Visa adds Polygon, Base to expanded stablecoin payments program

Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot by integrating five additional blockchains, including Polygon and Coinbase's Base, with this coming amid a broader acceleration in stablecoin adoption.

The news ignited a slight bullish outlook for Polygon (POL) and other tokens.

Polygon, Base expansion part of strategic multi-chain move

Visa announced on Wednesday that it added Polygon, Base, Canton Network, Circle's Arc, and Stripe-backed Tempo to its stablecoin settlement program.

The move now sees these platforms become part of a network that initially supported Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar.

Visa’s solution is now accessible to nine networks and comes as the network hits $7 billion in annualized run rate.

The program has seen a 50% spike from the previous quarter.

“Our partners are building in a multi-chain world, and they expect their options to reflect that reality,” Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, said in a statement.

The integration gives partners the option to choose what “best fits their needs, while relying on Visa to provide a common settlement layer across all of them,” Birdwadker added.

The initiative builds on pilots in regions like Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, alongside USDC-linked card programs in over 50 countries.

Global adoption of stablecoins, with Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC the leading players, has increased significantly amid regulatory milestones across the world.

Many large financial institutions and banks see stablecoins as increasingly vital to cross-border payments, and blockchain integrations are helping bring this to users.

“Visa adding Polygon signals that stablecoins are moving into real-world payments at scale,” Polygon Labs chief executive officer Marc Boiron said. “By combining Visa’s global reach with Polygon’s fast, low-cost infrastructure, we are making stablecoin settlement more practical, reliable, and accessible for partners around the world,” he added.

Jesse Pollak, Base's founder, noted its role in "making stablecoin payments a daily reality for billions," while Canton Network's Eric Saraniecki highlighted compliance for institutions.

These partnerships underscore blockchain's maturation for mainstream finance, potentially accelerating adoption amid rising stablecoin volumes.

Polygon and Canton Network price outlook

Polygon (POL), the ex-MATIC token, did not react sharply to the news, largely as Bitcoin and Ethereum retested $76,000 and $2,270, respectively.

The same outlook played out for Canton Network (CC).

However, with traction a key factor to network activity, investors may see benefits from heightened visibility via Visa's program as bullish for the tokens.

Polygon, a blockchain platform for global payments and digital commerce, could target gains above $0.10 amid the rising daily volume.

The token traded around $0.091 on Wednesday, flat in the past 24 hours and down nearly 4% over the past week.

Meanwhile, Canton Network (CC), tailored for regulated markets, traded near $0.15 as of writing.

The token has earlier seen a brief upside to $0.16 amid a 200% spike in daily volume but faced downward pressure as BTC and ETH pared gains.