anymore. The rail is scaling, and Visa is investing in the underlying infrastructure.
Conclusion
Visas settlement rail is USDC, with production flows on Solana and earlier pilots on Ethereum. The program is expanding across U.S. banking partners and showing meaningful volume, pointing to stablecoins as practical settlement money within traditional payments.
