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Visa is a digital payments technology company that connects consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and governments worldwide through its high-speed, secure network (VisaNet) to process electronic payments using credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. Visa does not issue cards directly; instead, it provides network infrastructure for banks to use, primarily for international interbank transfers, online payments, and contactless payments.
Bitwise CIO: The GENIUS Act Opens the Floodgates for Institutional Funding, with Three Enterprise Chains Raising Over $1 Billion Combined
According to The Block, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, noted that three enterprise-grade blockchains—Arc (by Circle), Canton Network, and Tempo (by Stripe)—have collectively raised over $1 billion in funding recently. All three funding rounds occurred after the signing of the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Hougan believes this legislation broke a prior regulatory stalemate that had discouraged institutional capital from entering the space. Hougan identified three key signals: First, all three blockchains prioritize native privacy-preserving transactions as a core design feature, addressing institutions’ need for transaction confidentiality. Second, the implementation of the GENIUS Act has significantly reduced regulatory uncertainty; the next critical variable is the pending Clarity Act, from which stablecoins and tokenization infrastructure stand to benefit. Third, these blockchains are backed by top-tier institutions—including Goldman Sachs, Citadel, BlackRock, Stripe, and Visa—marking a stark contrast to Ethereum and Solana, which emerged from grassroots origins. Hougan stated that his firm’s capital remains primarily allocated to native crypto projects, and he believes these emerging enterprise chains will raise the overall competitive bar and attract additional capital inflows.
Canton Network developer seeks to raise $300 million at a valuation of approximately $2 billion
Digital Asset (the developer of Canton Network) is reportedly raising approximately $300 million in funding at a valuation of around $2 billion, led by a16z crypto, the venture arm of Andreessen Horowitz.The funding round is expected to close within the next few weeks and would be the company's largest financing round to date. Canton Network has attracted participation from institutions including Visa, Goldman Sachs, and DTCC.The network focuses on a privacy-configurable public chain designed for institutions and has already processed or issued over $6 trillion in tokenized assets.
Rain receives Mastercard support to advance on-chain settlement integration, valuation approaches $2 billion
stablecoin infrastructure startup Rain is now valued at $1.95 billion and has announced a partnership with payment giant Mastercard to issue credit and prepaid cards, while also exploring the use of stablecoins for payment settlements. Previously, Rain primarily relied on the Visa network for its card products. This collaboration with Mastercard marks its entry into a "dual-card network" strategy, further expanding its institutional client market. Rain stated that the partnership will focus on serving large institutional clients already deeply integrated with a single payment network, enabling them to introduce stablecoin settlement capabilities without altering their existing payment systems.Meanwhile, the application of stablecoins continues to expand across the industry, with institutions such as Stripe and Coinbase actively promoting the integration of stablecoin payments and settlements. This indicates that the convergence of traditional finance and crypto payment infrastructure is accelerating. Analysts suggest that as regulatory frameworks gradually become clearer, stablecoins are rapidly transitioning from trading tools to enterprise payment and cross-border settlement infrastructure. (Fortune)
Securitize Appoints Former IMF Representative to Its Board
Odaily News Securitize announced the appointment of investor, Blackstone advisor, and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) board member Sunil Sabharwal to its board. Sunil Sabharwal served as the U.S. representative to the IMF, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, from 2016 to 2018, for which he received the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the boards of Thunes and TookiTaki, and previously served as Chairman of payment companies Earthport and Ogone, which were acquired by Visa and Ingenico, respectively. Since 2021, he has served as an advisor and operating partner for the Blackstone Growth Equity Fund.Securitize currently manages over $4 billion in on-chain assets, including the BlackRock BUIDL Fund and tokenized products from institutions such as Apollo, BNY, Hamilton Lane, KKR, and VanEck. The company reached an acquisition agreement with a Cantor Fitzgerald affiliate last October, valuing Securitize at $1 billion. The merged company is set to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol CEPT.
