Visa said on Sept. 8 that more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were operating globally during its fiscal second quarter of 2026, while their payment volume increased nearly 200% year over year.

The payments company also reported that its stablecoin settlement volume had surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate. That represents growth of more than 15 times from the corresponding period one year earlier.

Visa disclosed the figures while announcing expanded work with Credit Coop. The companies are using stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facilities to help card programs finance daily settlement obligations.

The statistics come from Visa and Credit Coop rather than independently audited transaction reports. An annualized run rate also projects recent activity over a full year. It does not mean Visa has already processed $20 billion in stablecoin settlement during 2026.

Visa stablecoin cards reach 160 live programs

Stablecoin-linked cards connect a customer’s crypto wallet or stablecoin account with Visa’s existing merchant network. The digital assets are converted or used to fund the transaction while the merchant receives payment through familiar card infrastructure.

Visa said payment volume across these programs grew nearly 200% year over year. The company did not publish the underlying dollar value, regional breakdown or transaction count in its announcement.

The latest disclosure updates figures Visa presented in June. At the time, it said more than 160 programs were either live or in development and that stablecoin settlement had reached a $7 billion annualized rate as of March.

The latest $20 billion figure suggests the settlement run rate has nearly tripled since March. However, the two figures cover Visa’s stablecoin settlement activity, not necessarily consumer purchases made through stablecoin-linked cards alone.

Card payment volume and settlement volume measure different processes. Payment volume covers purchases initiated by cardholders. Settlement volume covers money transferred between Visa and participating financial institutions or program operators. Visa previously placed its stablecoin settlement run rate near $7 billion while expanding pilots across more regions, blockchains and currencies.

Credit Coop finances the daily settlement gap

Visa’s announcement focused on a working-capital problem facing new stablecoin card programs. Operators must fund settlement obligations before receiving all corresponding payments from cardholders.

Large, established card portfolios can use warehouse credit lines or securitizations. Smaller programs may need only several million dollars, drawn and repaid daily. Legal and administrative costs can make conventional facilities uneconomical at that scale.

Credit Coop’s structure uses a stablecoin-denominated revolving credit facility secured by settlement receivables. Borrowers draw from the facility to meet their daily Visa obligations and repay the credit line as cardholder proceeds arrive.

Incoming receivables pass through Credit Coop’s Spigot smart contract. The contract automatically directs part of the proceeds toward principal and interest before transferring the remaining funds to the borrower’s operating account.

The process resembles a controlled bank lockbox. The difference is that the routing and repayment instructions execute through smart contracts, creating publicly visible transaction records.

Visa said Credit Coop receives authorized programs’ daily settlement files through a secure data connection. Credit decisions, facility sizes and repayment checks can therefore use both Visa records and onchain transaction history.

According to Visa, stronger access to settlement data helped reduce borrowing costs for some participating programs by as much as 30%. The company did not disclose individual interest rates or identify every program that received lower pricing.

Rain provides the first operating case

Rain, a Visa principal member offering stablecoin card infrastructure, has used a Credit Coop revolving facility since August 2023. The facility finances Rain’s daily Visa settlement requirements.

Credit Coop transfers funds to Rain based on the relevant Visa settlement file. Rain then funds its settlement obligation. Cardholder payments subsequently pass through smart contracts that service interest and replenish the facility.

Visa said every settlement obligation covered by the facility had been funded on time. Credit Coop reported more than $2.5 billion in cumulative financing since 2023, covering over 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayment events.

Credit Coop also reported zero defaults across the platform. Those performance figures are company claims and have not been supported by a published independent audit.

Rain accounted for approximately $2 billion of the reported cumulative settlement financing. Visa said the arrangement had processed more than 2,000 borrowing events and 7,000 repayment events for Rain, generating at least $1.58 million in interest.

Rain previously confirmed that it joined Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot. The company said it settles Visa card obligations in USDC seven days a week, including weekends and holidays.

Visa has also described Rain’s use of USDC-backed receivables financing in its broader work on onchain credit. The structure is intended to reduce the need for issuers to hold idle settlement capital.

U.S. card programs test the financing route

Karta, a U.S.-issued premium Visa card operating under Rain’s bank identification number, also launched using Credit Coop financing while developing its performance record.

