Japanese investment bank Mizuho called Visa (V) the “stablecoin of stablecoins,” arguing that the payments giant has become a core part of the global stablecoin infrastructure.
Visa’s expanding network of stablecoin-linked card programs, now over 130 in more than 40 countries, with spending up fourfold year-on-year, gives it a central role in blockchain-based payments, according to the Wednesday report.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is tied to another asset, such as the U.S. dollar or gold. They play a major role in cryptocurrency markets, providing a payment infrastructure, and are also used to transfer money internationally. Tether's USDT is the largest stablecoin, followed by Circle Internet's (CRCL) USDC.
The bank has an outperform rating on Visa shares with a $425 price target. The stock was 1% lower, around $343.30, at publication time.
Visa could emerge as one of the biggest beneficiaries of stablecoin adoption, helped by momentum from the GENIUS Act and its long-running Visa Direct initiative, analysts Dan Dolev and Alexander Jenkins wrote. Visa Direct has grown about 50% annually since 2016 and now accounts for roughly 15%–20% of global debit volume, or over $1.1 trillion, they said.
With a growing array of stablecoins, from USDT and USDC to PayPal’s PYUSD and various central bank projects, the analysts said a centralized hub like Visa offers a powerful competitive advantage.
The analysts also pointed to Visa’s move to let banks mint and burn their own stablecoins using its tokenized asset platform, suggesting that individual stablecoins such as USDC are becoming interchangeable, and that networks like Visa or Mastercard (MA) will ultimately capture the most value.
Visa currently supports four stablecoins on its platform, USDG, PYUSD, EURC and USDC. Mizuho said this is only the beginning.
As stablecoins become more commoditized, the bank sees Visa’s role as the “network of networks” or “stablecoin of stablecoins” as a key long-term growth driver.
The bank's analysts reiterated its view that Circle (CRCL), the issuer of USDC, is overvalued, maintaining an underperform rating and an $84 price target.
Circle shares fell 3.45%, trading around $131.37 at publication time.
Read more: Visa Pilots Pre-Funded Stablecoins for Cross-Border Payments
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