Visa, Circle and Ripple Back Stablecoin Payments Startup Velocity

Stablecoin Infrastructure Attracts Major Backers

Stablecoin payments startup Velocity has raised an additional $10 million from a group that includes Visa Ventures, Circle Ventures and Ripple, bringing its expanded Series A financing to $48 million.

The extension values the London-based company at $200 million after the investment. Haun Ventures, Translink Capital and Mirana Ventures also participated in the new financing, according to reporting from CoinDesk.

Velocity originally announced an oversubscribed $38 million Series A in July. That round was led by Dragonfly and FirstMark, with participation from Activant Capital, Capital One Ventures, QED Investors, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures and Ripple.

Adding Visa and Circle to that group gives Velocity support from both established payment infrastructure and major crypto-native companies. It is also another indication that large financial firms increasingly view stablecoins as practical settlement technology rather than simply assets traded within crypto markets.

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Velocity Is Building the Back-End Layer

Velocity is not trying to replace the payment systems already used by banks, fintech companies and payment providers. Its platform is designed to connect stablecoins with those existing systems, allowing businesses to introduce onchain settlement, liquidity management and treasury operations without rebuilding their entire technology stack.

That distinction is important. Consumers may eventually use stablecoin-powered financial products without knowing that a blockchain is involved. The visible experience can continue to resemble an ordinary card payment, bank transfer or business payout while stablecoins handle part of the funding and settlement process behind the scenes.

Velocity CEO Eric Queathem, a former Worldpay executive, described this back-end layer as an unresolved part of the payments market. Worldpay processes more than $2 trillion in payments annually, giving Queathem direct experience with the scale and complexity involved in connecting merchants, financial institutions and payment networks.

Velocity’s approach is therefore less about asking businesses to abandon traditional finance and more about giving existing institutions a way to use stablecoin liquidity when it offers a practical advantage.

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Visa Sees Stablecoins Moving Into Existing Networks

Visa’s participation is especially notable because Velocity is already working with the card network on real-world settlement infrastructure.

Velocity and MVB Financial recently announced a Visa Direct pilot that will allow MVB to use stablecoins to fund and settle eligible push-to-card payouts. The system is intended to bring stablecoin liquidity into existing banking and payment operations while keeping institutions connected to the networks they already use.

That can give participating institutions more flexibility when pre-positioning funds and meeting settlement obligations. Unlike conventional banking infrastructure, stablecoin networks can operate continuously rather than following limited banking hours and market schedules.

Visa has said stablecoins are playing a growing role in how value moves through its ecosystem. Its investment in Velocity suggests the company sees an opportunity to incorporate that technology into traditional payment rails instead of treating stablecoins as a separate or competing system.

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Why Circle and Ripple Fit the Strategy

Circle brings direct exposure to USDC and the infrastructure surrounding regulated dollar-denominated stablecoins. Ripple has spent years building blockchain-based payment and liquidity products for financial institutions. Their involvement gives Velocity access to companies operating on both the asset and payment sides of the stablecoin market.

The investment does not mean that every Velocity transaction will necessarily use a specific stablecoin or Ripple product. It does, however, align all three companies around the broader goal of connecting onchain value with banks, businesses and existing payment networks.

Velocity expects global companies to hold a growing portion of their capital onchain. Queathem has predicted that within five years, every global company will store some value onchain. That remains a forward-looking expectation rather than an established outcome, but the involvement of Visa, Circle and Ripple gives the thesis considerably more institutional weight.

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The Larger Stablecoin Opportunity

Stablecoins already offer fast, programmable and continuously available transfers, but moving money onchain is only one part of a functioning payment system. Businesses still need compliance controls, liquidity management, accounting connections, treasury tools and access to local banking and card networks.

That integration layer may become one of the most valuable parts of the stablecoin industry. The companies that make blockchain settlement compatible with existing financial systems could benefit even if consumers never interact directly with a wallet or realize stablecoins are being used.

Velocity’s expanded $48 million Series A shows that investors are increasingly focused on this less visible infrastructure. With a $200 million valuation and backing from Visa, Circle, Ripple and several major venture firms, the startup is positioning itself at the point where traditional payment rails and onchain finance begin to merge.