Visa said Karta later announced $140 million in financing in June 2026. The package included a $15 million Series A led by Galaxy Ventures and a $125 million institutional credit facility from Community Investment Management.

Visa presented Karta as an example of an early card program moving from a smaller revolving facility to institutional financing. The company said Karta’s daily settlement history contributed to the record available to larger lenders.

Moto and Xplace also use Credit Coop financing under Rain’s issuing infrastructure, according to the announcement. Visa did not disclose their facility sizes, borrowing costs or settlement volumes.

The partnership adds a credit layer to Visa’s wider stablecoin strategy. In March, Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge announced that their card programs were live in 18 countries and planned to reach more than 100 countries by the end of 2026.

Bridge-enabled cards can be used through platforms including Phantom and MetaMask. Visa said customers could spend their balances across more than 175 million merchant locations, while merchants continue receiving conventional payments.

Visa linked cards and stablecoins with its wider programmable commerce strategy, including settlement pilots and payment tools for AI agents.

Visa plans just-in-time settlement funding

Visa and Credit Coop are now working toward just-in-time funding. Under the planned model, a program’s daily settlement file would trigger a stablecoin disbursement matching the exact net amount owed.

The funds would move directly to the relevant Visa settlement address. Programs would avoid drawing a full facility in advance and holding unused capital between settlement cycles.

Visa said this model could shorten borrowing periods from days to hours. Lenders could also align their exposure more closely with actual daily obligations instead of committing the entire credit line continuously.

The model remains dependent on accurate settlement data, reliable smart contracts and sufficient stablecoin liquidity. Operational failures could prevent a program from meeting a settlement deadline even when the credit facility remains adequately funded.

Credit Coop’s zero-default record does not guarantee future performance. Stablecoin depegging, contract vulnerabilities, borrower failures and changing regulations remain potential risks.

Visa has not announced a deadline for launching just-in-time funding across all 160 programs. It also has not disclosed which stablecoins or blockchains future facilities will support.

The next stage will involve extending the model to additional issuers and determining whether their onchain repayment records can support larger institutional facilities. Visa said it expects more programs to follow Karta’s path, but that remains a company forecast.

Key takeaways

• Pi Network edges higher on Monday as buyers defend the $0.0839 support level following two consecutive daily declines.
• The Pi Core Team released Node version 0.6.2 after successfully testing distributed computing capabilities across the network.
• A break below $0.0786 could invalidate the recent channel breakout, while a recovery above $0.1000 could strengthen the bullish outlook.

Pi Network (PI) edges higher on Monday as buyers attempt to defend the key $0.0839 support level following two consecutive days of losses.

The mild recovery comes after the Pi Core Team released a new Node upgrade focused on advancing the network’s distributed computing capabilities. However, PI’s technical outlook remains mixed, with weak derivatives activity and indecisive momentum limiting confidence in a sustained rebound.

Weak market sentiment weighs on Pi Network

Pi Network remains a highly speculative cryptocurrency whose price is heavily influenced by broader market conditions, retail demand and the strength of its community.

CoinMarketCap’s Crypto Fear and Greed Index stands at 38 on Monday, reflecting cautious sentiment and reduced risk appetite among investors.

Renewed geopolitical tensions involving Israel, Lebanon, the United States and Iran have contributed to uncertainty across risk assets. This defensive environment could make it more difficult for speculative tokens such as PI to attract fresh capital.

The Pi Network community continues to anticipate further ecosystem development around its reported base of 18 million Know Your Customer-verified users.

The Pi Core Team released version 0.6.2 of its Node software on Saturday. The upgrade follows a successful test of distributed computing capabilities across Pi Nodes and could provide a foundation for additional network utilities.

Expanding the role of individual Nodes beyond transaction validation could strengthen the network’s functionality and provide new use cases for participants. However, the upgrade’s long-term impact will depend on whether developers introduce applications that generate sustainable user demand.

Social activity showed a modest increase following the announcement. Santiment data indicates that Pi Network’s Social Dominance rose to 0.01% on Sunday from 0.009% on Saturday. Social Volume also increased to 12 from 8 over the same period.

