Circle's Arc Layer 1 blockchain went live on September 16, 2026, with over 100 applications and institutional validators including BlackRock, DTCC, Visa, and Mastercard. The company minted 10 billion ARC tokens at launch, with gas fees charged in USDC.
MoneyGram, the 86-year-old global payments company, has launched its first stablecoin-backed Visa card in Colombia, allowing eligible customers to hold stable-dollar balances and use them for spending and cash access through the MoneyGram app. The company plans a worldwide rollout following the initial Colombia launch.
Payment giants Visa, Mastercard and fintech company Ant International announced a joint initiative to develop common standards for identifying and verifying AI agents that can make purchases on behalf of users, creating a 'Know-Your-Agent' framework.
Visa announced it will make more data available to companies lending on the blockchain, responding to strong demand for stablecoin-linked payment cards. The payments giant is pairing its settlement capabilities with expanded data services for the emerging crypto lending sector.
Visa announced it will integrate VisaNet settlement data with onchain lending infrastructure to help stablecoin-linked card issuers and fintech companies access working capital. The system uses payment and blockchain transaction records to automate lending decisions as demand for stablecoin cards increases.
Dunamu, operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has entered a strategic partnership with Visa to develop stablecoin-based payment systems, cross-border remittances, and AI-driven financial services. The roadmap unveiled in San Francisco includes OUSD-based business models and agentic commerce initiatives.
South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group has signed a strategic agreement with Visa to test stablecoin issuance, remittances and redemptions using Visa's stablecoin platform, while also developing AI-powered payment models for the Korean market.
Casper and Payouts.com announced a partnership combining spending controls with stablecoin settlement to address payment challenges for autonomous AI agents, targeting what Visa has identified as the hardest trust problem in agentic commerce. The initiative comes as industry experts debate liability and payment infrastructure for AI agents making independent purchases.
Major payment networks Visa and Mastercard have joined Rain and Fireblocks to launch the Agentic Payments Alliance, a coalition aimed at standardizing protocols and infrastructure for AI-powered autonomous commerce where AI agents can make purchases independently.
Visa is searching for a new stablecoin settlement and over-the-counter partner with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, UK, and Singapore following Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK, the payments firm Visa had previously been working with.
Visa Inc. is integrating stablecoin funding and payout capabilities into its Visa Direct platform through a collaboration with blockchain infrastructure provider zerohash. Eligible clients will be able to use stablecoins for transactions through the payment network.
Visa is adding stablecoin prefunding and payout capabilities to its Visa Direct platform through a collaboration with onchain infrastructure provider Zerohash, enabling eligible clients to conduct cross-border payments using stablecoins across 195 countries.
Western Union has partnered with stablecoin infrastructure provider Rain to launch Stablecard, a digital wallet and Visa-branded card that allows users to hold and spend USDPT, Western Union's US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Anchorage on Solana. The product is now available in 37 markets globally.
Visa announced it will purchase Israeli behavioral biometrics company BioCatch for $2.4 billion in cash from Permira and other investors, marking the payment giant's largest cybersecurity acquisition as it seeks to combat rising AI-powered fraud and scams.
Visa presented its most detailed stablecoin roadmap to date during its fiscal third-quarter earnings call on July 28, 2026, outlining plans to integrate stablecoin capabilities across its payment network. The company reported $11.6 billion in Q3 revenue.
Crypto payment platform MoonPay has added Discover Network as its third major U.S. card network, alongside Visa and Mastercard. The integration allows eligible Discover Network cards to be used for cryptocurrency purchases and sales through MoonPay, while MoonPay said U.S. cardholders can buy thousands of supported tokens, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana.
Multiple cryptocurrency wallet providers are introducing Visa-branded payment cards that allow users to spend their digital assets in everyday transactions. BloFin Wallet announced a Visa card alongside perpetual contract trading features, while RedotPay launched an RLUSD card enabling 8 million users to spend against their XRP holdings through a margin loan structure.
Samsung Electronics revealed plans to integrate stablecoin support into Samsung Wallet during its Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, aiming to transform the platform into a comprehensive financial ecosystem connecting payments, rewards, and digital assets for Galaxy device users.
Coinbase has introduced three offerings that enable businesses to accept payments from AI agents, expand agent-assisted crypto trading and help developers integrate x402 payments. The company also said agent traffic exceeded human traffic on Base documentation pages for the first time.
Visa announced the Visa Stablecoin Platform, an infrastructure layer allowing banks and financial institutions to integrate stablecoin payments into its network serving over 200 million merchants. The move comes as Japan's JCB card network also partnered with Circle to test USDC stablecoin payments across 40 million merchant locations.
Visa announced the Visa Stablecoin Platform, an infrastructure layer allowing banks and financial institutions to integrate stablecoin payments into its network serving over 200 million merchants. The move comes as Japan's JCB card network also partnered with Circle to test USDC stablecoin payments across 40 million merchant locations.
The Linux Foundation has formally launched the x402 Foundation, backed by major payment networks including Visa, Mastercard, and Ripple, to create an open standard for internet-native payments by AI agents and applications. The protocol, originally developed by Coinbase, processed 75 million transactions worth $24 million last month.
A consortium of over 140 major financial and technology companies including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, Coinbase, and Bank of New York Mellon launched Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin that shares reserve earnings with participants. The announcement caused Circle Internet Group shares to tumble 15% as the initiative directly challenges existing stablecoin leaders.
Coinbase partnered with Cardless to launch a stablecoin-backed credit card, while Visa and Mastercard are preparing to enter the stablecoin market and compete over AI agent payment infrastructure, challenging the decade-long dominance of Tether and Circle.
