Visa and Mastercard shares fall due to stablecoin boom
Visa and Mastercard lose $60 billion as stablecoin fears spook investors
Visa and Mastercard stocks suffered sharp declines on Friday, wiping out over $60 billion in combined market value amid rising investor anxiety over stablecoin disruption.
Visa (NYSE: V) fell 4.98% to $352.85, while Mastercard (NYSE: MA) slipped 4.62% to $562.03, making both payment giants among the worst performers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the day, reports Cryptopolitan.
The sell-off came after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that major retailers like Walmart are evaluating the use of stablecoins — digital tokens backed by fiat currencies — to bypass traditional payment networks and lower transaction costs.
Stablecoins Challenge Legacy Payment Infrastructure
While Visa and Mastercard don’t directly collect interchange fees — those go to issuing banks — they profit from every card transaction processed through their networks. A shift toward stablecoin-based payments would threaten the economic moat they’ve built over decades.
Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert acknowledged the potential of stablecoins back in April, saying they could “streamline payments and commerce,” but also noted that implementation would require significant infrastructure and trust. Meanwhile, analysts stress that consumer inertia and the convenience of credit cards may still keep stablecoins on the sidelines — at least for now.
Analysts Urge Caution Over Premature Concerns
Despite the market reaction, several analysts downplayed the immediacy of the threat. Baird’s David Koning argued that consumer habits favor credit cards due to perks and convenience, stating, “I’m not sure people want to take time to move cash to stablecoins.”
Likewise, Bernstein’s Harshita Rawat wrote that any traction in stablecoin usage will be “measured in years”, likely restricted to cross-border payments or emerging markets. Bloomberg Intelligence’s Diksha Gera added that regulatory uncertainty and lack of consumer trust are major hurdles to widespread adoption. While stablecoins may disrupt niche areas, the core domestic payments landscape remains resilient — for now.
Recently we wrote that Amazon and Walmart, two of the world’s largest retail companies, are reportedly evaluating the issuance of their own US dollar-backed stablecoins.
