Visa stablecoin settlement reaches $4.5 billion; why is merchant acceptance still a bottleneck?

Visa is accelerating its deployment of stablecoin payments, but faces an interesting contradiction: while the circulation of stablecoins exceeds $270 billion, Visa’s annual settlement volume is only $4.5 billion, and mainstream merchants’ acceptance remains limited. This reflects not only technical issues but also the real challenges within the payment ecosystem.

Visa’s Stablecoin Performance Report

According to the latest news, Cuy Sheffield, head of Visa’s crypto business, stated that the current stablecoin settlement volume has reached an annualized scale of $4.5 billion. Although this number seems significant, it appears negligible within Visa’s overall business.

Key data comparisons are as follows:

From the numbers, although stablecoin settlements account for only a tiny fraction of Visa’s total payments, the monthly growth is notable, indicating an upward trend.

The Contradictory Reality

An intriguing phenomenon has emerged: the circulation of stablecoins is already quite substantial ($270 billion), but the proportion actually used for real payments is very low. Sheffield openly states that despite the huge circulation of stablecoins, mainstream merchant acceptance remains limited, and there are currently no large-scale merchants accepting stablecoin payments.

What does this mean? A large amount of stablecoins are issued, but liquidity mainly remains within exchanges and among holders; actual use in daily transactions is still rare.

Visa’s Action Plan

Visa is not deterred by this situation but is actively promoting integration:

• Launched a pilot project in December allowing some US banks to settle with Circle’s USDC via Visa
• Introduced stablecoin payment card products
• Partnered with BVNK to launch stablecoin payment services, potentially adding $3 billion in stablecoin volume to Visa’s $1.7 trillion payment network
• Supports USDC on-ramp services across multiple blockchains

These actions demonstrate that Visa is not passively responding but proactively incorporating stablecoins into its payment infrastructure.

Market Opportunities and Realities

Why does Visa want to adopt stablecoins?

The competition in the payments industry is no longer just among traditional card organizations. Stablecoins represent the possibility of 24/7, real-time, low-cost payments. For Visa, if it does not establish a presence in this field, it risks losing market share to new payment methods.

Why is merchant acceptance still low?

The reasons merchants do not accept stablecoins are quite practical:

1. Lack of liquidity guarantees – merchants need to quickly convert stablecoins into fiat currency, but counterparties and liquidity are insufficient
2. Regulatory uncertainty – the legal status of stablecoins is still evolving in different countries
3. System integration costs – upgrading existing POS systems requires investment, with unclear ROI
4. Consumer habits – most consumers are still accustomed to fiat or traditional payment tools

Visa’s partnership with BVNK and direct integration with the Visa Direct payment network are effectively addressing these issues: enabling merchants and consumers to use stablecoins, with settlement and final liquidity assured by Visa.

The Key to the Future

Based on current data, stablecoins are still in the very early stages within Visa’s overall payment ecosystem. However, considering several factors, this situation may gradually change:

• Regulatory frameworks for stablecoins in the US and Europe are becoming clearer
• Enterprise applications (salary payments, cross-border B2B payments, remittances) are increasing their demand for stablecoins
• Endorsement by payment giants like Visa can significantly reduce trust barriers for merchants and consumers

USDC, the largest USD stablecoin, currently has a circulation of $7.578 billion and ranks 7th among crypto assets by market cap. If Visa can truly integrate merchants into acceptance networks, the real use cases for these stablecoins will expand dramatically.

Summary

Although Visa’s $4.5 billion stablecoin settlement volume seems insignificant, it signifies a major payment giant’s serious attitude toward a new payment paradigm. The real challenge is not on Visa’s side but in how to get mainstream merchants and consumers to genuinely accept stablecoin payments. Once this bottleneck is broken, the role of stablecoins in the payment system will undergo a fundamental change. The current key is to observe the progress of Visa’s pilot projects with partners like BVNK and the final regulatory stance on stablecoins in the US.