Shares in Twenty One Capital on Wednesday surged after hours. Source: Google Finance
Global payments giant Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to include Polygon and four other blockchain networks, signaling continued experimentation with crypto-based payment infrastructure.
The pilot, launched by Visa in 2023, allows partners to settle transactions using stablecoins rather than traditional banking rails. Newly supported networks include Polygon, Base, the Canton Network, Arc and Tempo. They join existing supported chains such as Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche.
The expansion comes as the program has reached an annualized settlement run rate of roughly $7 billion, growing about 50% quarter over quarter, according to Visa. Despite that growth, volume remains small compared to the company’s core payments business.
The initiative is designed to evaluate whether stablecoins can offer faster settlement, round-the-clock availability and efficiencies in cross-border payments.
Key stablecoin statistics and average cost savings relative to traditional payments. Source: Bessemer Venture Partners
Crypto payments platform MoonPay is launching an institutional unit after acquiring Sodot, an Israeli crypto security infrastructure provider.
MoonPay on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Sodot, using Sodot’s key management technology as the core infrastructure layer of its new business serving financial institutions, asset managers, trading firms and exchanges entering digital asset markets.
"We built MoonPay to be the world's leading crypto payments network,” MoonPay co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said in a press release, adding that its institutional arm is the next stage for the company.
According to Bloomberg, the deal closed in April in an all-stock transaction valued at around $100 million. MoonPay did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment to confirm the deal’s details.
The move expands MoonPay’s business beyond retail crypto payments and reflects rising demand from traditional finance companies for secure wallet and custody infrastructure as they expand into digital assets.
The unit will be led by Caroline Pham, who joined MoonPay as its chief legal officer and chief administrative officer in December after serving as acting chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission before joining MoonPay in late 2025.
Source: MoonPay
Facts Only
Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to include Polygon, Base, Canton Network, Arc, and Tempo.
The pilot was launched in 2023 and allows partners to settle transactions using stablecoins.
Existing supported blockchain networks include Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, and Avalanche.
The pilot’s annualized settlement run rate is roughly $7 billion, growing about 50% quarter over quarter.
MoonPay acquired Sodot, an Israeli crypto security infrastructure provider, in an all-stock deal valued at around $100 million.
The acquisition closed in April 2025.
MoonPay is launching an institutional unit using Sodot’s key management technology.
The unit will serve financial institutions, asset managers, trading firms, and exchanges.
Caroline Pham, former acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will lead the institutional unit.
MoonPay’s institutional arm aims to provide secure wallet and custody infrastructure for digital assets.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The expansion of Visa’s stablecoin pilot and MoonPay’s institutional push reflect a broader trend of traditional finance cautiously embracing blockchain-based payment infrastructure. Visa’s move signals confidence in stablecoins for faster, cross-border settlements, though the $7 billion run rate remains a fraction of its core business—a pragmatic acknowledgment of both potential and current limitations. MoonPay’s acquisition of Sodot underscores the growing demand for institutional-grade security in digital asset markets, with Pham’s leadership adding regulatory credibility.
Yet, questions linger about scalability and systemic risks. Stablecoins, while efficient, rely on trust in issuers and underlying collateral—an assumption that has faltered in past crises (e.g., TerraUSD’s collapse). The institutional rush into crypto custody also raises concerns about concentration risks if a few providers dominate the space. Who benefits most from these shifts? Incumbents like Visa and MoonPay stand to gain by bridging traditional and decentralized finance, but the long-term implications for financial sovereignty—especially for smaller players—remain unclear.
Bridge questions: How might regulatory scrutiny evolve as stablecoin settlements scale? Could this institutional adoption accelerate centralization in crypto, contradicting its decentralized ethos? What would it take for stablecoins to meaningfully disrupt, rather than complement, traditional payment rails?
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