Tether Participates in $134 Million SDEV Funding Round to Accelerate Mainstream Adoption of Stablecoin Infrastructure
According to an official announcement by Tether, Tether Investments participated in a $134 million financing round for the publicly listed Stablecoin Development Corporation (NYSE American: SDEV), with other investors including R01 Fund LP and Framework Ventures—digital asset-focused investment firms. SDEV positions itself as an on-chain holding company dedicated to building infrastructure for stablecoin payments, transfers, and cross-platform fund flows, aiming to lower user adoption barriers. Globally, the circulating supply of stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, while last year’s transaction volume reached $33 trillion—exceeding the combined total of Visa and Mastercard. Meanwhile, Tether’s USD₮ user base has grown to 570 million.
Visa, Stripe, and Zodia Custody Become Early Validators of the Tempo Payment Blockchain
According to The Block, Visa, Stripe, and Zodia Custody—a digital asset custody firm backed by Standard Chartered Bank—have become the first validators on the Tempo payment blockchain. Tempo is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for high-throughput payments and stablecoin settlement, primarily targeting large institutions. Validators are responsible for verifying, ordering, and finalizing on-chain transactions, and are typically mature organizations with global operational capabilities. Tempo was incubated by Stripe and Paradigm, launched its private testnet in September 2025, and closed a $500 million Series A funding round in October at a valuation of approximately $5 billion. Recently, Tempo introduced its “Agent Payments” protocol—executed by AI agents—and has attracted infrastructure integrations including RedStone.
France risks missing the wave of AI agents and stablecoin payments: Experts say tax system needs adjustment within 6 months to avoid being marginalized
: An opinion piece published in the French media *Le Monde* points out that France may have only about 6 months to seize the new wave of industrial revolution led by "agentic AI". Otherwise, it risks being marginalized in the global digital financial system. Several French crypto industry insiders argue that online transactions driven by AI agents are growing rapidly, with most settlements already completed via stablecoins. According to the *State of Crypto* report by Andreessen Horowitz, the annual transaction volume of stablecoins has reached approximately $46 trillion, nearly three times that of Visa and 20 times that of PayPal, establishing them as a key infrastructure in the global payment system.The article further points out that the x402 standard, promoted by Coinbase and adopted by Cloudflare, Google, and Visa, already supports AI agents in automatically completing payments via stablecoins, with cumulative transactions exceeding 119 million to date.However, in terms of the tax system, France's current provisions are criticized as being unable to adapt to this trend. The complex tax treatment between stablecoin exchanges and fiat withdrawals is believed to discourage the flow of funds back into the banking system, causing a large volume of digital asset transactions to remain within the stablecoin ecosystem for extended periods. As AI agents and stablecoin payments gradually converge, the global financial infrastructure is being restructured. If France fails to promptly adjust its regulatory and tax framework, it may miss out on the dividends of this new wave of the digital economy.
Bitwise CIO: The GENIUS Act Opens the Floodgates for Institutional Funding, with Three Enterprise Chains Raising Over $1 Billion Combined
According to The Block, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, noted that three enterprise-grade blockchains—Arc (by Circle), Canton Network, and Tempo (by Stripe)—have collectively raised over $1 billion in funding recently. All three funding rounds occurred after the signing of the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Hougan believes this legislation broke a prior regulatory stalemate that had discouraged institutional capital from entering the space. Hougan identified three key signals: First, all three blockchains prioritize native privacy-preserving transactions as a core design feature, addressing institutions’ need for transaction confidentiality. Second, the implementation of the GENIUS Act has significantly reduced regulatory uncertainty; the next critical variable is the pending Clarity Act, from which stablecoins and tokenization infrastructure stand to benefit. Third, these blockchains are backed by top-tier institutions—including Goldman Sachs, Citadel, BlackRock, Stripe, and Visa—marking a stark contrast to Ethereum and Solana, which emerged from grassroots origins. Hougan stated that his firm’s capital remains primarily allocated to native crypto projects, and he believes these emerging enterprise chains will raise the overall competitive bar and attract additional capital inflows.
