Key Takeaways
- Mastercard is launching new stablecoin infrastructure into its payments network.
- The rapid growth of stablecoins — especially those pegged to major currencies like the U.S. dollar — is increasingly catching the attention of traditional financial players.
- Stablecoin transactions totaled $35 trillion between February 2024 and February 2025.
Mastercard has announced it will offer merchants the option to receive payments in stablecoins, citing an increase in regulatory clarity for the sector.
The announcement comes as stablecoins experience rocket growth; transaction volumes have tripled since 2023 and have outpaced Visa’s annual transactions by more than double.
Mastercard Expands Into Stablecoins
On Monday, April 28, Mastercard announced it is “advancing the future of payments” by providing customers with global, end-to-end stablecoin acceptance and payment capabilities.
The U.S. payment giant said it had partnered with stablecoin issuers Circle and Paxos to deliver these crypto services.
“With increasing global regulatory clarity, stablecoins are evolving from crypto trading tools into essential solutions that bring efficiency and programmability to payments, disbursements, and remittances,” Mastercard said in a statement.
Earlier this year, U.S. lawmakers passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), creating a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the country.
Additionally, Mastercard is collaborating with crypto firm OKX to launch a new card dedicated to stablecoin payments.
Stablecoins Are Growing
The stablecoin market has exploded over the past year, with transaction volumes more than tripling between February 2024 and February 2025.
According to Dune’s State of Stablecoins 2025 report, stablecoins processed $35 trillion in transactions during this period — more than double Visa’s total annual payments volume.
Visa’s annual payments totalled $15.7 trillion — a decrease of $1.1 trillion from 2023.
The total stablecoin supply reached $214 billion, while monthly transaction volumes grew from $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion.
Mainstream Adoption
Mastercard’s move into stablecoins follows similar expansions by other major providers such as PayPal, Visa, and Stripe.
Visa, notably, became one of the first financial networks to settle a transaction in USDC in 2020.
Since then, it has expanded its crypto offerings, including crypto-powered debit cards and stablecoin payment solutions.
The integration of stablecoins offers strong business incentives for companies like Visa and Mastercard, as it bridges the gap between the traditional financial system and the emerging digital economy.
“When it comes to blockchain and digital assets, the benefits for mainstream use cases are clear,” said Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
