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The Agent Cards launched to a select group of businesses on Thursday, with a limited number of additional companies set to gain access over the next two months. Crypto wallet startup Oobit has launched a Visa-supported virtual card for AI agents to make online purchases in USDT on behalf of businesses without human intervention. The Agent Cards are funded directly from stablecoin issuer Tether’s treasury, meaning no fiat on-ramp or conversions are needed for AI agents to top up USDt (USDT) balances and make online purchases, Oobit said on Thursday. The Tether-backed startup said the AI agents could use the cards to do anything from renewing a software-as-a-service subscription to topping up an advertising budget or even “spinning up cloud infrastructure at 3am because a workflow told it to.”  Read more

Visa said its settlement pilot for stablecoins now supports nine blockchains and has reached a run rate of $7 billion a year. The company announced on April 29 that it added Arc, Base, Canton, Polygon and Tempo to a pilot that already used Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana and Stellar. Visa said the annualized settlement run rate […] The post Visa is quietly building stablecoins into mainstream payment plumbing without you knowing appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Visa broadens its crypto pilot to nine blockchains as stablecoin volumes grow, highlighting early traction for onchain settlement in global payments. Global payments giant Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to include Polygon and four other blockchain networks, signaling continued experimentation with crypto-based payment infrastructure. The pilot, launched by Visa in 2023, allows partners to settle transactions using stablecoins rather than traditional banking rails. Newly supported networks include Polygon, Base, the Canton Network, Arc and Tempo. They join existing supported chains such as Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche. The expansion comes as the program has reached an annualized settlement run rate of roughly $7 billion, growing about 50% quarter over quarter, according to Visa. Despite that growth, volume remains small compared to the company’s core payments business. Read more

The payments giant is operating a validator node on the Tempo blockchain, taking a direct role in transaction validation as it expands infrastructure for stablecoin settlement. Visa has launched a validator node on the Tempo blockchain, taking a direct role in verifying and processing transactions on a network designed for real-time stablecoin payments. Visa said the node is operated in-house using its own infrastructure and was developed over six months working with Tempo’s engineering team, positioning the company as an “anchor validator” alongside early participants including Stripe and Zodia Custody. The role places Visa in the transaction validation layer, where it helps order and confirm payments while supporting network security and performance during the network’s early phase. Read more

The platform aims to help businesses issue stablecoin-funded cards is aimed at using digital dollar balances at the point of sale using existing card networks. Global payments infrastructure provider Nium has launched a platform that allows businesses to issue stablecoin-funded cards through Visa and Mastercard, in the latest development enabling digital dollar balances to be spent at merchants using existing card networks. Nium said the system converts stablecoin balances into fiat at the point of sale and handles settlement, compliance and card network integration through a single integration. The tech company said it expects to be able to shorten the time required to launch stablecoin card programs from months to days by consolidating conversion, settlement and compliance into a single integration layer. Read more

Mastercard agreed to pay up to $1.8 billion for BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure firm that connects blockchain payments with traditional banking rails. The deal includes $300 million in contingent payments and closes what Mastercard told investors would have taken too long to build internally: the ability to move money seamlessly across fiat and on-chain systems […] The post Crypto tried to cut out Visa and Mastercard — now they’re buying up blockchain companies appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge aim to expand stablecoin-linked Visa cards to 18 countries, and plan 100-plus by the end of the year, while testing stablecoin settlement with Lead Bank. Global payment giant Visa is expanding its stablecoin card partnership with Stripe-owned Bridge, expanding the rollout of stablecoin-linked Visa cards worldwide and testing onchain settlement. Visa and Bridge are expanding their joint card program to 18 countries, with plans to reach more than 100 across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East by the end of the year, according to a Tuesday announcement. The expansion follows the program’s initial launch in April 2025, which first supported markets in Latin America, including Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Chile. Read more

Bridge has partnered with Lead Bank, a participant in Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot, to help businesses and fintechs offer stablecoin-backed Visa cards.

The Dutch electronic money issuer will act as a BIN sponsor for fintech partners, linking regulated dollar- and euro-denominated tokens to mainstream card rails. Dutch payments company Quantoz Payments has become a principal member of Visa, enabling it to issue virtual debit cards backed by its regulated e-money tokens and sponsor third-party fintechs seeking to offer stablecoin-linked payment products across Europe. Under the agreement, Quantoz will be able to issue Visa-branded virtual cards tied to balances held in its USDQ, EURQ and EURD e-money tokens, allowing users to spend those funds online, in stores and through mobile wallets. The company will also act as a BIN sponsor, enabling fintech partners to embed card issuance directly into their platforms. Read more

At Davos, Jeremy Allaire said Circle's stablecoin functions as shared infrastructure rather than a competitor to banks or card networks. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company views its dollar-pegged stablecoin as neutral financial infrastructure with network effects, rather than a product meant to compete with existing payment companies. Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box during the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, Allaire said Circle does not view card networks such as Visa or Mastercard as competitors, describing them instead as “significant partners.” According to Allaire, stablecoins are “network effect businesses,” with usage and circulation increasing as more developers and institutions integrate, adding that Circle operates as a “neutral company” that does not compete with banks, payment companies or exchanges. Read more

