Global payment networks Stripe, Visa and Mastercard are close to introducing a new stablecoin platform, according to three people familiar with the plans.
U.S.-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is also looking into the possibility of participating in the stablecoin platform, one of the people said.
Coinbase, Stripe and Visa declined to comment. Mastercard had not responded to requests for comment by publication time.
Stablecoins, one of the busiest areas of crypto, have become a focal point for the large card networks and payments players. The total stablecoin market cap is about $325 billion, according to CoinGecko data. The market is dominated by Tether’s USDT, at $115 billion.
Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion. Mastercard, which acquired stablecoin firm BVNK earlier this year, said this week it plans to expand always-on stablecoin settlement.
In April, Visa announced it was expanding a stablecoin settlement pilot to nine blockchains, adding Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Arc and Tempo to existing support for Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar.
Late last year, Coinbase announced a white-label stablecoin service, as well as the Coinbase Business service for stablecoin payments.
Since August 2023, Coinbase and Circle Internet (CRCL), issuer of the second largest stablecoin, have had a revenue-sharing agreement, which comes up for renewal in August this year. The token, USDC, has a market cap of $76 billion.
Under the deal Coinbase keeps 100% of the interest income generated from USDC held on the exchange, while splitting revenue 50/50 for USDC circulating across all off-platform and decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems.