BeInCrypto 100 Institutional Awards Nomination: Visa for Best Stablecoin Infrastructure

Stablecoins are getting bigger, a $320 billion market. But real payments are still in the early innings. Last year, a massive $33 trillion was processed through stablecoins, but less than 1% of it was actually used for payments. VISA is building the bridge to fill this gap. 

Visa is nominated for Best Stablecoin Infrastructure in the Tokenization & On-Chain Finance category at the BeInCrypto Institutional 100 Awards 2026. 

The nomination reflects how the company has moved beyond pilots and built a broader stablecoin stack across settlement, card issuance, payouts, analytics, advisory work, and blockchain governance.

Visa is proving critical to the stablecoin market as it reaches a new scale. While capitalization has hit $320 billion, the activity is largely institutional. 

Visa’s own analysis shows only a small share of adjusted stablecoin volume comes from transfers under $250.

That gap explains Visa’s strategy. The company is not treating stablecoins as a niche crypto product. It is treating them as new payment rails and treasury infrastructure. 

“We’re still at the very early stages of stablecoin adoption. Even with $33 trillion in volume, only about 1% is tied to real payment use cases. From Visa’s perspective, stablecoins are another form of money. We’re focused on how they can improve money movement, especially through stablecoin-linked cards, where the card becomes the bridge between digital assets and everyday spending,” said Andranik Mnatsakanyan, EU Stablecoin Practice Lead at Visa.

Turning On-Chain Money Into Something You Can Spend

By early 2026, Visa’s global stablecoin settlement activity had reached an annualized run rate of about $4.6 billion. The company now supports more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programs across 50+ countries.

The core buildout started with USDC settlement and has since expanded into a wider operating model. US issuers and acquirers can settle obligations with Visa on-chain, including over Solana, with support from early participants such as Cross River Bank and Lead Bank.

That has pushed stablecoins deeper into Visa’s existing network. Instead of sitting outside traditional payments, they now connect directly to the systems that issuers and fintechs already use.

Visa’s stablecoin card strategy is especially important because it solves a practical problem. Stablecoins may move quickly on-chain, but users still need a way to spend them in everyday commerce.

“Card is becoming the bridge. This is where your crypto, when you add in the wallet, now becomes a real fund that you can spend anywhere,” said Visa’s EU Stablecoin Practice Lead.

That logic now sits behind Visa’s partnership with Bridge, the Stripe-owned stablecoin infrastructure platform. 

By March 2026, Bridge-powered Visa cards were live in 18 countries, with a plan to expand to more than 100 by year-end.

Building the Stack Behind the Spend

Visa’s stablecoin work now goes well beyond cards.

In late 2025, the company launched a pilot that lets businesses using Visa Direct send payouts that recipients can choose to receive in USDC. 

The product has use cases like creator payouts, freelancer earnings, and cross-border disbursements where speed and dollar stability matter.

At the same time, Visa Consulting & Analytics launched a Stablecoins Advisory Practice to help banks, fintechs, and merchants plan issuance, custody, and treasury strategies. That shows the company sees stablecoins as an infrastructure shift, not just a product feature.

Visa has also moved into the governance layer. In March 2026, it was selected as a Super Validator on the Canton Network, a privacy-enabled institutional blockchain used by major financial institutions. Visa received the highest governance weight of 10, giving it real influence over upgrades and network direction.

A Bet on Where Money Moves Next

Visa has also built infrastructure for bank-issued tokens through the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform, or VTAP. The platform allows banks to mint, burn, and manage their own stablecoins and tokenized money products.

That is why Visa stands out in this category. It has built across the full chain: settlement, cards, payouts, advisory services, validator roles, analytics, and token issuance tools. 

The BeInCrypto Institutional 100 Awards recognize firms building the systems that could define the next phase of finance. Visa’s nomination reflects its role in turning stablecoins from a crypto asset into usable financial infrastructure.