News linked to both this project and an event.
According to The Block, New York-based stablecoin payment and tokenized asset company HIFI has announced the completion of a $37 million Series A financing round led by Left Lane Capital. Proceeds from the funding will be used to expand its tokenized capital market infrastructure and product lines. HIFI provides API infrastructure that integrates fund flows, compliance, and settlement capabilities, currently processing over $7 billion annually across 87 countries. Prior to this round, HIFI participated in a tokenized securities production trade co-hosted by DTCC, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Nasdaq in July. Later this month, it partnered with Visa to extend its stablecoin settlement platform to remittance and card payment scenarios, initially supporting stablecoin settlements for more than 4 billion Visa cards globally.
Odaily News: Visa has released its "Money Travels 2026" report, based on a survey of 2,192 U.S. adults, showing that if stablecoins were equipped with bank-grade fraud protection and deposit insurance, consumer willingness to use them would rise from 36% to 56%; if offered through existing financial institutions, willingness would also increase to 45%. The survey also found that 56% of respondents had never heard of stablecoins, and 64% of respondents had greater trust in payment providers than in the technology itself. Currently, the total global supply of USD-pegged stablecoins has exceeded $295 billion, with USDT at approximately $183.4 billion and USDC at approximately $76 billion; Visa's annualized stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed $20 billion, representing more than a 15-fold increase from a year ago. (The Block)
According to The Block, Visa released its Money Travels 2026 report. Based on a survey of 2,192 U.S. adults, consumer willingness to use stablecoins would rise from 36% to 56% if they feature bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance; if offered through existing financial institutions, willingness could also reach 45%. The survey also indicates that 56% of respondents had never heard of stablecoins, while 64% trust payment providers more than the technology itself. Currently, the global total supply of USD-pegged stablecoins exceeds $295 billion, comprising approximately $183.4 billion in USDT and around $76 billion in USDC. Visa's annualized stablecoin settlement volume has already surpassed $20 billion, representing an increase of over 15 times compared to a year ago.
Visa is closing a checkout loophole supported by crypto payment infrastructure company Crossmint. The loophole previously allowed users purchasing Meme coins with credit cards to have transactions classified under a merchant category code intended for digital media such as e-books, movies, and music.Visa has notified payment processors, including Checkout.com, that it will no longer accept that code for Meme coin transactions, giving processors a grace period to stop the practice, which is expected to end next week. Thereafter, Meme coin purchases must be processed as cryptocurrency transactions and are subject to Visa's corresponding rules.Chase had disputed a Visa transaction that was not flagged as a cryptocurrency transaction, arguing that its merchant category code was incorrect and that it should not have earned credit card rewards. The New York State Attorney General's Office is also aware of and reviewing the matter. (Decrypt)
Odaily News: Singapore-based compliant stablecoin payment company Dtcpay has announced the completion of a $25 million Series A funding round, led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, with SBI participating through two Singapore investment entities. Dtcpay provides stablecoin and fiat currency acceptance, storage, and trading services.The funds from this round will be used to expand its merchant network, build infrastructure, develop enterprise portal and consumer application features, and enter more regulated markets. Dtcpay has integrated with WalletConnect and launched a Visa-linked stablecoin-to-fiat card. (Bitcoin.com News)
According to Crypto in America, the US Senate failed to advance the crypto market structure bill known as the "Clear Act" this week with a 49-50 vote, with Democrats voting as a bloc against it and Republican Senators Collins, Hawley, and Moran joining the opposition. Following the setback, the focus of crypto regulation shifted from Congress to regulatory agencies: the SEC subsequently issued innovation exemption measures, paving a limited pathway for on-chain trading of tokenized US stocks, while the CFTC adopted a no-action stance regarding passive software providers and submitted a broader proposal for crypto market rulemaking to the White House. Meanwhile, Visa announced the closure of a loophole that allowed purchasing memecoins with credit cards in exchange for standard loyalty points, with related processors granted a grace period expected to expire next week. Some Democratic senators involved in the negotiations stated that the "Clear Act" is not "dead," with efforts to restart talks still underway.
Visa has partnered with Brale to leverage the SBC stablecoin on the Canton Network for a proof of concept, exploring privacy-compliant payment and settlement solutions for institutional users.
