BlackRock and Visa double down on stablecoins, what are smart money seeing?

Author | Cathy, Plain Language Blockchain

In January 2026, the total market capitalization of global stablecoins surpassed $317 billion, setting a new record high.

But what’s truly worth paying attention to isn’t this number itself, but the trend behind it: Circle’s USDC surged 73 in 2025, maintaining a growth rate for the second consecutive year that outpaced Tether’s USDT (36%). In December 2025, Visa announced the launch of USDC settlement services in the United States.
When the world’s largest payment network begins settling with stablecoins, when BlackRock, managing $10 trillion in assets, issues on-chain currency funds, and when JPMorgan settles $3 billion daily via blockchain—what are these traditional financial giants seeing?

1. Why are traditional financial giants going all-in on on-chain?
   In March 2024, BlackRock launched BUIDL—a tokenized money market fund.
   This isn’t BlackRock’s first attempt at blockchain; however, it’s the most aggressive so far. BUIDL is issued directly on a public chain, holding U.S. Treasuries and cash, maintaining a $1 net asset value, and distributing earnings monthly to holders.
   By March 2025, BUIDL broke the $1 billion mark, becoming the first on-chain fund to reach this scale. By the end of 2025, its size exceeded $2 billion, making it the largest tokenized fund to date.
   What did BlackRock see?
   The answer is simple: efficiency and cost.
   Traditional money market funds require T+1 or T+2 settlement for subscriptions and redemptions, and cross-border transfers often go through the SWIFT system, incurring multiple fees. On-chain funds, however, transfer instantly, with fees under $1, and operate 24/7.
   More importantly, BUIDL opened a new channel. Previously, retail investors found it difficult to directly buy money market funds (which usually require over $1 million minimum). But through blockchain, anyone can buy.
   This is why protocols like Ondo Finance have emerged.
   Ondo’s approach is straightforward: repackage BlackRock’s BUIDL and other institutional-grade RWA products into smaller shares and sell them to DeFi users. Its OUSG product directly invests in BUIDL, allowing ordinary users to enjoy 4-5% annualized returns on U.S. Treasuries.
   The tokenization of U.S. Treasuries exploded in 2025, skyrocketing from less than $200 million at the start of 2024 to over $7.3 billion by the end of 2025 (according to RWA.xyz data). BlackRock’s entry, to some extent, provided regulatory legitimacy for the entire RWA sector.
2. Why choose USDC instead of USDT?
   Tether(USDT) remains the king of stablecoins, with a market cap of $186.7 billion, accounting for 60% of the market share.
   But smart money is voting with its feet.
   In 2025, USDC’s market cap grew from about $44 billion to over $75 billion, a 73% increase. Meanwhile, USDT only grew 36%, from approximately $1.37 trillion to $1.87 trillion. This marks USDC’s second consecutive year of growth outpacing USDT.
   Why?
   The answer is: regulation.
   On July 18, 2025, the U.S. President signed the GENIUS Act, the first federal legislation targeting stablecoins in the U.S. The bill requires “payment stablecoins” to hold 100% reserves (cash or short-term government bonds) and prohibits paying interest to users.
   Circle’s USDC fully complies with this standard. Moreover, Circle became the first issuer globally to obtain full MiCA compliance from the European Union.
   What does this mean?
   It means USDC has gained access to the mainstream financial system.
   When Stripe chooses stablecoin payments, it opts for USDC. When Visa launches stablecoin settlement, it chooses USDC. When Shopify allows merchants to accept stablecoins, it supports USDC.
   For banks, payment companies, and compliant exchanges, USDC is a “whitelisted asset,” while USDT faces delisting pressures in Europe due to transparency issues with its reserves.
   But Tether isn’t worried.
   Because its main battlefield isn’t in the U.S. or Europe, but in high-inflation regions—Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia.
   In countries like Argentina, Turkey, and Nigeria, USDT has already replaced some local currencies, becoming a de facto “shadow dollar.” People’s first act after receiving their salary is to convert it into USDT for value preservation.
   The stablecoin market is diverging into two clear paths:
   USDC: the compliance route, serving institutions and payment scenarios in Europe and America, backed by top investors like BlackRock, Fidelity, and General Catalyst.
   USDT: the offshore route, serving emerging markets and trading scenarios, with an irreplaceable position in the Global South.
3. Are payment giants surrendering or evolving?
   In December 2025, Visa announced the launch of USDC settlement services in the U.S.
   This is a historic moment.
   In the past, Visa’s business model involved charging 1.5%-3% per transaction. Now, it allows partners to settle with USDC, significantly reducing fees.
   It looks like a self-revolution. But in reality, Visa is engaging in defensive offense.
   What threat does Visa see?
   Stablecoins are eating into its core business—cross-border payments.
