Summary
- Visa’s CEO said stablecoins in the U.S. are not particularly suitable for payments compared with existing digital payment infrastructure.
- Mastercard’s CEO said investment in stablecoins and AI agents is focused on building infrastructure.
- Mastercard’s CEO said stablecoins are simply another currency that may be used in the transaction space rather than for payments.
Executives at Visa and Mastercard expressed skepticism about using stablecoins for everyday consumer payments.
According to CoinDesk, a digital-asset (cryptocurrency) news outlet, Visa Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ryan McInerney said during an earnings call on the 30th (local time) that “the U.S. market already has sufficiently developed digital dollar payment methods based on checking and savings accounts,” adding that “in an environment where digital payment infrastructure is this mature, stablecoins are not particularly suitable for payments.”
Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach also said the company continues to invest in stablecoins, but assessed their usefulness as a payment method as limited. “We are investing in new technologies such as stablecoins and AI agents, but the focus is more on building infrastructure than on driving innovation,” he said, explaining that “stablecoins are simply another currency that can be supported on the Mastercard network, and the primary use case is in transactions rather than payments.”
Their remarks are interpreted as reflecting a view that stablecoins are more likely to be used in specific financial and transaction areas, rather than replacing existing payment networks.
JH Kim
reporter1@bloomingbit.ioHi, I'm a Bloomingbit reporter, bringing you the latest cryptocurrency news.