Rain receives Mastercard support to advance on-chain settlement integration, valuation approaches $2 billion
stablecoin infrastructure startup Rain is now valued at $1.95 billion and has announced a partnership with payment giant Mastercard to issue credit and prepaid cards, while also exploring the use of stablecoins for payment settlements. Previously, Rain primarily relied on the Visa network for its card products. This collaboration with Mastercard marks its entry into a "dual-card network" strategy, further expanding its institutional client market. Rain stated that the partnership will focus on serving large institutional clients already deeply integrated with a single payment network, enabling them to introduce stablecoin settlement capabilities without altering their existing payment systems.Meanwhile, the application of stablecoins continues to expand across the industry, with institutions such as Stripe and Coinbase actively promoting the integration of stablecoin payments and settlements. This indicates that the convergence of traditional finance and crypto payment infrastructure is accelerating. Analysts suggest that as regulatory frameworks gradually become clearer, stablecoins are rapidly transitioning from trading tools to enterprise payment and cross-border settlement infrastructure. (Fortune)
Visa partners with WeFi, co-founded by former Tether CEO, to connect crypto assets via its payment network
Visa has partnered with WeFi, an on-chain banking company founded by former Tether CEO Reeve Collins, aiming to enable digital asset payments through WeFi's on-chain banking infrastructure. WeFi allows users to hold assets in self-custodial wallets and retain control of their private keys, while ensuring they can spend at any merchant that accepts Visa payments.The project will initially launch in select markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with plans to expand to other regions pending regulatory approvals. WeFi CEO Maksym Sakharov stated that stablecoins will be directly embedded into the underlying infrastructure, with settlement processes handled in the background, eliminating the need for users to manually perform conversions.
Visa Partners with WeFi—Founded by Former Tether CEO—to Advance On-Chain Payments, Enabling Direct Stablecoin Spending on the Visa Network
According to The Block, Visa has partnered with WeFi—a “blockchain-based bank” founded by Reeve Collins, former CEO of Tether—to enable users to hold digital assets in self-custodial wallets and spend them directly across the global Visa acceptance network, without depositing assets into centralized exchanges. Maksym Sakharov, Co-Founder and CEO of WeFi, stated that stablecoins are natively embedded into the underlying infrastructure, with settlements processed automatically in the background, delivering a user experience indistinguishable from conventional payments. This partnership will initially launch in select markets across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with further expansion contingent upon regulatory approvals.
Analysis: Stablecoins are still primarily used for crypto transactions; payment applications have yet to break through.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve’s latest analysis indicates that stablecoins currently serve primarily as tools for cryptocurrency trading and liquidity provision within the financial ecosystem, rather than as mainstream payment instruments. According to the report, approximately 49% of stablecoin supply supports trading liquidity on centralized exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and broader crypto infrastructure; 29% is used for wallet-to-wallet transfers or internal fund operations; and 21% remains idle—with less than 1% actually deployed for real-world payments. The report notes that, as natively crypto-designed instruments, stablecoins face constraints in cross-chain interoperability and integration with traditional financial systems, hindering their large-scale adoption for payments. Although payment processors such as Mastercard and Visa announced support for related technologies in 2026, stablecoin-based payment use cases remain in their infancy. Future development hinges on resolving critical challenges including interoperability, regulatory compliance, and identity verification.
France risks missing the wave of AI agents and stablecoin payments: Experts say tax system needs adjustment within 6 months to avoid being marginalized
: An opinion piece published in the French media *Le Monde* points out that France may have only about 6 months to seize the new wave of industrial revolution led by "agentic AI". Otherwise, it risks being marginalized in the global digital financial system. Several French crypto industry insiders argue that online transactions driven by AI agents are growing rapidly, with most settlements already completed via stablecoins. According to the *State of Crypto* report by Andreessen Horowitz, the annual transaction volume of stablecoins has reached approximately $46 trillion, nearly three times that of Visa and 20 times that of PayPal, establishing them as a key infrastructure in the global payment system.The article further points out that the x402 standard, promoted by Coinbase and adopted by Cloudflare, Google, and Visa, already supports AI agents in automatically completing payments via stablecoins, with cumulative transactions exceeding 119 million to date.However, in terms of the tax system, France's current provisions are criticized as being unable to adapt to this trend. The complex tax treatment between stablecoin exchanges and fiat withdrawals is believed to discourage the flow of funds back into the banking system, causing a large volume of digital asset transactions to remain within the stablecoin ecosystem for extended periods. As AI agents and stablecoin payments gradually converge, the global financial infrastructure is being restructured. If France fails to promptly adjust its regulatory and tax framework, it may miss out on the dividends of this new wave of the digital economy.
