Global payment networks Stripe, Visa and Mastercard are set to introduce a new stablecoin platform, according to three people familiar with the plans.
US-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is also exploring the possibility of participating in the stablecoin platform, one of the people said.
Coinbase, Stripe and Visa declined to comment. Mastercard did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Stablecoins, one of the busiest areas in crypto, have become a focal point for major card networks and payments players. The total stablecoin market capitalization is around $325 billion, according to data from CoinGecko. The market is dominated by Tether’s USDT, at $115 billion.
Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion. Mastercard, which acquired stablecoin company BVNK earlier this year, announced plans this week 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.
Since August 2023, Coinbase and Circle Internet (CRCL), issuer of the second largest stablecoin, have entered into a revenue sharing agreement, which is due to be renewed in August this year. The token, USDC, has a market capitalization of $76 billion.
As part of the agreement, Coinbase retains 100% of the interest income generated by USDC held on exchanges, while sharing revenue 50/50 for USDC circulating across all off-platform and decentralized financial (DeFi) ecosystems.
