SS #128 - Visa Seeks New Stablecoin Settlement Partner

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Good morning.

Mastercard didn't just acquire a stablecoin firm when it bought BVNK, it took Visa's settlement infrastructure off the board, forcing its biggest rival back into a shrinking pool of multi-region licensed partners at exactly the moment Open USD needs to scale. The urgency here isn't really about stablecoins broadly, it's about Stripe's early infrastructure bet through Bridge now forcing both card networks to scramble for partners rather than build calmly, and whoever Visa lands on will have real leverage in a negotiation Visa didn't choose the timing of.

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In Today's Edition:

• Headline: Visa Seeks New Stablecoin Settlement Partner

• Quick Bites: HashKey Taps HK's First Regulated Stablecoin

• Yield of the Week: PT cUSDO (USDO)'s 34.35% APY

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HEADLINE

State of play: Visa is soliciting a new multi-region stablecoin settlement and OTC partner to replace BVNK's role after its acquisition by rival Mastercard, with licensing requirements spanning the US, Canada, UK, and Singapore.

• The RFP covers settlement for Open USD, the multi-stablecoin platform backed by Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard.

• Visa's existing ZeroHash partnership doesn't cover the regions specified in the newer RFP documents.

• The search follows Visa's own Stablecoin Platform launch last month, which currently supports OUSD as its initial token.

• Stripe's 2024 acquisition of Bridge for $1.1B is seen as a catalyst pressuring Visa and Mastercard toward stablecoin infrastructure deals.

What’s Next: Visa narrows its shortlist to settlement providers with full US, Canada, UK, and Singapore licensing, with a decision likely shaping how quickly Open USD scales across regions.

Why it Matters: Card networks are racing to lock down stablecoin rails before Stripe's infrastructure lead becomes structural, turning settlement partnerships into a competitive necessity rather than optionality.

Our Take: Losing BVNK to Mastercard is a real setback, Visa is now shopping in a thinner pool of multi-region licensed partners, and that scarcity gives remaining players real pricing leverage in these talks.

QUICK BITES

• Visa looking for new stablecoin settlement partner.

• OCC races to finalize GENIUS Act stablecoin rules by November.

• Wyoming joins $15B LayerZero exodus with state stablecoin move.

• US accounting-standards group wants stablecoins as 'cash equivalent.'

• HashKey taps HK's first regulated stablecoin to settle insurance and trade deals.

YIELD OF THE WEEK

PT cUSDO (USDO): 34.35% APY

• The market accepts cUSDO deposits, OpenEden's permissionless yield-bearing token backed by 6-month short-dated US Treasury bills, maturing October 29, 2026, on BNB Chain.

• Capital is deployed via Pendle Router, with 1 cUSDO converting to 1.05844 USDO at maturity, with the market currently trading outside its intended 3.50-30.00% range.

• Yield is generated from US Treasury bill income flowing through OpenEden's TBILL product, with the PT locking in a fixed 34.35% APY while YT holders capture remaining variable yield.

PT earnAUSD (AUSD): 10.45% APY

• The market accepts earnAUSD deposits, Upshift's liquid yield vault on Monad curated by Gamma Research, maturing October 8, 2026, while also earning 7.5x Upshift Points and MON rewards backed by $30k in monthly incentives.

• Capital is deployed via Pendle Router into earnAUSD's vault, with 1 earnAUSD converting to 1.03668 AUSD at maturity and withdrawals processed within 4 days.

• Yield is generated from diversified Monad DeFi strategies managed by Gamma Research, with the PT locking in a fixed 10.45% APY while YT holders capture remaining variable yield and points.

PT 40acresUSDC (USDC): 10.37% APY

• The market accepts 40acresUSDC deposits, a USDC lending vault on Base generating yield from veAERO holders taking self-repaying, non-liquidatable USDC loans against veNFT collateral, maturing August 27, 2026.

• Capital is deployed via Pendle Router into 40acres' vault, with epoch rewards claimed every Thursday automatically repaying loans and distributing yield linearly throughout each epoch.

• Yield is generated from veAERO voting income and loan interest, with the PT locking in a fixed 10.37% APY while YT holders capture remaining variable yield, with redemption liquidity replenished every Thursday.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.