Visa Enters Stablecoin Arena as First TradFi Firm to Join Paxos’ USDG Consortium

Global payment processor Visa has signaled its entry into the stablecoin market by joining the Global Dollar Network (USDG). This stablecoin consortium is spearheaded by the regulated blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos. Notably, it marks a significant step for the payments giant as it deepens its commitment to digital assets. With this latest move , Visa has become the first traditional finance (TradFi) institution to join the stablecoin consortium. Who’s in the Consortium? The initial cohort of USDG participants includes several major players from the crypto and fintech sectors. These include crypto exchanges Kraken and Bullish; digital asset service firms Galaxy Digital, Robinhood, and Anchorage Digital; and payments platform Nuvei. Notably, USDG is Paxos’s new stablecoin initiative that goes beyond simple digital dollar issuance. Unlike Tether’s USDT or Circle’s USDC, which retain all the interest earned from their reserves, USDG takes a different approach. It shares that interest or yield with partner companies that help provide liquidity and build connections across the network. This model presents an incentive-aligned alternative that is especially attractive to fintech platforms and traditional payment networks. Notably, USDG operates under the regulatory oversight of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Additionally, DBS Bank—the largest bank in Southeast Asia—acts as both banking partner and custodian for the stablecoin. It oversees reserve management to ensure full backing and seamless, on-demand redemptions. Visa’s involvement in USDG follows a broader trend of major card networks entering the crypto ecosystem. The company has previously explored crypto payments and stablecoin settlements and was recently reported to be working with Sam Altman’s Worldcoin project. Stablecoin Race Heats Up As regulatory clarity emerges around stablecoins in the U.S., competition among issuers and networks is intensifying. The USDG stablecoin went live last November and currently has a market cap of $245.6 million. With this valuation, USDG ranks among the top 15 stablecoin projects by market cap, just below Ripple's RLUSD , which also launched in late 2024. Despite growing competition, Tether continues to dominate the $232 billion stablecoin market, commanding over 50% of the market with a valuation of $144.34 billion. It leads its closest competitor, USDC, by a landslide margin of more than $80 billion.