Visa is teaming up with a Tether co-founder to build onchain banks

Finance Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Visa is teaming up with a Tether co-founder to build onchain banks Collins wants to bring robust stablecoin payments infrastructure to under-banked people around the planet. By Ian Allison | Edited by Jamie Crawley Apr 28, 2026, 1:38 p.m. Make preferred on VISA credit card (Shutterstock) What to know : Visa is working with blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure firm WeFi to build onchain payments and banking services The rollout will take place region by region, starting with selected markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The Visa partnership closes that "last half mile" of onchain banking infrastructure. Visa (V) is working with blockchain-based stablecoin infrastructure firm WeFi, to help establish the “last half mile” that can provide users with robust onchain payments and banking services, the companies said on Tuesday. WeFi, which is co-founded by former Tether OG Reeve Collins, describes its platform as “an orchestration layer between decentralized finance (DeFi) and regulated payment infrastructure, designed to support use cases such as cross‑border spending and on‑chain value storage,” according to a press release. “We're upgrading the plumbing and offering essentially people bank accounts, because they'll soon have their IBAN numbers, and we're getting the various licenses around the world to operate appropriately,” Collins said in an interview. As the platform scales, the plan is to partner with more banks and institutions, with a view towards the underbanked of the world, Collins said. The rollout will take place region by region, starting with selected markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Expansion into additional markets will depend on local regulatory approvals and issuing partnerships. “The partnership with Visa really closes that last half mile of onchain banking infrastructure,” Collins said. “This collaboration demonstrates how Visa’s global network interacts with onchain models, while operating within established regulatory frameworks and the reliability consumers and merchants expect,” said Mathieu Altwegg, Head of Product & Solutions in Europe at Visa, in a statement. DeFi More For You Jack Dorsey's Block nears 9,000 bitcoin in treasury after Q1 addition By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Sheldon Reback 4 hours ago The firm added 114 BTC to its corporate treasury, for a total of 8,997 BTC, and said it plans to issue regular third-party reports. What to know : Block said it added 114 BTC to its digital asset treasury, taking the total to 8,997 BTC. Adding in customers' holdings, a proof-of-reserves report shows the payments company is responsible for a total of 28,355 BTC, worth about $2.2 billion. Wallet addresses and cryptographic proofs are published for onchain verification,... Read full story Latest Crypto News New wallet offers way to tackle Bitcoin’s quantum risk without a fork 2 minutes ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: Stellar (XLM) drops 1.7% as index moves lower 43 minutes ago CFTC's AI will review U.S. crypto registration applications, chairman tells CoinDesk 1 hour ago Bulls want bitcoin back above $80,000. Macro says not so fast. 2 hours ago Crypto traders turn cautious as bitcoin loses steam below $80,000 3 hours ago A digital shekel is here: Israel approves its first regulated stablecoin 3 hours ago Top Stories Bitcoin loses $77,000, ether, solana slide as Hormuz standoff lifts oil to 3-week high 8 hours ago Industry leaders are pouring hundreds of millions into a rescue plan for Aave users after massive crypto hack 16 hours ago Ondo Finance adds proxy voting for holders of its $700 million tokenized equities 6 hours ago Jack Dorsey's Block nears 9,000 bitcoin in treasury after Q1 addition 4 hours ago Bitmine's ether buys are catching up to Strategy's bitcoin accumulation pace 5 hours ago Three Bank of Japan members call for a rate hike; yen rises while bitcoin falls 7 hours ago