As reported by Fortune, Grayscale CEO Peter Mintzberg authored an article stating that Bitcoin rallied nearly 20% last week, recording its strongest three-day gains since 2023 as the crypto winter slowly thaws. However, he cautioned that market participants remain overly focused on short-term price fluctuations, overlooking the long-term structural growth of digital assets. Mintzberg highlighted two key drivers: first, sustained expansion in institutional demand. In 2025, the daily average capital inflow into spot Bitcoin ETPs exceeded $500 million, roughly 12 times the daily new supply from miners. Additionally, a 2026 EY survey revealed that 73% of institutional investors plan to increase their digital asset allocations. Second, accelerated enterprise blockchain adoption. In 2025, approximately 60% of Fortune 500 executives stated that their companies are actively advancing blockchain initiatives, with major players like Fidelity, Visa, and Stripe all positioning themselves in the stablecoin sector. He also noted the complementary nature of AI and public chain technologies, adding that emerging demands such as machine-native micro-payments and cross-border instant settlements will further drive real-world blockchain adoption. As regulatory frameworks grow increasingly clear, digital assets are rapidly integrating into the mainstream financial ecosystem.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Dunamu, operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, has announced a strategic partnership with global payment giant Visa. Both parties will jointly explore next-generation financial payment services leveraging stablecoins and AI. Cooperation areas include stablecoin payments and cross-border remittance services, business models for the USD stablecoin OUSD based on Open Standards, and "Agentic Commerce," which integrates AI with stablecoins to allow AI to handle the entire product search, purchase, and payment process on behalf of users. The specific service architecture has yet to be finalized, and implementation will proceed in phases in compliance with relevant regulations and regulatory requirements.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Shinhan Financial Group announced on August 26 that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Visa Inc. The two parties will collaborate on digital assets and next-generation financial services. Shinhan Financial plans to leverage Visa’s stablecoin platform to validate core functionalities including stablecoin issuance, transfers, and redemptions, and will jointly develop business models aligned with South Korea’s domestic financial regulatory framework and market conditions. Additionally, both sides will explore the application of stablecoins in financial services such as credit card bill settlement, advance AI-driven new payment models, and expand B2B and B2C payment services.
Odaily News: Payment company Visa is seeking settlement and over-the-counter (OTC) trading partners with cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. The partner will also be responsible for settlement of the newly launched Open USD stablecoin project, which plans to support multiple stablecoins. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, Visa is seeking new stablecoin settlement and OTC trading partners to replace BVNK, which was previously acquired by Mastercard. Relevant product request documents indicate that Visa expects partners to hold cryptocurrency exchange licenses in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Singapore, and to support multiple stablecoin conversion and settlement services, including handling settlement for the Open USD stablecoin project promoted by Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard.
crypto payment infrastructure company Moonpay has integrated Discover Network payments. Discover Network cardholders can now buy and sell cryptocurrencies through the Moonpay platform. Discover Network becomes the third major card brand supported by Moonpay in the United States, alongside Visa and Mastercard. Moonpay stated that this support is now available across its network of over 500 enterprise partners, including wallets, exchanges, and applications. Moonpay also supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, bank transfers, and regional payment channels. Founded in 2019, Moonpay serves over 30 million customers across 180 countries and holds the New York BitLicense, a New York limited purpose trust company charter, money transmitter licenses in multiple US states, and an authorization under the EU's MiCA framework.
a16z partner and head of a16z crypto, Chris Dixon, stated on the X platform that the U.S. should push for the passage of the CLARITY Act. Dixon noted that the GENIUS Act has proven that clear regulation can drive market growth, with the stablecoin market currently valued at approximately $315 billion, growing over 50% in the past year. Major institutions including BlackRock, JPMorgan, Visa, and Mastercard are deeply investing in blockchain infrastructure.He believes that while stablecoins currently represent only a part of the crypto market, the underlying blockchain networks they rely on still lack a unified regulatory framework. The CLARITY Act would establish clear rules for blockchain networks, clarify regulatory responsibilities in the digital asset market, and set unified standards to promote transparency, risk control, and market competition. The bill can also draw on traditional financial regulatory principles to reduce the risk of incidents similar to FTX.Dixon concluded that if the CLARITY Act passes, the U.S. will once again lead the future, just as it did during the commercial internet era. Without action, innovation may move to other countries and follow rules set by others there.
Mizuho analysts stated that if the U.S. crypto market structure bill, the "Clarity Act," is passed, while it may generally benefit the digital asset industry, the long-term impact on Circle could be negative. The reason is that regulatory clarity will attract more large institutions into the stablecoin market, further accelerating stablecoin commodification and eroding the revenue potential of Circle's USDC.Mizuho believes that the primary pressure Circle faces in the near term comes from Open USD. This stablecoin project is backed by a coalition of over 140 financial, technology, and crypto companies, with members including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, and Coinbase. Unlike Circle's model, which retains approximately 38% of USDC reserve yields, Open USD employs a "pass-through" model, distributing nearly all reserve yields to distribution partners while retaining only a small management fee.Analysts also noted that Coinbase, as the largest distributor of USDC, also supports Open USD. This could give Coinbase stronger bargaining power when renegotiating its revenue-sharing agreement with Circle in the future. The distribution agreement between the two parties could be up for renegotiation as early as next month.