   Traditional cross-border payments require multiple intermediary banks, layered fees, and take 3-5 days to settle. Stablecoin payments, however, settle in seconds with fees under $1.
   According to a16z’s report, in 2025, total stablecoin transaction volume reached $46 trillion (surpassing Visa), with adjusted payment/settlement volume around $9 trillion, growing rapidly and eating into cross-border/emerging market shares.
   Visa’s strategy: if you can’t beat them, join them.
   By launching USDC settlement, Visa transforms from a “payment channel” into a “payment orchestrator.” It no longer charges high fees but profits from providing compliance, risk management, anti-money laundering, and other value-added services.
   Meanwhile, other payment giants are taking action:
   Stripe: acquired stablecoin infrastructure platform Bridge for $1.1 billion in October 2024, one of the largest crypto acquisitions in history.
   PayPal: its stablecoin PYUSD surged 600% in 2025, from $600 million to $3.6 billion.
   Western Union: plans to launch USDPT stablecoin on Solana in the first half of 2026.
   Ten European banks: jointly established Qivalis, planning to launch euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026.
   Notably, Western Union and Visa’s initial partners both chose Solana as the settlement chain, highlighting the advantages of high-performance public chains in payment scenarios—high throughput and low transaction costs.
4. Banks won’t sit idly by
   Faced with pressure from non-bank institutions (Circle, Tether) and payment giants (Stripe, Visa), banks are not standing still.
   JPMorgan is the most aggressive.
   In early 2026, JPMorgan expanded its blockchain division Kinexys’ JPM Coin to the Canton Network to enable multi-chain interoperability. This isn’t a publicly traded stablecoin but a “deposit token.”
   Kinexys’ average daily transaction volume exceeds $3 billion. It mainly serves multinational corporations like Siemens and BMW for instant cross-border fund transfers between subsidiaries worldwide.
   JPMorgan’s logic is clear:
   We don’t need to issue tokens on public chains to compete with you. We just lock our clients into private chains, using blockchain technology to improve efficiency without losing control.
   In Europe, Société Générale has gone even further. Its SG-FORGE issued euro stablecoin EURCV and dollar stablecoin USDCV, the first stablecoins issued on a regulated bank’s public chain (Ethereum) and listed on compliant exchanges like Bitstamp.
   However, it’s important to note that bank-issued stablecoins like JPM Coin and USDCV mainly serve enterprise clients, not retail markets. They represent traditional financial institutions embracing blockchain technology while maintaining centralized control.
5. The trend of stablecoins becomes clear
   To summarize, the stablecoin market in 2026 is showing four clear trends:
   RWA Tokenization Accelerates
   BlackRock, Ondo, Franklin Templeton are issuing tokenized U.S. Treasuries and money market funds. This sector experienced explosive growth in 2025, skyrocketing from less than $200 million at the start of 2024 to over $7.3 billion by the end of 2025, a growth of over 35 times. Traditional financial institutions are tokenizing to bring U.S. Treasury yields into the on-chain world.
   Regulatory Path Becomes Clearer
   USDC grew 73%, surpassing USDT for two consecutive years. After the GENIUS Act’s passage, compliance has become the only choice for mainstream institutions. Backed by top investors like BlackRock and Fidelity, if its 2026 IPO plans materialize, it will be a major milestone for the stablecoin industry.
   Payment Infrastructure Reconstructed
   Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge, Visa’s USDC settlement launch, and PayPal’s 600% surge in PYUSD. Traditional payment giants are integrating stablecoins into their infrastructure rather than passively resisting. High-performance chains like Solana are becoming the preferred platform for enterprise applications due to their advantages in payment scenarios.
   Market Divergence Intensifies
   Stablecoins are no longer just “stable.” They are diverging into two distinct paths:
   Payment stablecoins (USDC, PYUSD): non-interest bearing, with regulatory backing, serving institutions and merchants.
   Yield-bearing stablecoins (Ondo USDY, Ethena USDe): offering 4-5% annual yields, attracting DeFi funds.
6. Summary
   When BlackRock starts issuing on-chain funds, when Visa begins settling with USDC, and when JPMorgan settles $3 billion daily—stablecoins are no longer just a “crypto” story but the beginning of a broader financial system overhaul.
   This isn’t hype or just a concept. In 2025, total stablecoin transaction volume reached $46 trillion, with adjusted payment/settlement volume around $9 trillion. These are real commercial flows.
   The entry of traditional financial giants indicates that stablecoins are transforming from “crypto tools” into “global financial infrastructure.” For those paying attention to this market, it’s not about predicting the next hot spot but understanding the underlying logic of this transformation.
   Smart money is already in action.