Global payment networks Stripe, Visa and Mastercard are close to introducing a new stablecoin platform, according to three people familiar with the plans.
US-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is also studying the possibility of participating in the stablecoin platform, one of the people said.
Coinbase, Stripe and Visa declined to comment. Mastercard had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Stablecoins, one of the most active areas of crypto, have become a focal point for large card networks and payment players. The total market capitalization of stablecoins is approximately $325 billion, according to data from CoinGecko. The market is dominated by Tether’s USDT, with $115 billion.
Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion. Mastercard, which acquired stablecoin firm BVNK earlier this year, said this week it plans to expand permanent settlement of stablecoins.
In April, Visa announced that it was expanding a stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains, adding Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Arc and Tempo to existing support for Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar.
Late last year, Coinbase announced a white-label stablecoin service, as well as the Coinbase Business service for stablecoin payments.
As of August 2023, Coinbase and Circle Internet (CRCL), issuer of the second largest stablecoin, have a revenue sharing agreement, which will be renewed in August this year. The token, USDC, has a market capitalization of $76 billion.
Under the agreement, Coinbase keeps 100% of the interest income generated by USDC on the exchange, while splitting the income 50/50 for USDC circulating across all decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems and off-platform.
