[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] Software company Opera's stablecoin wallet service MiniPay has launched a Visa debit card as it moves to expand real-world use of stablecoins.

Cointelegraph reported on June 23 that the card will be offered in markets across Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and parts of Europe, allowing users to pay for goods and services with stablecoins.

The card runs on Gnosis Pay infrastructure. Users can pay directly from the MiniPay wallet, and merchants receive payments in local currency through the Visa network. The card can be linked to Apple Pay and Google Pay, and users in some markets will receive cashback denominated in USDt, USDC and Tether Gold.

MiniPay is a stablecoin wallet operated by Nasdaq-listed software company Opera. It is built on the Celo blockchain and focuses on payments, transfers and savings using dollar-pegged stablecoins.

The market backdrop is also aligning. In Latin America, there have already been cases in which stablecoins overtook bitcoin as the representative asset for purchases. Bitso's Latin America stablecoin report for the first half of 2026 showed that dollar-pegged stablecoins surpassed bitcoin in crypto purchases by the exchange's users in 2025, with USDC and USDT together accounting for 40 percent of all purchases.

Corporate demand is also rising. Bitso tallied that stablecoin trading volume by institutional customers in the first half of 2026 rose 81 percent from a year earlier. More than 60 percent of new corporate customers over the same period were banks and licensed payment providers. This signals that stablecoins are expanding beyond individual trading into corporate payments and transfer infrastructure.

Africa is also emerging as a key battleground. In March, Circle teamed up with African fintech Sasai to expand USDC-based cross-border payments within the region. The partnership integrates USDC into existing payments infrastructure and links it to remittances, corporate payments and consumer wallet services. Ripple also said last week it had acquired a stake in fintech Flutterwave, which operates in 35 African countries, and would pursue integration of blockchain payments tools including RLUSD.

Amid these trends, the stablecoin market itself is growing. Based on DefiLlama data, total stablecoins in circulation are about $315 billion, up from about $250 billion a year earlier. MiniPay's card launch shows competition is intensifying to link stablecoins in emerging markets to everyday payments rather than simple holdings.

Your dollars. Your card. Anywhere. The MiniPay Card is rolling out— a stablecoin-powered Visa card that spends globally straight from your wallet. Up to 5% cash back, paid in digital gold and stablecoins. The first wave is going out now. Claim your spot →… pic.twitter.com/Jxzvbc1fJD