Visa launches stablecoin settlement in US via Circle’s USDC on Solana

Visa is launching a stablecoin settlement service in the U.S., underscoring growing institutional interest in blockchain-based payment rails.

The payments giant said Tuesday it will allow U.S. financial institutions to use Circle’s USDC for back-end payment flows over Solana, with Cross River Bank and a16z-backed Lead Bank among the first to participate. According to the announcement, the service will expand further throughout 2026.

“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking about it — they’re preparing to use it,” Visa Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships Rubail Birwadker said. “Financial institutions are looking for faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations. By bringing USDC settlement to the U.S., Visa is delivering a reliable, bank‑ready capability that improves treasury efficiency while maintaining the security, compliance, and resiliency standards our network requires.”

The move follows a string of recent Visa initiatives targeting stablecoin infrastructure more directly.

On Monday, the company launched a stablecoin advisory practice to guide banks and corporates through issuance, custody, and onchain payments. Last month, Visa also rolled out USDC-based creator payouts and extended onchain settlement pilots across multiple regions.

Additionally, Visa is a design partner for Circle’s Arc Layer 1 blockchain and plans to use it for USDC settlement and operate a validator once the network goes live.

Growing stablecoin sector

Visa’s opening of its banking network to stablecoins comes amid a material shift in America’s regulatory climate since the passage of the GENIUS Act, the United States’ first federal stablecoin framework, signed by President Donald Trump in July. With the $300 billion stablecoin sector projected to reach $2 trillion by 2028, incumbents are racing to offer compliant, high-throughput rails for dollar-denominated digital money.

Circle (CRCL), issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC and a publicly traded firm, has been deploying resources and products to capture Wall Street patronage. Its Arc testnet launched in October with participation from Visa, as well as BlackRock and Anthropic. Circle has also continued expanding its interoperability footprint, including this month’s acquisition of Interop Labs, the initial developer behind Axelar Network.

Meanwhile, Visa’s choice of Solana-native USDC highlights institutional appetite for the second-largest network in decentralized finance. In the past month alone, JPMorgan created a Solana-based USCP token for a debt offering with Galaxy, and State Street and Galaxy announced plans for a tokenized private liquidity fund on the network.

To meet demand, developers are also supporting Solana’s core blockchain infrastructure. Firedancer — Jump Crypto’s independent Solana validator client — hit mainnet last week, offering a technological upgrade aimed at unlocking throughput of up to 1 million transactions per second.