This week, several major developments pointed in the same direction: the line between traditional banking, digital assets and blockchain based payments is becoming increasingly blurred.
Citi connects bank accounts with stablecoins
Citi and Coinbase have expanded their partnership. Coinbase business clients will be able to receive traditional currency through Citi infrastructure with automatic conversion into stablecoins. The process also works in reverse, allowing Citi corporate clients to accept stablecoin payments while funds are automatically converted into fiat. Crypto payments are gradually becoming less of a separate payment method and more of another layer within traditional banking infrastructure.
Visa sends $750,000 using stablecoins without waiting for Monday
Visa and Lloyds completed a seven day live test of international settlement using stablecoins. Lloyds transferred $750,000 in obligations to Visa, with the funds arriving in less than an hour, including during the weekend. This highlights one of the clearest advantages of blockchain based settlement: payment systems no longer need to operate according to traditional banking hours.
Stablecoins are increasingly being used by businesses
New Visa data shows that around 17% of transaction volume across stablecoin linked cards now comes from business and commercial card programs. Visa supports more than 160 stablecoin linked card programs, with use cases including supplier payments, payroll and cross border B2B transactions. Stablecoins are gradually moving beyond their original role as a way to transfer funds between crypto exchanges.
US banks are beginning to settle transactions through Solana
Fiserv has launched its Digital Asset Platform for financial institutions. One of its first live use cases is Roughrider Coin, a US dollar stablecoin used by Bank of North Dakota for settlement within the state banking network. Transactions run through Solana, while Fireblocks provides the digital asset infrastructure. Blockchain is no longer simply an experimental layer. It is becoming part of traditional banking infrastructure.
Europe wants its own payment network
Bizum, Bancomat, Wero, Vipps MobilePay and other European payment systems are joining forces through the European Network for Payments. The future network is expected to connect services used by around 130 million people across 13 countries, initially for person to person transfers and later for ecommerce and in store payments. One of the project’s goals is to reduce Europe’s dependence on Visa and Mastercard.
As stablecoins become more like money, scrutiny increases
The other side of the trend is regulation and enforcement. A US investigation has claimed that Tether was widely used by Iran linked entities to bypass financial restrictions. Of the 846 sanctioned crypto wallets analysed, 84% had processed USDT transactions. Tether said it continues to cooperate with US authorities and had frozen almost $550 million in Iran linked USDT during 2026.
What to take away from this week
Crypto is not replacing banks. Something more interesting is happening. Banks, cards and blockchain are gradually becoming parts of the same payment infrastructure. Citi is connecting with Coinbase. Visa is settling through stablecoins. A bank issued stablecoin is operating on Solana. Europe is building its own payment network.
The question is no longer whether digital money will become part of everyday payments. The question is who will build the infrastructure through which it moves.
