Visa and Mastercard Back New USD Stablecoin to Rival USDT and USDC
A new dollar stablecoin backed by Visa, Mastercard, and crypto firms aims to challenge Tether and Circle's dominance in the stablecoin market.
A major new stablecoin play is forming, and it's got serious muscle behind it. Visa, Mastercard, and a coalition of crypto companies are joining forces to launch a US dollar stablecoin — one that could directly take on Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, the two biggest stablecoins by market cap. This isn't a startup moonshot. These are legacy financial giants placing a real bet on stablecoin infrastructure.
What makes this project different is the reserve earnings angle. The consortium is structured so that participating companies keep the yield generated by the dollar reserves backing the coin. That's a massive incentive — reserve earnings on a large stablecoin are no joke, and controlling that revenue stream is exactly why Tether has been printing billions in profit. These players want a seat at that table.
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For traders, this is worth watching closely. USDT and USDC have dominated stablecoin volume for years, but institutional distribution networks like Visa and Mastercard could accelerate adoption in ways crypto-native issuers simply can't match. If this coalition gains traction, it reshapes on-ramp and off-ramp dynamics across the entire crypto ecosystem.
The competitive pressure on Tether and Circle is about to get real. Circle already went public to shore up its position. Tether has geographic diversification working in its favor. But neither has the merchant network and banking relationships that Visa and Mastercard bring to the table. Watch stablecoin market share numbers closely over the next 12 to 18 months.
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