Payments giant Visa has said it’s expanding its cryptocurrency ambitions through the use of the popular USDC stablecoin on the Solana blockchain as it works with merchants to allow them to settle with USDC instead of fiat currencies.

Popular cryptocurrency wallet provider MetaMask has unveiled a new feature allowing users to exchange their Ethereum (ETH) holdings for traditional fiat currency through its Portfolio decentralized application.

Circle’s USDC stablecoin has launched natively on both Base and Optimism, two layer-2 networks, allowing Circle account holders to send USDC directly from their accounts to either network.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Visa Leverages USDC on Solana to Improve Merchant Payment Efficiency
• MetaMask Launches Feature Letting Users Cash Out Crypto to Fiat
• Circle Launches USDC on Base and Optimism Networks
• Chart of the Week: Digital Asset Investment Products Remain Resilient

Visa Leverages USDC on Solana to Improve Merchant Payment Efficiency

Payments giant Visa has said it’s expanding its cryptocurrency ambitions through the use of the popular USDC stablecoin on the Solana blockchain as it works with merchants to allow them to settle with USDC instead of fiat currencies.

A settlement refers to the financial sequence wherein the card-issuing institution transfers funds from the cardholder’s account via a payment gateway to the institution responsible for processing the merchant’s card transactions.

Visa is working with merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei, allowing these firms to route payments in USDC to their end merchants. The payments giant enables the clearing, settlement and movement of billions of dollars a day.

In 2021, Visa started testing how it could integrate USDC into its treasury operations. It first did a pilot program with Crypto.com, an exchange that now uses USDC to meet its settlement obligations for the Visa card in Australia.

By conducting settlement payments on Solana to Worldpay and Nuvei with Visa’s Circle account, the company said it can now reduce the settlement times for its merchants.

MetaMask Launches Feature Letting Users Cash Out Crypto to Fiat

Popular cryptocurrency wallet provider MetaMask has unveiled a new feature allowing users to exchange their Ethereum (ETH) holdings for traditional fiat currency through its Portfolio decentralized application.

The feature allows users to sell their ETH holdings through the platform and send fiat proceeds to bank accounts in the US, UK, and select European regions. While the service is currently exclusive to Ethereum, MetaMask has said it plans to expand to “native gas tokens on layer 2 networks.”

This release follows MetaMask's earlier introduction, about five months ago, of a feature permitting users to acquire cryptocurrencies directly using traditional payment methods such as bank transfers, PayPal, and debit or credit cards.

At the time, MetaMask said it planned to roll out the “buy crypto” service for over 90 tokens to users in more than 189 countries.

Circle Launches USDC on Base and Optimism Networks

Circle’s USDC stablecoin has launched natively on both Base and Optimism, two layer-2 networks, allowing Circle account holders to send USDC directly from their accounts to either network.

Coinbase’s Base network was launched last month, but Circle account holders couldn’t send USDC directly to it and had to instead use a version called “USDbC,” while on Optimism users had to rely on USDC.e.

The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange has now also made USDC transfers to Base available. Various decentralized exchanges on these networks, however, are still using the old versions of the token.

Chart of the Week: Digital Asset Investment Products Remain Resilient

Despite slowing activity in the digital asset markets, cryptocurrency investment products’ assets under management surged past $35 billion in August.

The legal battle between Grayscale and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is of significant importance, considering Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product represents roughly 73% of the total digital asset AUM.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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