Visa introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform on Thursday, enabling banks and fintech companies to issue, manage and settle stablecoins through its payments network. The service launched with support for Open USD from Open Standard. Circle shares fell about 5 percent following the announcement.
The platform provides institutions with tools to mint, store, transfer and redeem stablecoins in one Visa-managed system. It includes wallet infrastructure, blockchain connectivity and security features such as dual-approval workflows and audit logs.
Visa said the service integrates with its existing payment network, allowing stablecoin use for treasury management, settlement and payments without replacing current systems. Jack Forestell, Visa's chief product and strategy officer, stated that stablecoins open a new layer of programmable money but operational reality remains the challenge for most institutions.
The launch supports Open USD, a stablecoin backed by Visa, BlackRock, Alphabet and Coinbase. Open Standard offers no minting or redemption fees and returns nearly all reserve income to partners. The move intensifies competition in the stablecoin market, where Circle's USDC ranks second behind Tether's USDT.
