Visa adding support for four stablecoins on four unique blockchains, as spend quadrupled last quarter

In an effort to increase the ways payments can be settled and money moved across the Visa network, the debit and credit card giant plans to support multiple stablecoins.

"We are adding support for four stablecoins, running on four unique blockchains, representing two currencies, that we can accept and convert to over 25 traditional fiat currencies," Visa's CEO Ryan McInerney said during a fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.

Additionally, McInerney highlighted that "in Q4 stablecoin-linked Visa card spend quadrupled versus a year ago."

Like many other traditional financial institutions and payments companies, Visa sees increased potential for stablecoins, especially after the U.S. created regulatory certainty as it relates to USD-pegged tokens. While Visa has forged partnerships with crypto native firms in the past, in September, the company  launched a pilot to test stablecoins for cross-border payments, providing businesses with a new way to transfer money abroad more quickly.

McInerney also said Tuesday that Visa has, since 2020, "facilitated over $140 billion in crypto and stablecoin flows." He added that included users leveraging Visa credentials to purchase more than $100 billion in crypto and stablecoin assets.

"We now have more than 130 stablecoin-linked card issuing programs in over 40 countries," McInerney said on the call.

Visa's CEO also noted that his company has started enabling banks to mint and burn their own stablecoins.