STABLECOINS THREATEN VISA REVENUES

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

Visa's Q4 2024 earnings highlight that cross-border volume (13–15% YoY growth) remains a core business driver, especially outside intra-Europe. When users transact abroad, like using an Estonian-issued card in the U.S., Visa must route funds via costly correspondent banking rails, adding surcharges (e.g., 1.5%). In contrast, stablecoins are borderless by default, eliminating both the need to move money across borders and the fees associated with it. This presents a structural threat to legacy networks like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal, whose margins depend heavily on cross-border volume.