Visa tokenised asset platform: disrupting stablecoins and cross-border payments?

Visa's tokenised asset platform (VTAP) was launched in October 2024 and is Visa’s effort to streamline the issuance and management of tokenised assets, encompassing fiat-backed tokens, stablecoins and potentially central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). VTAP significantly advances digital payments and potentially the use of blockchain technology, in time, on a global level. This move is certainly not unexpected, as 2024 is shaping to be the “projected” year of Web3 and tokenisation, a trend many have agreed will dominate Web3. And so far, we have seen many different types of assets being tokenised. Furthermore, the firms that are actually tokenising assets include some of the biggest asset managers and banks globally. Indeed, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that the tokenisation of illiquid assets will reach $16trillion by 2030. With such a massive market potential, it is of no surprise that Visa wanted to carve out a significant share through the VTAP. However, given the …