Visa and Mastercard express skepticism on stablecoins for payments
- Visa CEO Ryan McInerny stated that there is little demand for stablecoin payments in developed markets, as consumers have existing options.
- Mastercard’s CEO Michael Miebach noted the company supports stablecoins but sees trading as the primary use case, not everyday payments.
- JP Morgan reported that while stablecoins can be faster and cheaper than traditional fiat, risks include potential destabilizing runs, as seen with TerraUSD.
- Bitcoin transactions surpassed $25 trillion in value in a recent year, exceeding Visa’s $17 trillion and Mastercard’s $11 trillion combined transaction volumes.
- SoFi reported over 63,000 accounts actively engaging with digital assets after launching its crypto services late last year.
Despite ongoing developments in blockchain technology and interest from companies like SoFi, major payment processors remain cautious about the role of cryptocurrencies in daily transactions. The contrasting data shows significant activity within the cryptocurrency space compared to traditional payment networks.
Visa and Mastercard do not view stablecoins as a near-term opportunity for their businesses, even as Bitcoin continues to demonstrate substantial transaction volumes exceeding $25 trillion.
