Visa expands data offering for blockchain lenders as stablecoin card demand surges
Visa is expanding data offerings to blockchain lenders as stablecoin-linked card demand surges, aiming to speed financing for the fast-growing digital asset sector.
"Stablecoin-linked cards are in hypergrowth mode," Cuy Sheffield, Visa's head of crypto, told CNBC in an exclusive interview. He said new issuers, including stablecoin neobanks and fintech firms, are joining the network and launching cards every week.
The expanded offering pairs Visa's settlement data with onchain lending infrastructure, the company said. That will give lenders more visibility into the financial performance of digital asset-focused fintech firms and card issuers, and is intended to speed up borrowing as those businesses scale rapidly.
Visa is also establishing partnerships to let new issuers access financing programs through smart contracts and onchain credit, Sheffield said. The company has run a pilot with Credit Coop that enables a credit facility for stablecoin-linked card providers, which he called "a positive step forward" for bringing onchain credit into Visa's network. Credit Coop says it has processed $2.7 billion in total volume on its platform through smart contracts, with no borrower default.
According to Visa, nearly $700 billion in stablecoin-denominated loans have been sent through onchain lending protocols over the past six years. Much of that activity has remained concentrated within crypto markets, but the new data offering is meant to help lenders understand how a business operates and simplify the process of evaluating financing opportunities.
The rollout follows growing regulatory clarity in the United States. Sheffield described last year's passage of the GENIUS Act, which established U.S. stablecoin regulation, as a "huge" turning point. "We're seeing banks, we're seeing some of the largest payment companies in the world that are coming to us that want to be able to engage and work with Visa, leveraging stablecoins within our existing products or build new products together with them," he said.
Visa launched in July a stablecoin platform for settlements and stablecoin-linked card programs. Mastercard, PayPal and Circle operate their own similar platforms. Visa shares have gained roughly 7% this year.