Visa "Stablecoins will transform the $40 trillion global credit market"

Global payments company Visa said stablecoins could play a central role in the $40 trillion global credit market.

On the 16th (local time), according to Decrypt, Visa said in a report, "Stablecoin-based lending provides an opportunity for banks and financial institutions to migrate part of the existing credit market to programmable blockchain infrastructure." It added, "Understanding how programmable money is reshaping the credit market is both an opportunity and an imperative for financial institutions."

According to Visa, over the past five years, lending via stablecoins has amounted to $670 billion, and there are currently about 1.1 million borrowers in the market. The average loan size is around $76,000, but as of August this year it rose to $121,000.

Currently 98% of stablecoin lending is held by USDT and USDC. The market capitalizations of the two assets are $181 billion and $76 billion respectively, accounting for about 83% of the total stablecoin market ($307 billion). In particular, stablecoin market capitalization has increased by about $100 billion so far this year. This is interpreted as a result of the stablecoin regulatory proposal enacted in the United States, the 'GENIUS Act', providing a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins issued by U.S. companies.

Visa analyzed, "As stablecoins expand into the credit market, structural changes will emerge in the competitive dynamics of existing banks and financial institutions," adding, "Going forward, stablecoins will become a core technology leading the digital transformation of the global credit and lending ecosystem, beyond being merely a payment method."

However, concerns about the spread of stablecoins have also been raised. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned in the '2025 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR)' released the same day that "the spread of stablecoins could become an alternative to traditional safe assets and bank deposits," but "it could also trigger financial system risks such as excessive risk-taking, increased leverage, and maturity mismatches."