TL;DR:
- Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard are close to launching a new joint stablecoin platform, according to three sources familiar with the plans.
- Coinbase is also evaluating participation in the platform. The total stablecoin market is around $325 billion according to CoinGecko.
- Stripe paid $1.1 billion for Bridge in 2024 and Mastercard acquired BVNK this year. Various companies are showing interest in the payments market.
Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard are in an advanced stage of launching a new joint stablecoin platform, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans. The project, which has no official launch date yet, could also include U.S. exchange Coinbase, which is also reportedly evaluating its participation, according to one of the sources. None of the companies agreed to comment on the matter.
The initiative responds directly to the success of stablecoins, which are consolidating their position as one of the most active segments within the crypto industry. According to CoinGecko data, the total market capitalization is around $325 billion, led by Tether’s USDT at $115 billion, followed by Circle Internet’s USDC at $76 billion.
STRIPE, VISA, MASTERCARD TO BACK NEW STABLECOIN PLATFORM – COINDESK
COINBASE ALSO MULLS BACKING NEW STABLECOIN PLATFORM
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) June 3, 2026
The Financial Ecosystem Reorganizes Around Stablecoins
Various companies have joined the trend. Stripe acquired infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion, while Mastercard purchased the BVNK platform earlier this year and announced this week the expansion of its continuous stablecoin settlement service. Meanwhile, Visa reported in April that it is expanding its settlement pilot to nine blockchains, adding Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Arc, and Tempo to the already active Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar.
Coinbase, for its part, does not come to the negotiation empty-handed. Late last year it announced a white-label stablecoin service and the Coinbase Business platform for payments. It also maintains, since August 2023, a revenue-sharing agreement with Circle Internet for USDC: the exchange retains 100% of the interest generated by USDC held in custody on its platform and splits evenly the revenues from the external ecosystem, including the DeFi ecosystem. That agreement expires in August 2026.
The convergence of traditional payment networks, exchanges, and stablecoin issuers is tracing a parallel financial infrastructure that can no longer be ignored from the power centers of the conventional system.