Bitwise CIO: The GENIUS Act Opens the Floodgates for Institutional Funding, with Three Enterprise Chains Raising Over $1 Billion Combined
According to The Block, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, noted that three enterprise-grade blockchains—Arc (by Circle), Canton Network, and Tempo (by Stripe)—have collectively raised over $1 billion in funding recently. All three funding rounds occurred after the signing of the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Hougan believes this legislation broke a prior regulatory stalemate that had discouraged institutional capital from entering the space. Hougan identified three key signals: First, all three blockchains prioritize native privacy-preserving transactions as a core design feature, addressing institutions’ need for transaction confidentiality. Second, the implementation of the GENIUS Act has significantly reduced regulatory uncertainty; the next critical variable is the pending Clarity Act, from which stablecoins and tokenization infrastructure stand to benefit. Third, these blockchains are backed by top-tier institutions—including Goldman Sachs, Citadel, BlackRock, Stripe, and Visa—marking a stark contrast to Ethereum and Solana, which emerged from grassroots origins. Hougan stated that his firm’s capital remains primarily allocated to native crypto projects, and he believes these emerging enterprise chains will raise the overall competitive bar and attract additional capital inflows.
Bitget Adds 11 World Cup-Themed Stock Contracts, Including Nike, Coca-Cola, and Visa
According to the official announcement, Bitget’s stock contracts are now available for 11 underlying assets, including BUD (Anheuser-Busch InBev), NKE (Nike), KO (Coca-Cola), ABNB (Airbnb), MAR (Marriott International), and V (Visa), spanning sectors related to major sporting events—such as sports & entertainment, travel & transportation, and consumer brands. These contracts support up to 20x leverage. For more details, please visit Bitget’s official platform.
Visa partners with Brale to explore private stablecoin settlement
payments giant Visa has announced a partnership with Brale to explore the feasibility of using Brale’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin, SBC, for institutional payment settlements on the Canton Network. This proof of concept aims to assess how privacy-preserving blockchain infrastructure can support faster and programmable settlement, while helping financial institutions and payment companies control the visibility of sensitive transaction data. (Businesswire)
Tether and Fasset Launch First Gold-Backed Visa Card
According to an official announcement, Tether has partnered with digital banking and investment platform Fasset to launch the world’s first gold-backed Visa card.
Payment giants Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, and others plan to support the upcoming new stablecoin platform
Global payment networks Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard are close to launching a new stablecoin platform.According to sources familiar with the matter, U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is also exploring the possibility of participating in this stablecoin platform. Meanwhile, Binance, Coinbase, Stripe, and Visa have all declined to comment, and Mastercard did not respond to requests for comment before publication. Additionally, the revenue-sharing agreement between Coinbase and Circle Internet is set to expire and be renewed in August of this year, with the current market cap of USDC reaching $76 billion. (CoinDesk)
Report: Digital wallets account for over half of global online transaction value; cryptocurrency to become the fastest-growing online payment method
According to a report by Caixin, Global Payments, a global payment technology and software company, released its “Global Payments Report 2026,” which states that digital wallets now account for over half of global online transaction value and one-third of offline transaction value. Digital wallets offer flexible integration of diverse payment methods—including cryptocurrencies—and the report forecasts that direct cryptocurrency payments will be the fastest-growing online payment method, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% between 2025 and 2030. This implies that by 2030, e-commerce transactions conducted directly via cryptocurrency could represent 0.28% of global e-commerce transaction value—nearly $31 billion. However, despite the global cryptocurrency market capitalization nearing $3.2 trillion as of end-2025, cryptocurrency remains a relatively marginal payment method for consumer-to-merchant transactions. Reports from MRC and Visa indicate that only 10% of merchants worldwide directly accept cryptocurrency payments. In 2025, cryptocurrency accounted for just 0.19%—approximately $15 billion—of global e-commerce transaction value.
