In the past year, the Visa team has been closely monitoring technological innovations behind blockchain scalability, expressing enthusiasm for the significant progress made by new Layer 2 (L2) networks on Ethereum and alternative blockchains built from the ground up. This exploration is not merely academic—it's a strategic move toward reimagining how digital payments can be faster, cheaper, and more efficient in the modern financial ecosystem.
Led by Mustafa Bedawala, Crypto Product Manager at Visa, and Arjuna Wijeyekoon, Vice President of Crypto Fintech, the team has been evaluating next-generation blockchain networks to identify those best suited for high-volume, low-cost, and secure payment settlements using stablecoins like USDC.
After extensive analysis, one network has emerged as a standout candidate: Solana.
Why Solana Stands Out for Payment Innovation
While multiple blockchains may coexist in the future of finance, Solana’s unique combination of speed, scalability, cost-efficiency, and resilience makes it a compelling platform for mainstream payment adoption. Its architecture addresses long-standing challenges that have hindered earlier blockchains from supporting real-time global transactions at scale.
Let’s break down the key technical advantages that make Solana an ideal fit for Visa’s vision of blockchain-based settlement.
1. High Transaction Throughput at Scale
As a global payment network, Visa processes over 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) during peak times. While no blockchain currently matches this volume, Solana achieves an average of 400 user-generated TPS, with spikes exceeding 2,000 TPS during high-demand periods—an impressive benchmark for piloting real-world payment use cases.
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What sets Solana apart is its parallel transaction processing capability. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, which process transactions sequentially (one after another), Solana uses a multithreaded architecture that allows non-overlapping transactions to execute simultaneously.
This means:
- Transactions affecting separate accounts run in parallel.
- Smart contracts (called "programs" on Solana) can also execute concurrently.
- Network bottlenecks in one area don’t slow down unrelated operations elsewhere.
For payment systems, this translates into faster batch settlements, smoother peer-to-peer transfers, and scalable support for multi-party disbursements—critical features for enterprise finance and cross-border payments.
2. Predictable and Ultra-Low Transaction Costs
Cost predictability is essential for any payment provider. Solana delivers transaction fees typically under $0.001, making it not only affordable but also highly predictable—unlike Ethereum or Bitcoin, where gas fees can spike unpredictably during congestion.
This stability stems from Solana’s localized fee market model, a groundbreaking innovation in blockchain economics.
Here’s how it works:
- Each account or state on the network operates independently.
- Congestion around one asset (e.g., an NFT drop) only increases fees for that specific account.
- Other transactions—like simple USDC transfers—remain unaffected and low-cost.
In contrast, most blockchains use a global fee market, where heavy usage in one application (such as NFT minting) drives up costs for all users across the network. On Solana, a surge in NFT activity won’t make your payroll distribution more expensive.
This targeted fee structure ensures businesses can rely on consistent costs, improving budgeting accuracy and user experience—key factors for enterprise adoption.
3. Fast and Reliable Transaction Finality
Transaction finality—the time it takes for a transaction to be considered irreversible—is crucial for payment applications. Consumers expect instant confirmation; delays create friction and uncertainty.
Solana achieves finality within 500–600 milliseconds, thanks to its optimistic confirmation mechanism. When over two-thirds of validators vote on a block, it’s considered finalized—even before all nodes complete full consensus. This enables near-instant settlement without compromising security.
Compare this to:
- Bitcoin: Up to 60 minutes for six block confirmations.
- Ethereum: Average finality of 12 seconds under normal conditions—but often longer during congestion.
With sub-second finality, Solana supports real-time payment experiences suitable for retail, remittances, and automated financial services.
4. Robust Network Availability and Decentralization
A payment network must be available 24/7. Blockchain availability depends on the number and diversity of nodes maintaining the system.
As of mid-2023:
- Solana had 1,893 active validators—responsible for producing and voting on blocks.
- Over 925 RPC nodes maintain local copies of the ledger for querying and transaction submission.
These nodes are distributed across 40+ countries, with diverse hosting providers and infrastructure setups. This geographic and operational redundancy protects against outages due to regional disruptions or service provider failures.
Even more important is validator client diversity—a rare strength among blockchains.
Initially relying solely on Solana Labs’ client, the network now supports:
- jto-solana by Jito Labs (launched in 2022)
- Firedancer by Jump Crypto (in development), written in C++ and demonstrating performance benchmarks of up to 600,000 TPS in testing
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Having multiple independent validator clients reduces systemic risk. If one client has a bug, others can keep the network running—similar to Ethereum’s approach but uncommon among other chains.
5. Designed for Modern Financial Needs
Solana’s blend of high throughput, parallel execution, localized fee markets, and robust decentralization creates a scalable foundation perfectly aligned with modern financial operations.
These attributes make it ideal for:
- Real-time corporate treasury settlements
- Cross-border remittances
- Programmable payroll systems
- Tokenized asset transfers
It’s no surprise that Visa chose Solana as a platform to expand its stablecoin settlement pilot program. By testing USDC transactions on Solana, Visa aims to validate whether blockchain technology can meet the speed, reliability, and efficiency demands of global commerce.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why did Visa choose USDC instead of other stablecoins?
A: USDC is regulated, fully backed by reserves, and issued by regulated financial institutions. Its transparency and compliance framework make it ideal for institutional use.
Q: Is Solana truly decentralized compared to Ethereum?
A: While Ethereum has more historical decentralization, Solana has made significant strides with over 1,800 validators and multiple independent client implementations—key markers of network resilience.
Q: Can Solana handle Visa-level transaction volumes today?
A: Not yet at full scale, but with ongoing upgrades like Firedancer, Solana is on a trajectory to support much higher throughput—making it a strong candidate for future payment rail expansion.
Q: Does low cost mean lower security?
A: No. Solana maintains strong security through proof-of-stake consensus and economic incentives. Low fees result from efficient design, not compromised safety.
Q: How does optimistic confirmation prevent double-spending?
A: Once a block receives votes from over two-thirds of staked validators, rollback becomes economically unfeasible. The network quickly detects and rejects forks.
Q: Will traditional banks adopt Solana for payments?
A: Pilot programs by major players like Visa increase credibility. As regulatory clarity improves, institutional adoption is likely to grow.
The Future of Blockchain Payments Is Taking Shape
Visa’s decision to integrate Solana into its stablecoin settlement trials signals a pivotal shift in how traditional finance views blockchain infrastructure. It’s not just about speculation—it’s about building a more efficient, inclusive, and responsive global payment system.
With its high performance, predictable economics, and growing decentralization, Solana proves that blockchain can go beyond DeFi and NFTs to power real-world financial services at scale.
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As innovation continues—and especially with upcoming upgrades like Firedancer—the line between traditional finance and crypto-native infrastructure will blur even further. For businesses and developers alike, now is the time to understand and engage with these emerging payment rails.