According to people familiar with the initiative, Visa’s new offering will allow eligible U.S. institutions to settle transactions directly using USDC on Solana, enabling near-instant settlement and reduced reliance on legacy payment rails. The expansion builds on Visa’s prior experiments with stablecoins and reflects increasing confidence in blockchain infrastructure for regulated financial use cases.
Why Visa is turning to stablecoin settlement
Visa’s decision to support stablecoin settlement comes as financial institutions seek faster and more cost-efficient alternatives to traditional clearing systems. Conventional settlement processes can take days to finalize, tying up capital and increasing counterparty risk. By contrast, USDC settlement on Solana enables transactions to be completed in seconds, operating 24/7 without banking hour limitations.
Stablecoins like USDC are designed to maintain a one-to-one peg with the U.S. dollar, making them attractive for institutional payments that require price stability. Visa has previously highlighted stablecoins as a bridge between fiat currency and blockchain networks, offering the benefits of digital settlement without the volatility associated with other cryptocurrencies.
Why Solana was chosen for USDC settlement
Visa’s use of the Solana blockchain reflects its focus on scalability and performance. Solana is known for high throughput and low transaction costs, attributes that are critical for enterprise-grade payment flows. By settling USDC on Solana, Visa can process a large volume of transactions efficiently while maintaining predictable fees.
Industry analysts note that Solana’s growing institutional adoption and expanding developer ecosystem have positioned it as a strong candidate for payment settlement use cases. The network’s ability to handle thousands of transactions per second aligns with Visa’s global transaction scale.
Institutional implications and market impact
The move is expected to resonate strongly with banks, payment processors, and fintech firms exploring blockchain-based settlement. By offering stablecoin settlement for U.S. institutions, Visa is effectively validating USDC and Solana as components of mainstream financial infrastructure.
For institutions, the service could unlock faster treasury operations, improved liquidity management, and reduced operational friction. It may also support new business models, including real-time cross-border payments and programmable financial workflows.
Market observers say Visa’s involvement could accelerate broader institutional adoption of stablecoins, particularly as regulatory clarity around dollar-backed digital assets improves in the United States.
Regulatory and compliance considerations
Visa has emphasized that its stablecoin initiatives are designed to operate within existing regulatory frameworks. USDC is issued by Circle, a regulated entity that maintains dollar reserves and regular attestations, which has helped position the stablecoin as one of the most trusted in the market.
The focus on U.S. institutions suggests Visa is prioritizing compliance, transparency, and risk management as it expands blockchain-based settlement services. Analysts expect regulators to closely monitor such initiatives, especially as stablecoins play a larger role in payment systems.
Visa’s broader digital asset strategy
The USDC-on-Solana settlement offering is part of Visa’s broader digital asset roadmap, which includes crypto-linked cards, blockchain analytics, and infrastructure partnerships. Over the past several years, Visa has steadily increased its engagement with blockchain technology, signaling a long-term strategy rather than a short-term experiment.
By integrating stablecoin settlement into its core offerings, Visa is positioning itself as a key intermediary between traditional finance and on-chain ecosystems.
What comes next
Visa has not disclosed a specific rollout timeline, but industry sources suggest pilot programs with select institutional partners are already underway. Future expansions could include additional blockchain networks or broader geographic availability, depending on demand and regulatory developments.
As stablecoins gain traction as a settlement medium, Visa’s move may serve as a catalyst for wider adoption across the payments industry. The initiative highlights a growing consensus that blockchain-based settlement using regulated stablecoins is moving from experimentation to real-world financial infrastructure.