: In an interview this week, Circle President Heath Tarbert responded to questions about the stock price falling from $260 to $62, stating that the company is focusing on long-term development. If it can fulfill its mission of building a full-stack internet platform infrastructure, the stock price will ultimately reflect that value in the long run. Addressing the new competition posed by the Open USD Alliance, which consists of 140 companies including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, and Google, Heath Tarbert noted that USDC, as a stablecoin natively supporting 34 blockchains, has built a network effect with a circulating supply of $73 billion that is extremely difficult to replicate. Discussing the difference in market position compared to Tether, he stated that USDC is the world's largest regulated stablecoin and boasts the highest real transaction volume.
According to Visa's official website, Visa and Artemis jointly released a report that deeply analyzes the current status and trends of AI agent payments based on real-time on-chain data. The report indicates that AI agent payments are divided into two categories: one is "macro commerce" where agents replace users to complete tasks like booking tickets and subscriptions, similar to traditional e-commerce payments; the other is "micro commerce" such as high-frequency, low-value API calls between software, where single transaction amounts are typically less than 1 cent. On-chain data shows that the open protocol x402, incubated by Coinbase and Cloudflare and now hosted by the Linux Foundation, has processed approximately 109 million transactions since launching in May 2025, with an adjusted transaction volume of about $15 million, mainly active on the Base, Solana, and Polygon chains; the Machine Payment Protocol (MPP), jointly built by Stripe and Tempo with Visa's contribution, launched in mid-March 2026 and completed approximately 115,000 transactions within weeks, with a settlement amount of about $25,000. The report notes that blockchain settlement costs have dropped to extremely low levels, making small payments in the 1-cent to 1-dollar range economically feasible for the first time, but agent payments still face significant challenges at the legal and regulatory level regarding trust, liability attribution, and dispute resolution. Visa stated that its goal is to build a unified foundation that simultaneously supports card-native trust authorization and machine-native settlement
Odaily报道 According to data from Visa's on-chain data platform, USDC has expanded its lead over USDT in stablecoin transaction volume during the first half of 2026. Data shows that the adjusted stablecoin transaction volume in June rose to $1.79 trillion, an increase of 63% month-over-month and 125% year-over-year from June 2025, setting a new all-time high. Visa's statistics have excluded non-genuine economic activities such as bot transactions and internal exchange transfers.The total stablecoin transaction volume for the first half of the year reached $8.82 trillion, surpassing the full-year 2024 level of $5.8 trillion, but still below the record $10.8 trillion set in 2025.Structurally, USDC accounted for approximately 70% of the volume in the first half of 2026, while USDT accounted for about 25%, indicating a significant shift in market share towards compliant stablecoins.Analysis points out that as banks and institutions increasingly use stablecoins for settlement and fund management—with institutions like Standard Chartered and BNY Mellon accelerating integration into the USDC ecosystem—stablecoin infrastructure is entering a phase of institutional expansion. (CoinDesk)
the Central Bank of Brazil stated during a hearing at the Congressional Economic Development Committee that stablecoins should be treated as electronic currency instruments, not digital assets. Fábio Araújo, an advisor to the Financial System Regulation Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum possess characteristics such as scarcity, transferability, and verifiability. Stablecoins, however, are different and should be understood as monetary instruments when they exhibit features of a means of payment. The Brazilian Congress is preparing to deliberate Bill No. 4308/2024, proposed by Congressman Aureo Ribeiro in 2024, to clarify rules for stablecoins. The Brazilian crypto economy association Abcripto opposes this classification. Its members include Binance, Coinbase, Fireblocks, Visa, Tether, OKX, and Ripio. Abcripto stated that this classification will lead to regulatory conflicts, affect stablecoin adoption among both institutional and retail users in Brazil, and hinder virtual asset service providers. The Central Bank of Brazil also recently issued a new resolution, elevating its supervision of virtual asset service providers to the same level as securities institutions. (Bitcoin.com News).
according to market sources, several financial and crypto institutions, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase, are planning to jointly launch a new stablecoin named "OUSD".The report states that the stablecoin project is expected to adopt a multi-party collaboration model and share related revenue mechanisms among the participating institutions. However, the specific structure, launch timeline, and regulatory arrangements have not yet been publicly disclosed.If the news is confirmed, it would mark a further deep integration between traditional payment giants and Wall Street asset management institutions in the stablecoin sector. The parties involved have not yet officially confirmed the reports.