Discuss the significance of Visa allowing US banks in the United States to use Solana-based USDC for payment settlement, a key milestone in the infiltration of “Internet-native currency” into the real-world payment system. 1. First, it needs to be clarified that payment settlement here refers to interbank settlement within the Visa payment system using USDC. This does not mean that ordinary consumers on the C-end can directly use USDC for payments. So, this is not consumer-side payment, but back-end settlement between institutions, but it opens the door for large-scale application of blockchain technology in traditional finance.

2. Previously, Visa began experimenting with USDC settlement in 2021, and since 2023, it has piloted in Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions, with annualized settlement volume reaching $3.5 billion. Now entering the US market signifies that stablecoins are shifting from “pilot” to “mainstream.”

3. The core reason is the efficiency, improved settlement speed, and usability of stablecoins:
1) Traditional bank settlements are usually limited to business days, relying on old systems like wire transfers, which are time-consuming and costly.
2) Using USDC on Solana enables near-instant settlement, 24/7 availability, lower costs, and higher programmability, helping banks improve liquidity management and reduce operational friction.

4. Of course, this also strongly endorses both USDC and Solana:
1) USDC, as the most compliant stablecoin (full reserve, 1:1 USD peg), has been chosen by Visa, further consolidating its position in institutional-level payment settlement.
2) This will accelerate institutional adoption of stablecoins, potentially boosting USDC circulation and market share.

But honestly, Visa’s move has a much greater early endorsement effect than directly increasing stablecoin issuance, because the amount of funds needed for bank settlement is not large; after all, settlement funds are highly liquid. Just like Visa’s pilot settlements in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, with an annualized settlement volume of $3.5 billion.
Of course, this also greatly endorses Solana.

5. This could put pressure on traditional payment networks (like Swift, ACH), driving the entire payment industry toward blockchain migration. It is estimated that in 2026, more US institutions will adopt this, possibly prompting competitors like Mastercard to follow suit, and stimulating more banks and enterprises to explore on-chain payments, tokenized assets, and other innovations.

The current payment system will become faster and more efficient as it migrates onto blockchain.