Both sides will study how existing electronic payment networks can work with blockchain systems without requiring financial institutions to replace the infrastructure they already use. $ADI has positioned its technology around institutional requirements such as policy compliance, interoperability and day to day operations.
Vira Platonova, Visa’s senior vice president and global head of money movement, said financial institutions are exploring new ways to exchange value as trusted networks and interoperability become more important.
“The way money moves is evolving rapidly,” Platonova said. She added that Visa and $ADI would look for opportunities involving businesses, consumers and the payments sector by combining their respective experience in payments and blockchain infrastructure.
$ADI Foundation Chief Business Officer Svyatoslav Senyuta said the next stage of digital finance would depend on infrastructure capable of working with institutions that already move money globally.
Its work with Visa would examine “how blockchain-based infrastructure and electronic payment networks may complement one another,” with the assessment covering payment solutions, infrastructure and other parts of digital finance.
No blockchain, stablecoin, settlement asset or timeline was named for the collaboration.
Visa has been testing digital asset settlement
The agreement follows a series of blockchain payment and settlement projects involving Visa this year.
Earlier this month, crypto.news previously reported that Lloyds used $USDC to settle $750,000 in payment obligations with Visa during a seven day live pilot. Lloyds Corporate Markets Jersey bought $USDC through UK regulated digital asset exchange Archax and sent the funds to Visa, with settlement completed in under an hour, including during the weekend.
The test was focused on settlement between financial institutions rather than allowing customers to make payments in stablecoins. It examined whether blockchain based dollars could support round the clock settlement when conventional banking infrastructure was unavailable outside normal operating hours.
Visa’s work with $ADI leaves the exact infrastructure open at this stage. $ADI said its approach centers on building blockchain systems that can connect with existing financial networks instead of requiring institutions to operate separately from established payment infrastructure.
Visa has pursued a similar institutional approach in Asia. An August agreement with South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group covered stablecoin payment infrastructure, including tests involving issuance, transfers and redemption. The companies planned to study a Korea focused stablecoin model and the use of digital assets for card payment settlement.
Days later, Dunamu and Visa agreed to explore stablecoin payments, international remittances and AI based financial services. No product structure, launch date, blockchain or supported jurisdiction was disclosed for that agreement.
Visa’s stablecoin activity has grown in 2026
Visa’s existing blockchain operations have moved beyond individual partnership announcements.
By September, its stablecoin linked card network had reached 160 programs, while stablecoin payment volume was running nearly 200% above its year earlier level. The company reported an annualized stablecoin settlement rate of $20 billion, according to its September update.
Earlier in the year, Visa’s settlement pilot had reached a $7 billion annualized run rate after adding five blockchains. Those additions took the network to nine supported blockchains alongside Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar.
Visa has taken different approaches depending on the payment use case. Its June work with Brale and Canton Network involved private stablecoin settlement using SBC, a dollar backed stablecoin, with the proof of concept examining whether institutions could settle onchain while keeping sensitive transaction information away from public view.
In July, the company introduced an enterprise stablecoin system designed to let banks, fintech firms and payment providers mint, store, transfer and redeem digital dollars through a single platform. Open USD was selected as the first asset supported by the system.
$ADI targets institutional blockchain adoption
For $ADI Foundation, the Visa agreement fits its focus on connecting public and private sector institutions with blockchain infrastructure designed around regulatory and operational requirements.
$ADI Chain is described by the foundation as an institutional blockchain built for stablecoins and real world assets in the Middle East and North Africa. The foundation said its longer term mission is to connect 1 billion people and institutions to the digital economy by 2030.
The organization is registered as a distributed ledger technology foundation in Abu Dhabi Global Market under the DLT Foundations Regulations 2023. It was founded by Sirius International Holding, the technology focused subsidiary of International Holding Company.
$ADI lists BlackRock, Mastercard, Visa and Franklin Templeton among the global institutions it works with.
For the Visa agreement, however, both parties have stopped short of committing to a specific deployment. The announcement states that the initiatives remain exploratory and do not guarantee future performance.
