Japanese investment bank Mizuho has called Visa (V) “the stablecoin among stablecoins,” arguing that the payments giant has become a vital part of the global stablecoin infrastructure.
Visa’s growing network of stablecoin-linked card programs, which now has more than 130 programs in more than 40 countries, with spending quadrupling year-over-year, gives it a central role in blockchain-based payments, according to Wednesday’s report.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is tied to another asset, such as the US dollar or gold. They play a major role in cryptocurrency markets, providing payment infrastructure, and are also used to transfer money internationally. Tether’s USDT is the largest stablecoin, followed by Circle Internet’s USDC (CRCL).
The bank has Outperform on Visa shares with a price target of $425. The stock was down 1%, around $343.30, at press time.
Visa could become one of the biggest beneficiaries of stablecoin adoption, helped by momentum from the GENIUS Act and its long-running Visa Direct initiative, analysts Dan Dolev and Alexander Jenkins wrote. Visa Direct has grown about 50% annually since 2016 and now accounts for about 15% to 20% of global debit volume, or more than $1.1 trillion, they said.
With a growing range of stablecoins, from USDT and USDC to PayPal’s PYUSD and various central bank projects, analysts said a centralized hub like Visa offers a powerful competitive advantage.
Analysts also highlighted Visa’s move to allow banks to mint and burn their own stablecoins using its tokenized asset platform, suggesting that individual stablecoins such as USDC become interchangeable and that networks like Visa or Mastercard (MA) will ultimately capture the most value.
Visa currently supports four stablecoins on its platform, USDG, PYUSD, EURC and USDC. Mizuho said this was just the beginning.
As stablecoins become increasingly commoditized, the bank sees Visa’s role as a “network of networks” or “stablecoin of stablecoins” as a key driver of long-term growth.
The bank’s analysts reiterated their view that Circle (CRCL), the issuer of USDC, is overvalued, maintaining an underperform rating and a price target of $84.
Circle shares fell 3.45%, trading around $131.37 at press time.
Learn more: Visa pilots pre-funded stablecoins for cross-border payments
