Visa’s addition of PYUSD, USDG, and EURC stablecoins for onchain settlement across Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, and Avalanche blockchains marks a strategic pivot, leveraging stablecoins’ 1:1 peg to fiat currencies to enhance transaction efficiency, as evidenced by Visa’s pilot program handling $1.3 million in daily settlements since 2021.
This move aligns with a broader trend of financial giants adopting blockchain, with PayPal’s PYUSD—backed by U.S. dollar deposits and treasuries—gaining traction, and Circle’s EURC achieving MiCA compliance in the EU, signaling a shift toward regulated, interoperable digital currencies.
The inclusion of Stellar and Avalanche, alongside established chains, challenges the dominance of Ethereum and Solana, reflecting data from Chainalysis (2024) showing a 50% increase in cross-chain stablecoin transactions, driven by lower fees and faster processing times.
