Visa’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield, on Why Stablecoins Are Opportunity, Not Threat

Visa on Stablecoins: Real Utility Lies Beyond Retail

As Washington moves to regulate stablecoins, a specter haunts the credit card industry: a world where giants like Amazon or Walmart issue their own digital dollars, bypassing Visa and Mastercard entirely. But while many in traditional finance see an existential threat, Visa’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield, sees the opposite. 

His message is startlingly calm: you’re all looking in the wrong place.

We don’t really think stablecoins solve much of a problem for retail payments [in the U.S.],

he told Business Insider, citing the effectiveness of the existing card infrastructure.

Instead, Visa is positioning itself to play a leading role in emerging markets, where demand for dollar-based transactions far exceeds access to them.

The Data: Stablecoins Aren’t Disrupting Retail Yet

Visa’s own on-chain analytics dashboard tells the story. Of the $7.8 trillion in adjusted stablecoin volume recorded over the last 12 months, only $52.2 billion (or 0.7%) came from transactions under $250. That includes peer-to-peer transfers and exchange activity, not just merchant payments. This massive volume, rivaling the GDP of major countries, proves stablecoins are already a serious force in global finance. But Visa’s data reveals an important twist: this revolution is not happening at the cash register.

Retail-sized transactions accounted for 957 million transfers (55.3% of total adjusted count), but the vast majority were small-value movements unrelated to shopping. 

“Most people tap for coffee, not a car,” Sheffield wrote on X, emphasizing that stablecoins are predominantly used for high-value transfers, cross-border settlements, and B2B flows.

The core issue is infrastructure: direct stablecoin payments at merchants remain rare due to limited acceptance, inconsistent user experience across chains, and lack of consumer protections.

Visa’s Bet: Bridge, Not Barrier

Instead of replacing Visa, stablecoins are being routed through it. The company is betting on stablecoin-linked cards – payment tools that let users spend USDC or similar tokens via existing Visa rails. 

If you hold stablecoins, you can spend at any merchant that accepts Visa. The merchant doesn’t need to change a thing,

Sheffield noted.

This model leverages stablecoins’ speed and borderless nature while preserving Visa’s global footprint and fraud controls. This strategy is a classic masterclass in turning a disruptor into a product. By routing stablecoin liquidity through its existing rails, Visa solves the ‘last mile’ problem for crypto users, generates revenue from a new asset class, and effectively neutralizes stablecoins as a direct competitor. It’s less a partnership and more a brilliant absorption.

The Long-Term Outlook: Regulation, Institutions, Access

Rubail Birwadker, Head of Growth Products and Partnerships at Visa, outlines three conditions for stablecoins to reach broader adoption:

1. Regulatory clarity – now emerging in Europe, and gradually in the U.S.
2. Institutional participation – banks and large enterprises offering stablecoin-based services
3. Simplified user experience – lowering the technical barrier to entry

Once these three align, stablecoin technology could really accelerate,

Birwadker said in a July 2025 briefing.

Stablecoins: A Global Infrastructure Bet

Visa’s strategy reflects a global shift. It expects stablecoins to gain traction in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Asia-Pacific, where traditional finance is either expensive or absent. In that context, stablecoins are less a threat to Visa’s card business than a tool to expand it.

Stablecoins may not yet be the future of retail payments, but they are already reshaping how dollars move across borders. Visa’s message is clear: it doesn’t intend to fight the coming stablecoin wave. It plans to build the financial ships that will ride it.