Visa’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield, has downplayed the potential of stablecoins to revolutionize everyday retail payments, arguing instead that their real value lies in cross-border use cases — especially in emerging economies.
Speaking in a recent interview with Business Insider, Sheffield emphasized that stablecoins are not a game-changer for how U.S. consumers shop or spend.
“We don’t really think stablecoins solve much of a problem for retail payments,”
he stated, pointing to internal Visa data which shows that the majority of stablecoin activity involves high-value transfers rather than day-to-day transactions.
While several executives across the financial and payments industry have echoed similar views, Visa isn’t dismissing stablecoins altogether. Instead, the company sees a promising opportunity in leveraging them to support dollar demand and improve financial access in regions such as Latin America, where traditional banking systems may fall short.
Countries like Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina have already seen growing stablecoin usage, with Visa aiming to expand its presence in these areas. According to Sheffield, the goal is to help connect underbanked economies with more developed financial systems by enabling easier access to U.S. dollars through digital assets.
“I think stablecoins will become this platform that many different companies will build on top of to offer modern, efficient products in emerging markets,”
he said, adding that Visa is well-positioned to support such growth given its current infrastructure, which already accommodates multiple currencies.
This sentiment was echoed by Matthew Graham, founder of Ryze Labs, who recently told CCN that citizens in inflation-stricken economies are turning to stablecoins out of necessity. Still, not everyone is convinced of a rapid stablecoin boom. JPMorgan strategists recently described forecasts of the market growing to $2 trillion as “unrealistic,” citing underdeveloped infrastructure and slower-than-expected adoption. They project the market to only double or triple from its current size in the near term.
Meanwhile, Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan also weighed in, highlighting limitations of stablecoins in practical retail contexts.
“Last I checked, you couldn’t spend stablecoin if you wanted to buy a Coca-Cola,”
he told Bloomberg TV.
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