Visa Controls 90% of Crypto Card Market with $4.5B Stablecoin Settlement Volume

January 21, 2026 - In the frenetic, high-stakes world of cryptocurrency, fortunes are made and lost in the blink of an eye. But behind the scenes, a quiet giant has been methodically building an empire, not in volatile digital currencies, but in the very rails that move them. That giant is Visa, and its dominance in the crypto card and stablecoin settlement market is a story of strategic foresight, relentless execution, and the sheer, unadulterated power of its global network.

While others were chasing the fleeting glory of the next big token, Visa was laying the groundwork for a future where crypto and traditional finance would inevitably converge. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2025, Visa-issued crypto cards saw a staggering 525% growth in net spending, jumping from a mere $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million by December [1]. The company now controls over 90% of the $18 billion annual crypto card transaction volume, a near-monopoly that has gone largely unnoticed by the wider market [2].

"Visa's strategy has been nothing short of brilliant," a recent report from a leading fintech publication noted. "They recognized early on that the real prize wasn't in issuing a new currency, but in controlling the network that all currencies, digital or otherwise, would have to travel on."

Visa's crypto strategy is a two-pronged attack. On the one hand, it has aggressively partnered with leading DeFi protocols and crypto card issuers like EtherFi, Cypher, and Gnosis Pay, effectively becoming the default payment network for the crypto economy. On the other hand, it has been quietly building out its stablecoin settlement capabilities, a move that could prove to be its most strategic yet. The company's stablecoin settlement volumes have reached a $4.5 billion annualized rate, and while this is still a small fraction of its $14.2 trillion total volume, it is growing month-over-month [3].

The recent partnership with BVNK to power stablecoin payment pilots for Visa Direct is a clear indication of Visa's ambitions. By enabling real-time, cross-border payments using stablecoins, Visa is not just competing with traditional systems like SWIFT; it is building a faster, cheaper, and more efficient alternative. The company has also expanded its stablecoin settlement capabilities to 10 new countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia, a move that will further entrench its position as the go-to network for global crypto payments [4].

For traders, quants, and investors, Visa's quiet conquest of the crypto payments market is a powerful reminder that the most significant opportunities are often not the most obvious ones. While the crypto world has been fixated on the price of Bitcoin, Visa has been building the plumbing of a new financial system, one where it is poised to be the ultimate toll collector.

References

[1] Visa-issued crypto cards surge 525% in 2025 [2] MEXC News [3] Visa crypto chief bets on stablecoin settlement, sees volumes growing [4] Visa expands stablecoin settlement to 10 new countries