Visa Settles $3.5B in USDC on Solana as January Stablecoin Volumes Hit $10.5T
Visa settled $3.5 billion of payments in USDC on Solana through Cross River and Lead Bank as of December 2025, integrating the Circle-minted token into its institutional settlement layer. In January, Circle’s USDC moved $8.3 trillion—nearly five times USDT’s $1.7 trillion—highlighting a major shift toward stablecoin rails.
1. Visa Integrates USDC Settlement
As of December 2025, Visa settled $3.5 billion of institutional transactions in USDC on the Solana blockchain, partnering with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank. This marks the company’s most significant use of blockchain-based settlement rails, moving beyond traditional correspondent banking to on-demand token settlement.
2. Record Stablecoin Transfer Volumes
January 2026 saw $10.5 trillion in stablecoin transfers on public blockchains, with USDC accounting for $8.3 trillion—almost five times USDT’s $1.7 trillion volume. By comparison, Visa processed $16.7 trillion in fiat volume across its entire fiscal year 2025, underscoring the rapid growth of crypto-based settlement.
3. Circle and Paxos as Institutional Minters
Circle and Paxos dominate institutional stablecoin issuance, with Circle’s USDC moving $8.3 trillion in January and Paxos’s PYUSD and USDG handling $22.8 billion and $11.7 billion respectively. Every major TradFi integration, from pay-out networks to debt settlements, traces back to one of these two minters.
4. Implications for Visa's Infrastructure
The shift to stablecoin rails concentrates settlement on a few issuers and custody providers, potentially lowering transaction costs and settlement times. Visa’s reliance on USDC also introduces new operational dependencies and counterparty risks, as custody firms like Fireblocks become critical nodes in its payment infrastructure.