The figures suggest that the Node upgrade generated slightly more discussion, although overall social engagement remains limited.

Pi Network’s derivatives market continues to show reduced trader participation. According to CoinAnk, PI futures Open Interest declined to $8.81 million from $9.12 million on Friday.

Open Interest measures the notional value of outstanding derivatives contracts. A decline generally indicates that traders are closing leveraged positions or reducing their exposure.

The continued reduction in PI futures Open Interest suggests that speculative interest is weakening despite the latest technical upgrade and Monday’s mild price recovery.

Pi Network struggles to extend falling-channel breakout

Pi Network maintains a bearish short-term bias as its price consolidates below $0.0900.

PI previously broke above a falling-channel pattern on the daily chart, creating the possibility of a bullish reversal. However, the token has failed to produce meaningful upside follow-through, reflecting weak buying demand.

At the time of writing, buyers are defending the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $0.0839. The retracement is measured from the recent decline between $0.1341 and $0.0703.

A sustained break below $0.0839 could expose the former channel resistance trendline near $0.0786. A decisive daily close below this level would weaken the bullish breakout structure and raise the risk of deeper losses.

Pi Network’s daily momentum indicators provide little evidence of a strong recovery. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator remains only marginally above its signal line and is at risk of forming a bearish crossover. Such a move would indicate that downside momentum is beginning to strengthen.

The Relative Strength Index stands at 45, below its neutral midpoint of 50. This reading reflects modest bearish pressure but remains consistent with range-bound trading rather than an oversold market.

On the upside, the psychological threshold at $0.1000 represents the first major resistance level.

This area is reinforced by the 50% Fibonacci retracement at $0.1022, creating a meaningful supply zone where sellers could limit any recovery.

A decisive breakout above $0.1022 would strengthen PI’s recovery prospects and could open the way toward the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement at $0.1190.

Until PI generates stronger buying demand and derivatives participation begins to recover, its near-term outlook is likely to remain cautious.

Sterling enters this week on a mixed footing. Last month’s Bank of England decision struck a notably hawkish tone, with the vote split 6-3 in favor of holding rates, three members pushed for a hike, a signal the Bank remains genuinely worried about inflation as Middle East-driven energy costs work through the economy. Yet political uncertainty continues to simmer following Keir Starmer’s unexpected June resignation, leaving fiscal credibility, and by extension sterling, more sensitive than usual to how Labour manages the transition.

The kiwi, meanwhile, is being propped up almost entirely by rate expectations. Markets currently price an 88% probability of an RBNZ hike in September, even after New Zealand’s unemployment rate climbed to a decade-high 5.6%. UBS argues the labor data isn’t as bearish as it looks, since the rise was driven mainly by more people entering the workforce rather than layoffs, keeping the central bank’s tightening path intact. Softer inflation expectations and a weaker July manufacturing PMI, however, have started to inject some doubt into just how far the RBNZ can realistically go.

The result: a pound navigating political noise against a kiwi riding hawkish rate bets that may be more fragile than markets currently assume.

Technical Analysis of GBP/NZD

As GBP/NZD chart shows, the pair has been compressing into a broad symmetrical triangle since early June, with a descending trendline from July’s highs near 2.3550 converging with an ascending trendline off June’s lows, both meeting right around current price near 2.2900-2.2980, where the 100-period EMA also sits. This confluence, together with the well-established 2.2900-2.3100 support and resistance zone, marks a decisive juncture for the pair.

Bullish Scenario

Should buyers defend the ascending trendline and reclaim the 100-period EMA, the path would open toward the 2.3100 resistance, the upper boundary of the recent range. A confirmed break above this zone, and the descending trendline itself, would signal a genuine shift in momentum, opening the door toward a retest of the July highs near 2.3550.

Bearish Scenario

Conversely, a break below the ascending trendline and the 2.2900 support would expose the broader downtrend that has dominated since early July, with price risking a slide back toward the 2.2800 area and beyond, as the months-long descending structure reasserts itself.

With price coiled right at the apex of this triangle, sitting exactly on the 100-period EMA, GBP/NZD looks primed for a decisive move—will sterling’s political noise finally give way to the kiwi’s rate story, or does this range hold just a little longer?

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