Visa is conducting a proof-of-concept test of private stablecoin settlement using SBC, a US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Brale, on the Canton permissioned blockchain network. The project, announced June 5, aims to evaluate whether institutions can execute onchain transactions without exposing counterparties, positions, or flows.
Canton is designed so only transaction participants and authorized regulators can see specific deal data while allowing atomic settlement across tokenized assets. The proof of concept will assess how Canton’s privacy architecture can support faster, more programmable settlement compared to traditional infrastructure.
The move marks a shift in Visa’s stablecoin settlement strategy. The payment network began earlier experiments in 2021 with USDC on Ethereum, a public blockchain where transaction details are visible to all network participants. Canton, developed by Digital Asset and backed by institutions including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, offers a permissioned alternative designed for institutional use.
Stablecoin demand and regulatory landscape
Global stablecoin issuance has surpassed $300 billion across currencies, according to S&P Global Ratings. Most stablecoin demand is currently tied to crypto trading, but the regulatory environment is shifting the expected use cases.
GENIUS Act-compliant US payment stablecoins are expected to expand into merchant remittances and commercial payments once rules are finalized. Cross-border payments have been identified as a near-term use case where stablecoins could offer speed and programmability advantages over existing settlement systems.
The expansion into institutional payments carries structural implications for banking. Stablecoins could threaten banks’ payments income and shift funding from insured retail deposits to wholesale balances, according to S&P Global Ratings analysis.
Private settlement and institutional adoption
Privacy in settlement infrastructure addresses a core institutional concern: the need to execute transactions without broadcasting sensitive deal terms or counterparty exposures across a shared ledger. Canton’s permissioned design allows participants to control data visibility while maintaining the atomic settlement guarantees of blockchain infrastructure.
Visa’s proof of concept with Brale and Canton tests whether this privacy model can scale to the payment network’s institutional client base. The test will inform whether permissioned networks can become a viable infrastructure layer for institutional stablecoin settlement alongside or instead of public blockchains.