Visa has chosen BVNK to power Visa Direct pilots using stablecoins, enabling pre-funded cross-border payouts to wallets in select markets. Visa has chosen United Kingdom‑based stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK to power new Visa Direct pilots, allowing some business customers to pre‑fund cross‑border payouts in stablecoins and deliver digital US dollars directly to recipients’ wallets in select markets. The partnership, announced Wednesday, builds on Visa’s earlier stablecoin experiments, including onchain settlement tests with USDC on networks like Ethereum and Solana. The move follows a strategic investment in BVNK in May 2025 through its Visa Ventures arm, as card schemes race to embed tokenized dollars into their treasury and payout rails. Read more

Wyoming launched a state-backed stablecoin on Solana, and Morgan Stanley filed for a Solana trust product this week. Last month, Visa expanded USDC settlement to run on Solana rails, and JPMorgan tokenized commercial paper using Solana for part of the settlement stack. These are not rumors or roadmap promises. They happened over 60 days, and […] The post Solana is becoming settlement rail for Visa and JPMorgan but one metric still scares insiders appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Dune Analytics data reveals a surge from $14.6 million to $91.3 million in net spend across Visa's key crypto cards, led by EtherFi, in 2025.  Visa-issued crypto cards saw a massive spike in usage in 2025, with the total net spend increasing by 525% last year. According to Dune Analytics data, the total net spend for six crypto cards issued by blockchain projects in partnership with Visa went from $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million at the end of December. The six cards tracked come from crypto payments platforms GnosisPay and Cypher, along with decentralized finance projects EtherFi, Avici Money, Exa App, and Moonwell.  Read more

Binance has halted Visa and Mastercard withdrawals for Ukrainian users who relied on Bifinity services, citing changes linked to regulatory shifts. Binance has suspended card-based withdrawals for users in Ukraine, according to a notice sent to customers this week. The changes took effect on Monday and include the temporary halt of direct withdrawals to bank cards issued by Visa and Mastercard, several local Ukrainian news outlets reported. A Binance spokesperson confirmed the news to Cointelegraph, adding that the “announcement regarding changes to payment methods applies exclusively to users from Ukraine who previously used Bifinity services.” Read more

Visa launched USDC settlement for US financial institutions, starting with Cross River and Lead Bank on Solana, with a wider rollout planned for 2026. Payment processing giant Visa has launched USDC settlement services for some United States-based financial institutions. Visa said Tuesday that its USDC (USDC) settlement service is available for US financial institutions, with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank as the first participants; they have already begun settling with Visa in USDC on the Solana blockchain, and a broader rollout is expected in 2026. The report follows USDC issuer Circle’s launch of the public testnet for its layer-1 blockchain Arc, with over 100 major partners, including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, in late October. Visa noted that it is a design partner for the network, which “offers the performance and scalability needed to help support Visa’s global commercial activity.” Read more

Visa has partnered with crypto infrastructure company Aquanow to expand stablecoin settlement across the CEMEA region, cutting cross-border costs and friction. Visa is expanding its use of stablecoins for settlement in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) through a new partnership with crypto infrastructure company Aquanow. In an announcement Thursday, Visa said it partnered with Aquanow “to settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC, reducing costs, operational friction, and settlement times.” The company said the move came amid strong demand from banks and payment companies for faster, cheaper cross-border payments. The move aims to leverage stablecoins to digitize the back end of money movement and to enable 24/7 settlement. Godfrey Sullivan, Visa’s head of product and solutions for the CEMEA region, said the integration will allow institutions in the region “to experience faster and simpler settlements.” Read more

Tangem Pay enables users to spend Circle’s USDC stablecoin worldwide through a virtual Visa card that connects directly to Tangem’s self-custodial hardware wallet. Cryptocurrency wallet company Tangem has launched Tangem Pay, a virtual Visa card connecting directly to the hardware wallet and allowing users to spend stablecoins at millions of merchants worldwide. Launched in collaboration with US payment infrastructure company Paera, Tangem Pay enables users to deposit and spend Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin on the Polygon network, Tangem said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Wednesday. “Once the user deposits into their Tangem Pay account, they can spend anywhere Visa is accepted, regardless of the local currency,” Tangem Pay CEO Marcos Nunes said, adding that the solution supports Apple Pay and Google Pay for instant Visa payments. Read more

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) enjoy the highest level of consumer trust in Romania, according to a new study commissioned by Visa, a global leader in digital payments.

Circle's Arc blockchain testnet goes live with BlackRock, Visa, and 100+ companies—aiming to be the internet's financial operating system.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) has launched the public testnet for Arc, its open Layer-1 blockchain designed to bring more economic activity onchain. The post Circle Launches Arc Testnet With BlackRock, Visa, and AWS — A New Era for Onchain Finance? appeared first on Cryptonews.