Visa, Mastercard Back New USD Stablecoin to Rival USDT and USDC
A coalition of financial and crypto firms is launching a US dollar stablecoin that retains reserve earnings, potentially threatening Tether and Circle.
A powerful alliance of financial giants and cryptocurrency companies, including Visa and Mastercard, is joining forces to launch a new US dollar-backed stablecoin, setting up a direct challenge to the two dominant players in the space — Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC — according to a report from Cointelegraph.
One of the project's most notable features is its model of retaining earnings generated by the reserves backing the stablecoin. Traditional stablecoin issuers like Tether have drawn scrutiny and envy in equal measure for capturing billions in yield from the assets held in reserve, while token holders see none of that return. This new venture appears designed to keep that revenue within the consortium itself.
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The entry of legacy payment networks like Visa and Mastercard into stablecoin issuance marks a significant escalation in the mainstream financial sector's push into digital assets. Both companies have previously partnered with crypto firms on settlement and card products, but co-developing a stablecoin represents a deeper structural commitment to blockchain-based payments infrastructure.
Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC currently sit atop the stablecoin market by capitalization, commanding enormous liquidity across both centralized and decentralized exchanges worldwide. A consortium-backed rival with the institutional distribution reach of Visa and Mastercard could meaningfully disrupt that duopoly, though regulatory approval and market adoption remain critical hurdles ahead.
Continue reading at Cointelegraph.
