Visa Enables USDC Settlement for US Banks — Pilot on Solana with Cross River & Lead Bank

Published: 2025-12-17 08:33:00 |

Visa has launched USDC stablecoin settlement for U.S. issuer and acquirer banks, beginning pilot settlements on the Solana blockchain with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank. The initiative lets eligible banks settle VisaNet obligations in Circle’s USDC, offering faster and more predictable liquidity, seven‑day availability (including weekends and holidays), and continuous treasury flows while leaving cardholder experiences unchanged. Visa reported its international stablecoin settlement program had annualized over $3.5 billion as of Nov. 30 and plans to expand U.S. access to more banks through 2026. Visa is also partnering with Circle on the Arc public testnet as a design partner and intends to run a validator node on Arc when it goes live. Additionally, Visa Consulting & Analytics launched a Stablecoins Advisory Practice to help banks, retailers and fintechs design and integrate stablecoin-based payments and treasury services. Key executives quoted include Rubail Birwadker (Visa Global Head of Growth Products), Cuy Sheffield (Visa Head of Crypto) and Cross River CEO Gilles Gade. Primary keywords: Visa stablecoin settlement, USDC, Solana, Cross River, Lead Bank, Circle, Arc blockchain.

Neutral

Impact on USDC price is likely neutral. The announcement advances institutional rails by enabling banks to settle in USDC, improving liquidity timing and operational efficiency for payment flows — factors that favor broader utility and adoption of USDC over time. However, these changes are infrastructure and volume-focused rather than demand shocks to the token supply or speculative drivers. In the short term, pilots on Solana and plans to expand access through 2026 are unlikely to produce immediate large inflows into USDC that would move its price materially; USDC is a fiat‑pegged stablecoin designed to maintain parity with USD. Over the medium to long term, wider bank settlement use could modestly increase on-chain USDC circulation and transactional velocity, supporting sustained utility but not price appreciation above peg. Market risks that could alter this view include regulatory actions targeting stablecoin issuance or major operational faults in the chosen blockchains (e.g., Solana outage) that could temporarily disrupt settlement flows.