Visa Introduces USDC Settlement in the U.S. and Promotes Onchain Payments
Visa's USDC Settlement Initiative: Visa Inc. is modernizing payment systems by allowing U.S. institutions to settle obligations using USDC, a stablecoin, alongside traditional methods, enhancing speed and liquidity in transactions.
Collaboration with Circle and Blockchain Development: Visa is partnering with Circle to develop Arc, a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain, aimed at supporting Visa's commercial activities and USDC settlements, further integrating blockchain technology into its operations.
Strategic Positioning in Financial Services: This initiative positions Visa as a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure, with plans for broader U.S. access by 2026 and the establishment of a Stablecoins Advisory Practice to assist financial institutions.
Stock Performance and Market Outlook: Visa's shares have increased by 8.7% over the past year, contrasting with a decline in the industry, while other financial service stocks like OppFi, FirstCash, and Dave have shown strong earnings growth and upward revisions in estimates.
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- Inflation Impact Analysis: Amid geopolitical tensions and soaring oil prices, analysts are concerned about rising inflation; while this may dampen consumer spending, Visa's transaction fee revenue increases with price hikes, allowing it to outperform most companies in inflationary environments.
- Massive Market Opportunity: Visa leads the financial services sector and benefits from a wide moat due to network effects, with trillions in cash and check transactions still available to integrate into its ecosystem, providing strong growth potential for the future.
- E-commerce Growth Tailwind: As the e-commerce market continues to expand, digital payment methods become essential, positioning Visa to benefit from this long-term trend, further solidifying its market position and driving revenue growth.
- Dividend Growth Potential: Although Visa's forward yield is 0.9%, lower than the S&P 500's 1.2%, its 378.6% dividend increase over the past decade and a modest cash payout ratio of 21.5% indicate significant room for future hikes, enhancing long-term returns for investors.
- Outstanding IPO Performance: Visa went public on March 19, 2008, at an adjusted price of $11 per share, and has since surged to around $300, meaning a $10,000 investment would now be worth over $272,700, highlighting its strong investment return potential.
- Stable Revenue Growth: From fiscal 2015 to 2025, Visa's revenue and earnings per share (EPS) grew at CAGRs of 11% and 12%, respectively, maintaining steady growth even amid pandemic and economic uncertainties, making it a reliable choice for long-term investors.
- Competitive Pressure: Visa faces pressure from merchant groups and government regulators to lower swipe fees, while also contending with competition from buy now, pay later platforms and digital payment systems, which could impact its future profitability.
- Future Growth Expectations: Analysts project Visa's EPS to grow at a 16.5% CAGR from fiscal 2025 to 2028, and if it achieves this target, its stock could approach $1,200 by 2036, showcasing significant growth potential.
- Stock Performance Review: Since its IPO in 2008, Visa's stock price has surged from $11 to approximately $300, indicating that a $10,000 investment at IPO would now be worth over $272,700, highlighting its appeal for long-term investors.
- Stable Revenue Growth: From fiscal 2015 to 2025, Visa achieved revenue and EPS CAGRs of 11% and 12%, respectively, maintaining steady growth despite economic challenges like the pandemic and inflation, making it a reliable choice for long-term investors.
- Competitive Pressure: Visa and Mastercard face pressure from merchant groups and regulators to lower swipe fees, while also contending with competition from buy now, pay later platforms and digital payment systems, which may force them to adjust their business models to retain market share.
- Future Growth Expectations: Analysts project Visa's EPS to grow at a 16.5% CAGR from fiscal 2025 to 2028, and if these estimates are met, its stock could approach $1,200 by 2036, indicating potential investment returns, but it must overcome current challenges.
- Strategic Shift: OpenAI has decided to abandon its Instant Checkout feature in favor of developing dedicated apps with retailers, aiming to enhance user experience and give retailers more control over the transaction process to better compete in the e-commerce landscape.
- User Experience Challenges: Analysts noted that OpenAI underestimated the complexities of enabling transactions, leading to errors in the Instant Checkout feature, with only about 30 Shopify merchants participating, highlighting the difficulties in technical implementation.
- Market Response: Walmart's data indicates that conversion rates for products sold directly in ChatGPT are three times lower than those that redirect users to retailer websites for checkout, suggesting that users prefer completing purchases on retailer sites, impacting OpenAI's e-commerce potential.
- Future Outlook: Despite the challenges faced by OpenAI, analysts believe that AI shopping is still in its early stages, with the potential to attract more retailer investments, especially through new apps that enhance the shopping experience.
- Solana's Technical Edge: Solana achieves transaction speeds of 2,000 to 5,000 TPS through its unique proof-of-history mechanism, significantly surpassing Ethereum's 15-30 TPS, and has attracted 17,708 active developers, making it the second-largest blockchain developer platform, showcasing its competitive strength in the rapidly growing crypto market.
- Market Partnerships and Applications: Major companies like Visa and Shopify have partnered with Solana, with Visa using it for stablecoin payments and Shopify integrating Solana Pay into its checkout services, which not only enhances Solana's utility but also lays a foundation for future price growth.
- Cardano's Selective Development: Cardano's blockchain supports around 250 TPS, while not as fast as Solana, its rigorous project approval process makes it an ideal partner for large companies and government clients, with expectations of attracting more high-quality projects in the future.
- Future Upgrades and Investment Appeal: Cardano's upcoming privacy upgrade and Hydra technology are expected to enhance transaction speeds and efficiency, attracting more institutional investor attention and further strengthening its appeal as a long-term investment.
- Developer Growth for Solana: By the end of 2025, Solana hosted 17,708 active developers, making it the second-largest blockchain developer platform after Ethereum, indicating rapid ecosystem expansion that could further enhance its market position.
- Transaction Speed Advantage: Solana's Layer 1 blockchain achieves real-world speeds of 2,000 to 5,000 transactions per second, significantly surpassing Ethereum's 15-30 TPS, which enhances its application potential in digital payments and e-commerce, attracting more business partnerships.
- Uniqueness of Cardano: Cardano's L1 blockchain achieves around 250 TPS in real-world conditions, while its capped supply of 36 billion tokens provides investment value through both scarcity and utility, with potential to attract more developers in the future.
- Future Upgrade Potential: Cardano's upcoming privacy upgrade and Hydra technology are expected to enhance transaction speeds and efficiency, drawing attention from large enterprises and institutional investors, thereby strengthening its competitive position in the market.











