Morning Edition · Wednesday, August 5, 2026Published at 1:44 AM EDT · New York
Western Union launched a stablecoin-funded Visa card across 37 markets, Mastercard closed its purchase of payments firm BVNK, and analysts expect Samsung to turn 800 million phones into digital-asset wallets.

The competition in stablecoins has moved from issuance to distribution. Western Union launched its Stablecard in 37 markets, letting recipients take remittances in the USDPT stablecoin and spend them through a Visa card issued by the crypto…
Track on-chain flows, protocol shifts, stablecoins, and regulation.
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Part of a tracked trend
Race to Bank and Distribute Stablecoin Reserves
Over 3-6 months, established financial and payments firms compete to custody stablecoin reserves and embed stablecoin rails into cross-border settlement, institutionalizing the plumbing beneath stablecoins.
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1Aug 6, 8:16 PM · edited
i hate western union