New York, March 3, 2026, 14:53 (ET) — Regular session
- Visa shares barely budged following news of the company expanding its stablecoin-linked card initiative.
- Visa and Stripe’s Bridge unit are ramping up: what started in 18 countries is set to reach over 100 by year-end.
- Investors are eyeing any news on on-chain settlement, along with potential updates when Visa reports its next earnings.
Visa shares ticked up roughly 0.05% to $320.66 Tuesday afternoon, following news the payments giant will broaden stablecoin-linked card offerings in partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm under Stripe’s umbrella. Mastercard, Visa’s competitor, gained 0.8%.
This matters for Visa: the company wants stablecoins—those cryptocurrencies usually pegged to the U.S. dollar—locked in with its own network, not routed around it. “Anyone who’s building a stablecoin wallet needs to have a card connected to it,” said Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, speaking to Fortune. Fortune
Company headlines broke as risk-off sentiment gripped investors, sending major Wall Street indexes lower. Oil prices surged, and the market tensed up over renewed inflation fears tied to escalating conflict in the Middle East. “The main concern is that (oil prices) goes to over $100 a barrel and stays there,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. Reuters
Visa and Bridge now plan to roll out stablecoin-backed Visa cards in more than 100 countries, a major jump from the current 18. Users will be able to tap into stablecoin balances anywhere Visa cards are used, according to the two firms. Some settlements will shift “onchain,” handled over blockchain infrastructure instead of standard bank rails, thanks to Bridge’s partner, Lead Bank. “Visa is committed to meeting businesses where they operate, and increasingly, that’s onchain,” Sheffield said. Visa
Visa’s update outlined a broader experiment: its stablecoin settlement pilot is designed to find out if using stablecoins can provide issuers and program managers with more flexibility, speed up reconciliation and accelerate fund movement. The company also noted it’s looking at potentially backing Bridge-issued assets in its future transactions. As Bridge CEO Zach Abrams put it, the move targets firms seeking to roll out their own stablecoins so they can “use them seamlessly within their card programs.” Investing News Network (INN)
And for those tracking catalysts, Visa was on the docket to speak at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Tuesday morning.
Risks are hard to miss here. Rules for stablecoins are still shifting in key markets, while plugging on-chain settlement into tightly regulated payment systems is a complicated process. Should oil prices remain elevated and consumers step back, the spending volume that card networks rely on could dip—right as Visa pours money into fresh infrastructure.
Visa’s quarterly report lands April 28, per Yahoo Finance. Watchers want clearer insight on that stablecoin settlement trial and how soon the broader Bridge program might start showing up in actual transaction numbers.
