Visa Embraces Stablecoins as Morgan Stanley and DTCC Move Into On-Chain Finance [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] Visa, the global payment technology company, has unveiled an enterprise platform that supports financial institutions and fintech firms in issuing, transferring, and managing stablecoins. Morgan Stanley has begun spot trading in virtual assets for retail clients on its online investment platform, while the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) are expanding pilot projects for financial transactions based on tokenized securities and deposits. In South Korea, lawmakers are also pushing ahead with legislation for the General Act on Digital Assets and pilot projects for deposit tokens and government bond tokenization.
According to the financial investment industry on the 21st, Visa introduced the 'Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP)' for financial institutions, fintech firms, and virtual asset companies. The platform allows clients to centrally manage stablecoin issuance, burning, custody, transfers, and wallet permissions in an environment operated by Visa.
As its first step, Visa will support 'OpenUSD,' a dollar-backed stablecoin launched by the Open Standard Consortium. Clients can connect bank accounts to on-chain wallets to issue and burn OpenUSD, as well as transfer and manage stablecoin funds. The platform also provides institutional controls such as user-specific permissions, dual approval, audit logs, and transfer allowlists.
VSP is linked to Visa's existing stablecoin settlement, card integration, treasury management, and foreign exchange solutions. It is designed to help existing clients incorporate stablecoin functions into their current payment and settlement processes.
However, it has not yet been formally launched for all customers. Some features, including wallet-as-a-service, are being tested in beta with a limited number of clients. Visa plans to decide when to expand the service based on test results and use cases.
Rather than issuing its own stablecoin, Visa is focusing on providing the operating infrastructure that allows financial institutions and fintech firms to apply stablecoins to payments, settlement, and treasury operations. The stablecoin business is broadening from issuance to institutional infrastructure such as wallets, transfers, and settlement.
Virtual asset trading services at financial firms are also expanding. Morgan Stanley has launched spot trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana for eligible retail clients on its online investment platform, E*TRADE.
In institutional finance, efforts are underway to apply tokenized assets in real operating environments. DTCC recently processed limited live transactions involving tokenized securities with major financial firms and virtual asset companies, and plans to launch related services in October based on those results.
SWIFT has also moved its blockchain-based shared ledger into an early-use stage. Seventeen banks, including Citigroup, HSBC Holdings plc, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, and BNY, are preparing live cross-border transactions using tokenized deposits. The structure links tokenized deposits issued by participating banks to a shared ledger, while final settlement is handled through existing bank payment networks.
Domestic financial firms are also continuing to invest in global blockchain infrastructure. Hanwha Investment & Securities has invested about 30 billion won in Digital Asset Holdings, a U.S. company that operates Canton Network, a blockchain platform specialized for institutional finance.
Through its '2026 Second-Half Economic Growth Strategy,' the government said it will push for legislation of the General Act on Digital Assets in the second half of the year, covering segmentation of digital asset industries, business conduct rules, and stablecoin institutionalization. It also plans to advance a pilot project in 2027 that will tokenize government bonds in connection with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for institutional use.
Still, the issuer of a won-backed stablecoin, reserve assets, redemption structure, and the scope of financial firms' participation will need to be defined through future legislation. An industry official said, "The pace of business in the domestic market will depend on the General Act on Digital Assets, detailed stablecoin regulations, and the results of related pilot projects."
[email protected] Kim Mi-hee Reporter