The passage of the Guidance and Establishment of National Innovation in Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) by the U.S. Senate marks a pivotal step toward regulatory clarity for digital assets. As one of the world’s most influential payment networks, Visa has responded with strategic foresight. Jack Forestell, Visa’s Chief Strategy and Product Officer, recently published an article titled The Potential Genius of GENIUS, outlining how stablecoins could reshape global payments—and why Visa is positioning itself at the heart of this transformation.
This moment isn’t just about regulation; it’s about infrastructure, trust, and scalability. Visa sees stablecoins not as disruptors to be feared, but as partners in building the next era of digital programmable money.
A “Potential” Turning Point in Payment History
Jack Forestell describes the GENIUS Act as a “potential” milestone—not because its impact is uncertain, but because realizing the full promise of stablecoins requires far more than legislation. It demands a robust ecosystem built on three foundational layers: technology, reserves, and interface.
“We’ve been embracing stablecoins for years,” said Visa CEO Ryan McInerney in a recent CNBC interview. “The world hasn’t changed overnight, but we’re ready.”
Scaling any new payment method hinges on widespread trust—between buyers, sellers, issuers, and recipients. This trust doesn’t emerge instantly. It’s cultivated through reliability, security, fraud protection, dispute resolution, ease of use, and continuous innovation.
For stablecoins to become mainstream, they must succeed across three critical dimensions:
1. The Technology Layer
A scalable, secure, and fault-tolerant infrastructure is non-negotiable. Transactions must process quickly, securely, and without failure. Blockchain advancements have laid the groundwork, offering decentralized ledgers capable of handling high-volume settlements.
But technology alone isn’t enough.
2. The Reserve Layer
Stability breeds confidence. For a digital currency to be trusted, users must believe its value is backed and consistent. Regulated, reserve-backed stablecoins—like USDC or PYUSD—address this need by anchoring digital value to real-world assets, typically the U.S. dollar.
3. The Interface Layer
This is where adoption lives or dies.
Even with perfect tech and solid reserves, stablecoins will fail to scale without a user-friendly, globally accessible interface. This layer must:
- Provide clear rules, standards, and security for all parties
- Scale to serve billions of users
- Enable seamless conversion between stablecoins and local fiat currencies
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Without solving the interface challenge, stablecoins risk remaining niche tools—useful for closed-loop systems or wholesale financial plumbing, but absent from everyday consumer transactions.
Bridging the “Last Mile” with Strategic Partnerships
Solving the last-mile problem—the final step connecting digital value to real-world use—is where major players are now focusing.
Several companies are building bridges between traditional finance and crypto-native systems:
- Visa invested in BVNK, a regulated banking platform, integrating it with Worldpay and LianLian Pay to expand global acceptance.
- Circle, issuer of USDC, built the Circle Payments Network with financial institutions worldwide to enable instant settlements.
- Stripe acquired Bridge and Privy to embed stablecoin capabilities directly into platforms like Shopify.
- Ripple leveraged its XRP Ledger and RippleNet network to launch RLUSD, targeting cross-border payments.
- PayPal launched PYUSD, integrating it into PayPal and Venmo to reach over 400 million users.
PayPal’s approach offers a roadmap for mass adoption:
- Awareness: Regulatory milestones like the GENIUS Act raise public consciousness.
- Utility: Users begin transacting with stablecoins in real-world scenarios.
- Ubiquity: Stablecoins become invisible—seamlessly embedded in daily life.
This mirrors Visa’s own evolution: once a novel concept, credit cards are now so ubiquitous that users rarely think about the network behind them.
“True adoption means people aren’t thinking about blockchain or stablecoins,” says Forestell. “They’re just paying.”
Why Scale Matters More Than Innovation Alone
Visa operates the largest third-party payment network in the world—trusted by banks, merchants, and consumers across 200+ countries. Its infrastructure supports:
- Over $1 trillion in annual transaction volume
- Nearly 14 billion digital tokens
- 4.8 billion Visa credentials in circulation
Since 2020, Visa has facilitated over $100 billion in crypto-related flows—$95 billion in purchases and $25 billion in spending—proving its commitment to bridging traditional and digital finance.
But Visa’s real advantage lies in what it calls “Visa as a Service”—a stack of tools that eliminate friction for users:
- No need to ask: Will the merchant accept my payment?
- No wallet setup required
- No gas fees or blockchain selection anxiety
- Built-in privacy protections
- Access to rewards and credit features
- Reliable customer support
This ecosystem removes barriers that currently limit stablecoin adoption.
The Threat of Disintermediation
Despite Visa’s strengths, disruption looms. Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon are exploring their own stablecoins to bypass traditional payment rails—and avoid hefty interchange fees.
Consider the math:
- Walmart pays ~$10 billion annually in card fees on $648 billion revenue.
- Eliminating these costs could boost profits by over 60%.
- Chipotle could increase profitability by 12% by switching to low-cost stablecoin payments.
- Kroger, with razor-thin margins below 2%, could potentially double profits.
Stripe already offers stablecoin processing at 1.5%, 30% lower than standard credit card rates.
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This shift threatens Visa’s revenue model—but also presents an opportunity: partner with innovators instead of resisting them.
Where Do Stablecoins Actually Solve Problems?
Jack Forestell often hears: What problem do stablecoins solve?
His answer: financial inclusion—especially outside developed markets.
While U.S. consumers already enjoy efficient digital banking (90%+ efficiency), many emerging economies operate at just 30–40% financial efficiency. Stablecoins can close that gap dramatically.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirms: over 60% of USDT usage occurs in emerging markets, not crypto trading. From Nigeria to Argentina, people use USDT to preserve value amid inflation and access dollar-denominated trade.
Core use cases include:
- Protection against hyperinflation
- Cross-border remittances (C2C)
- B2B international payments
- Access to global commerce for unbanked populations
There are still 3 billion unbanked adults worldwide. Tether claims 450 million users—a fraction of the opportunity.
“Tether isn’t competing with Visa,” says one analyst. “It’s competing with cash—and winning in places where banking doesn’t reach.”
FAQs: Understanding Stablecoin Adoption
Q: Will stablecoins replace credit cards soon?
A: Not immediately. In developed markets, existing systems work well. Stablecoins will gain traction first in high-inflation countries and cross-border transactions.
Q: Are all stablecoins safe?
A: Only regulated, reserve-audited stablecoins like USDC or PYUSD offer strong guarantees. Always verify transparency reports before use.
Q: How does Visa benefit from stablecoins?
A: By enabling settlement in stablecoins while maintaining its network dominance—earning fees without bearing currency risk.
Q: Can small businesses accept stablecoins easily?
A: Yes—platforms like Stripe and PayPal now offer plug-and-play solutions that convert stablecoin payments into local currency automatically.
Q: Is privacy better with stablecoins?
A: On public blockchains, transactions are transparent. However, privacy-preserving layers and regulated custodians can enhance confidentiality.
Q: What role does regulation play?
A: The GENIUS Act provides legal clarity for issuers and users—a crucial step toward institutional adoption.
Final Thoughts: The Road to Ubiquity
Stablecoins won’t succeed because they’re technologically superior—they’ll succeed when they disappear into the background of daily life.
Visa understands this better than most. Its goal isn’t to own every stablecoin transaction but to ensure every transaction runs through its network.
Whether you’re sending money across borders or buying groceries in Lagos, the future of payments will likely involve a stablecoin—and a Visa-powered interface making it seamless.
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The GENIUS Act may have passed in Washington, but the real genius lies in execution—and building systems so intuitive, so reliable, that no one needs to understand how they work to benefit from them.
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