Visa and Mastercard explore stablecoin alliance with Stripe and Coinbase

Preliminary talks on a possible new platform involve major payments and crypto firms, with no formal agreement yet reached in the more than $300 billion market led by USDT and USDC.

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Summary

Visa and Mastercard are in early talks with Stripe and Coinbase on a potential stablecoin alliance and platform that could reshape the more than $300 billion market dominated by USDT and USDC. The discussions remain preliminary, and no agreement has been reached. If pursued, the effort could broaden stablecoin use in retail payments through the companies’ merchant networks and create a new source of reserve-interest income, highlighting how large payments groups and crypto firms are positioning for a bigger role in dollar-pegged digital tokens.

Terms & Concepts
  • stablecoin: A digital token designed to maintain a steady value, often by being pegged to the U.S. dollar.
  • USDT: A dollar-pegged stablecoin that is one of the dominant tokens in the market.
  • reserve-interest income: Earnings generated from interest on the reserves backing stablecoins.