Visa stablecoin push knocks Circle down 6%

Visa on Thursday launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform, a new infrastructure product for banks and payment processors to issue, manage, and settle stablecoin transactions through Visa’s network. The announcement hit public markets immediately: Circle shares fell roughly 6%, Coinbase dropped about 4.5%, and Visa stock rose about 2%, according to Bloomberg.

The platform debuts with native support for Open USD, a stablecoin backed by a consortium of more than 140 firms including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and BlackRock. In Visa’s announcement, Jack Forestell, the company’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer, said the goal is to make stablecoins “as easy to use as any other form of money on the Visa network.”

Visa is also packaging the service with Wallet-as-a-Service, aimed at institutions that want custody, compliance, and transaction management without building their own stack. Security features include:

• dual-control approval workflows
• audit logging
• passkey authentication
• configurable allow lists for counterparties

The product is currently in beta with select clients, and Visa said broader availability will expand in the coming months. It has not disclosed how many customers are testing the service or when general availability will begin.

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Open USD pricing puts pressure on Circle

The market reaction reflects Open USD’s economics. The stablecoin charges zero mint and redeem fees and returns nearly all reserve income to distribution partners, a model that directly challenges Circle, the issuer behind USDC.

The broader market is also getting much bigger. Total stablecoin circulation has passed $310 billion, and Morningstar projects that figure could reach nearly $1.5 trillion by 2035. The regulatory backdrop has also shifted: the US GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, established the first federal framework for stablecoins in the US.

The Open Standard consortium behind Open USD launched earlier this month with backing from Alphabet, BNY, Coinbase, and dozens of other companies, positioning itself as an alternative to Circle’s dominance.

Visa said the new platform will work alongside its existing stablecoin operations, including settlement infrastructure that hit a $7 billion annualized run rate in April and its stablecoin-linked card programs. The move echoes Mastercard’s acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK for nearly $2 billion earlier this year, while PayPal has continued expanding PYUSD. Together, those moves suggest stablecoins are now a core payments battleground, not a side project, for the industry’s biggest networks.