Core Insights - The demand for Visa's stablecoin settlement is being driven by providers of stablecoin-linked payment cards, indicating a growing market opportunity for Visa in this sector [2][3]. Group 1: Stablecoin Settlement Volumes - Visa's stablecoin settlement volumes have reached an annualized run rate of $4.5 billion, which, while a small fraction of the $14.2 trillion in annual payments processed last year, is experiencing significant month-over-month growth [2]. - The increase in stablecoin settlement volumes is primarily attributed to the demand from stablecoin-linked card providers [2]. Group 2: Merchant Acceptance and Services - Merchants generally do not accept stablecoin payments, which increases the necessity for Visa's products and services to facilitate customer spending of stablecoins [3]. - Visa's global network, VisaNet, supports various transaction types, including credit, debit, and ATM transactions, which are essential for stablecoin transactions [3]. Group 3: Support for Stablecoins and Blockchain - Visa is actively expanding its support for more stablecoins and blockchains on its settlement platform, with recent additions including two U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins and the euro-backed EURC [4]. - The company aims to build a multicoin and multichain foundation to meet the needs of its global partners, emphasizing the transformative potential of trusted, scalable, and interoperable stablecoins [5]. Group 4: Industry Perspective - Analysts view stablecoins as a potential opportunity for Visa rather than a threat, as they still require additional services such as fraud prevention and compliance checks, which Visa can provide [5]. - Visa's CEO highlighted the company's role as a hyperscaler, enabling various entities to build on the Visa-as-a-service stack for money movement and payments [6].