Visa just released a roadmap for the future of the financial industry, which runs on programmable money.
In a comprehensive new report, the payments giant tells its network of more than 15,000 financial institutions that the $670 billion stablecoin lending market is no longer just an experiment in crypto. This market forms the basis for the next generation of global credit markets.
With the GENIUS Act establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the US, Visa sees an opening to bridge traditional banking with blockchain-based lending protocols that operate 24/7, automatically adjust interest rates based on supply and demand, and settle transactions in minutes instead of days.
Figures behind the revolution
The data presented by Visa paints a picture of rapid institutional adoption. In August 2025 alone, $51.7 billion worth of stablecoins were lent through 427,000 loans from 81,000 active borrowers.
These are not small retail transactions, as the average loan size has recovered to $121,000, indicating that institutional players are becoming increasingly comfortable with programmable credit markets.
Moreover, concentration tells its own story. Two protocols, Aave and Compound, dominate the credit market with 89% of credit volume, while USDC and USDT account for more than 98% of stablecoin supply.
Ethereum and Polygon maintain a market share of around 85%, while newer chains such as Base, Arbitrum and Solana are gaining traction, accounting for 11% of the combined activity.
Loan interest rates averaged 6.4% APR in August 2025, while loan interest rates averaged 5.1% APY. These rates are remarkably close to traditional credit markets, especially considering the 24/7 availability and instant settlement that smart contracts provide.
Three pillars of the blockchain future of banking
Visa’s roadmap focuses on three transformative shifts that could reshape the way banks think about lending, collateral and credit rating.
The first is the tokenized asset market, which has already grown from $5 billion in December 2023 to $12.7 billion today.
McKinsey predicts the industry could reach a size of $1 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030, but Visa sees an even bigger prize by connecting the more than $40 trillion traditional lending market with programmable money rails.
BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund exemplifies this evolution, reaching $2.9 billion in tokenized Treasuries while serving as collateral for multiple credit protocols.
Franklin Templeton’s OnChain US Government Money Fund adds another $800 million, while MakerDAO now derives nearly 30% of its $6.6 billion balance sheet from real assets.
Corporate bonds, private credit and real estate could soon serve as collateral in global credit markets, creating new sources of liquidity for assets that have traditionally been dormant between trading sessions.
The next pillar is crypto collateral. Early movers like ether.fi are already launching non-custodial credit cards that allow users to borrow against their crypto holdings while retaining ownership of assets.
This addresses a critical issue: accessing liquidity without incurring capital gains taxes or forfeiting upside exposure.
Real-time collateral monitoring through smart contracts enables automated margin calls and risk management that traditional credit facilities cannot match.
Banks and private credit funds could serve as liquidity providers for these programs, offering institutional capital through programmable protocols rather than through bilateral credit agreements.
The third pillar is identity in the chain. The current overcollateralization model, while safe, limits the market to borrowers who already have significant assets.
The next breakthrough involves the development of on-chain identity and credit scoring systems that analyze portfolio transaction history, asset ownership, and protocol interactions to build credit profiles.
Platforms such as 3Jane, Providence and Credora are groundbreaking methods for assessing creditworthiness based on verifiable behavior in the chain, all while maintaining privacy through the use of zero-knowledge proofs.
This could ultimately allow protocols to offer collateral and unsecured loans based on reputation and credit history.
Opportunities and changes are needed
The shift from traditional lending to programmable credit markets requires fundamental changes in the way financial institutions assess and manage risk.
Instead of analyzing balance sheets and legal agreements, banks should evaluate protocol security audits, governance structures and the reliability of data sources.
This does not eliminate the risk, but instead transforms it. Counterparty risk can be managed through smart contracts and automated liquidation, but technology risk becomes of paramount importance.
Banks need new frameworks for understanding the vulnerabilities of smart contracts, voting mechanisms for governance tokens, and oracle dependencies.
Additionally, three case studies in Visa’s report show how leading protocols are already serving institutional needs beyond crypto trading.
Morpho aggregates demand and liquidity across platforms, allowing users on Coinbase to tap into shared pools that include deposits from Ledger wallet users and institutional partners, such as Société Générale.
Credit Coop uses programmable lockboxes to enable income-based lending, with stablecoin-linked card issuer Rain lending more than $175 million in USDC against future receivables.
Huma Finance enables cross-border payment financing with a monthly transaction volume of $500 million, offering APYs of 10% or more to lenders through rapid capital recycling.
These are production systems that process hundreds of millions of dollars every month, while offering returns that traditional banking products struggle to match.
Visa’s message to its banking partners is that the programmable lending infrastructure already exists, processing billions in monthly volumes and offering competitive rates with superior transparency and automation.
The regulatory framework is emerging, institutional adoption is accelerating and technical risks are becoming better understood.
Organizations that embrace this infrastructure today will position themselves to lead the global credit markets of tomorrow. Those who wait can compete with always-on, algorithmically managed credit protocols that offer 24/7 service, instant settlement and transparent pricing.
The question for traditional banks is not whether stablecoin-powered lending will reshape credit markets, as the data shows already is the case.
The question is whether they will participate in defining that future, or whether they will be disrupted by it.
