Visa expands data offering for blockchain lenders

Visa said Tuesday morning it will make more data available to companies lending on the blockchain as stablecoin-linked cards are met with strong demand.

The payments giant will pair its settlement data with onchain lending infrastructure, giving lenders greater insight into the financial performance of digital asset-focused fintech firms and card issuers. The program aims to speed up borrowing for these businesses as they grow rapidly.

Visa currently operates more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs for issuers and program managers, a nearly 200% increase year over year as more crypto businesses launch cards for customers.

“Stablecoin-linked cards are in hypergrowth mode,” Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, told CNBC in an exclusive interview. He said there are new issuers, including stablecoin neobanks and fintech firms, joining the network and launching cards every week.

To meet the demand surge and need for capital, the company is establishing partnerships to allow new issuers access to financing programs through smart contracts and onchain credit, Sheffield said.

“We’ve been running a pilot with a company called Credit Coop that is enabling a credit facility for stablecoin-linked card providers, which we think is a positive step forward for how onchain credit can start to come into our network,” Sheffield said.

Credit Coop says it has processed $2.7 billion in total volume on its platform through smart contracts and no borrower has ever defaulted.

Over the past six years, nearly $700 billion in stablecoin-denominated loans have been sent through onchain lending protocols, according to Visa. The company said much of that activity remains concentrated within crypto markets, but this new offering can help lenders better understand how a business is operating, which could simplify the process of evaluating financing opportunities.

Last year’s passage of the GENIUS Act established U.S. stablecoin regulation and turbocharged adoption of the technology. Sheffield called the legislation a “huge” turning point.

“We’re seeing banks, we’re seeing some of the largest payment companies in the world that are coming to us that want to be able to engage and work with Visa, leveraging stablecoins within our existing products or build new products together with them,” he said.

Visa in July launched its stablecoin platform, which allows for settlements, expands stablecoin-linked card programs and aims to help financial institutions access new digital asset capabilities. With that, the payments giant joined traditional competitors like Mastercard, which is also investing heavily in stablecoins and has its own platform. PayPal and Circle also operate their own stablecoin platforms.

Visa shares have gained roughly 7% this year.