Institutional finance payment infrastructure is shifting from a correspondent banking-led structure to stablecoin networks. On April 13 local time, blockchain media outlet BeInCrypto reported that Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Stripe and JPMorgan have adopted stablecoins in different ways, but the actual payment infrastructure is concentrated among a small number of firms including Circle, Paxos, Coinbase, Wintermute and Fireblocks.

The pace of market expansion is also fast. As of April 2026, stablecoin market capitalisation was $317.89 billion, up from about $125 billion in early 2024. Annual transfer volume in 2025 was $33 trillion, about twice Visa's annual payment volume. Transfers in January 2026 alone totalled $10.5 trillion, close to Mastercard's annual gross dollar volume of $10.6 trillion for the same period.

The most prominent token in institutional payments was USDC. USDC saw $8.3 trillion move in January 2026, ahead of USDT, which recorded $1.7 trillion over the same period. Visa processed payments in USDC, and JPMorgan also settled a Galaxy debt transaction on Solana in USDC. Stripe's related infrastructure also operates based on USDC.

Issuance was concentrated in Circle and Paxos. Circle issues USDC, and Paxos handles PayPal's PYUSD and the Global Dollar Network's USDG. Mastercard, Robinhood, Kraken and DBS Bank participate in the Global Dollar Network.

Key counterparties in the distribution stage were also limited. Paxos sent $89.2 billion externally through 5,208 issuance and redemption transactions. Major counterparties were Binance, Wintermute, Jane Street and Coinbase. In flows linked to Circle, Wintermute and Coinbase also appeared as key counterparties. Coinbase was identified as a major distribution channel connected to both issuers.

In the custody stage, Fireblocks had a strong presence. The largest single holder of USDG was Fireblocks Custody, which held $150 million, accounting for 8.97 percent of total supply. OKX held $519 million in 3 cold wallets, and Kraken held $128.97 million. Fireblocks is also linked to the custody layer used when Visa processes USDC payments on Solana.

Strategies differed by institution, but the foundations overlapped. As of December 2025, Visa processed Solana-based USDC payments at an annualised pace of $3.5 billion through Cross River Bank and Lead Bank. Mastercard introduced USDC, PYUSD, USDG and FIUSD to its network. Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion, and this infrastructure is used both for Visa's stablecoin-linked cards and Stripe's financial account service in 101 countries. PayPal's PYUSD is distributed in 70 markets.

Ultimately, the stablecoin payment network for institutional finance is condensed into a structure in which issuance is handled by Circle and Paxos, distribution by Coinbase and Wintermute, custody by Fireblocks and exchange cold wallets, and service integration by Visa, Mastercard, Stripe and PayPal.

The key to this structure is that individual financial firms did not each build new payment networks, but instead climbed onto stablecoin infrastructure that was already formed. As issuance, distribution and custody gather among a small number of operators, the pace of expansion in institutional finance has accelerated, but dependence on the infrastructure is also growing.