France risks missing the wave of AI agents and stablecoin payments: Experts say tax system needs adjustment within 6 months to avoid being marginalized
: An opinion piece published in the French media *Le Monde* points out that France may have only about 6 months to seize the new wave of industrial revolution led by "agentic AI". Otherwise, it risks being marginalized in the global digital financial system. Several French crypto industry insiders argue that online transactions driven by AI agents are growing rapidly, with most settlements already completed via stablecoins. According to the *State of Crypto* report by Andreessen Horowitz, the annual transaction volume of stablecoins has reached approximately $46 trillion, nearly three times that of Visa and 20 times that of PayPal, establishing them as a key infrastructure in the global payment system.The article further points out that the x402 standard, promoted by Coinbase and adopted by Cloudflare, Google, and Visa, already supports AI agents in automatically completing payments via stablecoins, with cumulative transactions exceeding 119 million to date.However, in terms of the tax system, France's current provisions are criticized as being unable to adapt to this trend. The complex tax treatment between stablecoin exchanges and fiat withdrawals is believed to discourage the flow of funds back into the banking system, causing a large volume of digital asset transactions to remain within the stablecoin ecosystem for extended periods. As AI agents and stablecoin payments gradually converge, the global financial infrastructure is being restructured. If France fails to promptly adjust its regulatory and tax framework, it may miss out on the dividends of this new wave of the digital economy.
Related news
Bitget Adds 11 World Cup-Themed Stock Contracts, Including Nike, Coca-Cola, and Visa
According to the official announcement, Bitget’s stock contracts are now available for 11 underlying assets, including BUD (Anheuser-Busch InBev), NKE (Nike), KO (Coca-Cola), ABNB (Airbnb), MAR (Marriott International), and V (Visa), spanning sectors related to major sporting events—such as sports & entertainment, travel & transportation, and consumer brands. These contracts support up to 20x leverage. For more details, please visit Bitget’s official platform.
Visa and Mastercard are reportedly in talks with Stripe and Coinbase to form a stablecoin alliance
payment giants Visa and Mastercard are in discussions with Stripe and Coinbase to form a stablecoin alliance and launch a stablecoin platform. If the plan materializes, it could reshape the current stablecoin market, dominated by USDT and USDC, which is valued at over $300 billion. This alliance could accelerate the adoption of stablecoins in retail payment scenarios. Leveraging the vast merchant networks of Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, the new platform may encourage merchants to adopt the alliance's internal stablecoins, while generating new revenue streams, such as reserve interest, for participants. However, the plan is still in early discussions, and no formal agreement has been reached yet. (Fortune)
Visa partners with Brale to explore private stablecoin settlement
payments giant Visa has announced a partnership with Brale to explore the feasibility of using Brale’s US dollar-pegged stablecoin, SBC, for institutional payment settlements on the Canton Network. This proof of concept aims to assess how privacy-preserving blockchain infrastructure can support faster and programmable settlement, while helping financial institutions and payment companies control the visibility of sensitive transaction data. (Businesswire)
Tether and Fasset Launch First Gold-Backed Visa Card
According to an official announcement, Tether has partnered with digital banking and investment platform Fasset to launch the world’s first gold-backed Visa card.
Payment giants Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, and others plan to support the upcoming new stablecoin platform
Global payment networks Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard are close to launching a new stablecoin platform.According to sources familiar with the matter, U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is also exploring the possibility of participating in this stablecoin platform. Meanwhile, Binance, Coinbase, Stripe, and Visa have all declined to comment, and Mastercard did not respond to requests for comment before publication. Additionally, the revenue-sharing agreement between Coinbase and Circle Internet is set to expire and be renewed in August of this year, with the current market cap of USDC reaching $76 billion. (CoinDesk)
Visa invests in AI coding platform Replit, exploring direct payments for developers and AI agents within the platform
: Visa has invested in AI coding platform Replit to promote the development of agentic payments, exploring how to enable developers and AI agents to directly accept payments within the platform.