Visa Expands Stablecoin Rails Across Base, Polygon, and Institutional Chains

By Matt Brienen

Published: 2026-04-30T15:32:50+00:00

Visa is accelerating its push into blockchain-based payments, expanding its stablecoin settlement program to five additional networks: Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Arc, and Tempo.

The move brings Visa’s total supported networks to nine, signaling a clear shift toward a multi-chain settlement future rather than reliance on a single blockchain ecosystem.

At the core of this initiative is Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot, which allows financial institutions to settle transactions directly in stablecoins instead of traditional banking rails. The program has already reached a $7 billion annualized run rate, growing rapidly quarter over quarter—evidence that real-world usage is moving beyond experimentation.

Each newly added network serves a distinct role in this evolving infrastructure. Base and Polygon provide high-throughput, low-cost environments suited for consumer-scale payments, while Canton focuses on privacy and compliance for institutional finance. Arc, developed by Circle, is designed to bridge programmable money with real-world economic activity, and Tempo targets efficient liquidity movement across settlement flows.

What makes this expansion notable is not just the technology—it’s the strategy. Visa is positioning itself as a universal settlement layer across multiple blockchains, allowing issuers and payment partners to choose the network that best fits their needs while still settling through Visa’s global system.

This reflects a broader industry shift: stablecoins are increasingly being used not just for trading, but for actual payment settlement, treasury operations, and cross-border transfers. By integrating multiple chains, Visa is effectively future-proofing its infrastructure in a world where liquidity and users are spread across ecosystems.

The bigger takeaway is simple—traditional finance isn’t replacing blockchain, it’s integrating it. And with Visa now operating across both legacy rails and on-chain settlement networks, the line between the two is starting to disappear.