Visa and JPMorgan Use Solana Rails But One Risk Still Worries Banks

Ben Graham · ontem às 06:44

Major financial institutions, including JPMorgan and Visa, are increasingly turning to Solana SOL $138.64 1.48% Solana SOL Price $138.64 1.48% /24h Volume in 24h $4.58B Price 7d Learn more for real-world money settlements. In December 2025, Visa launched its USDC settlement program in the United States, enabling U.S. banks to settle obligations using Circle’s USDC stablecoin directly on the Solana blockchain. Early participants such as Cross River Bank and Lead Bank helped the program reach more than $3.5 billion in annualized settlement volume by late 2025, with Visa planning a wider rollout to additional U.S. partners throughout 2026.

Around the same time, JPMorgan arranged a $50 million U.S. commercial paper issuance for Galaxy Digital on Solana. This short-term debt was purchased by investors including Coinbase and Franklin Templeton, with settlement handled in USDC directly on the public blockchain.

Stablecoin supply on Solana has grown significantly, reaching approximately $15 billion. These moves reflect a larger pattern in traditional finance: institutions are shifting settlement and tokenised asset operations from private or permission-end systems to high-performance public blockchains like Solana, prioritizing speed, low costs, and 24/7 availability.

(Source: DefilLama)

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What Does It Mean When Banks Use Solana as a Settlement Rail?

Settlement rails refer to the systems that transfer funds between parties after transactions clear. They form the core infrastructure for reliably moving money.

Visa has expanded its USDC settlement program to U.S. institutions. USDC is a stablecoin backed 1:1 by U.S. dollars, enabling round-the-clock transfers. In December 2025, Visa launched this in the United States, with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank as initial participants settling obligations using USDC on Solana. The program reached over $3.5 billion in annualised settlement volume by late 2025, with broader U.S. rollout planned through 2026.

So not only Visa but also JPMorgan has advanced its use of Solana. In December 2025, the bank arranged a $50 million U.S. commercial paper issuance for Galaxy Digital on the Solana blockchain. This short-term debt instrument was purchased by investors, including Coinbase and Franklin Templeton, with settlement in USDC. The bank plans to extend this model to more issuers and asset types in 2026.

LATEST: JPMorgan has arranged Galaxy Digital's first commercial paper offering on Solana, with Coinbase and Franklin Templeton purchasing the tokenized debt in what is described as one of the first debt issuances executed on a public blockchain. pic.twitter.com/lgo5kVy0PK

— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) December 12, 2025

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This is How Banks Use Solana Without Buying SOL Tokens

So why aren’t banks accumulating SOL tokens? The answer is that institutions view Solana as infrastructure, not a speculative asset. Basically, they seek reliable performance rather than price exposure.

Solana offers high throughput, thousands of transactions per second, and very low fees. These features suit stablecoin movements and tokenized assets. Stablecoin supply on Solana grew to around $15 billion by January 2026. This growth supports increasing settlement volumes without the delays or costs of traditional systems.

Banks separate infrastructure decisions from token investments. Price-focused products, such as potential SOL ETFs, address exposure separately.

(Source: Sosovalue)

JPMorgan and Visa Chose Solana, but Network Centralisation Remains a Key Concern

One metric continues to raise questions among institutions: the degree of control over the network.

Solana has hundreds of validators, but stake distribution matters more. The Nakamoto Coefficient, a measure of how many entities could theoretically disrupt the network, stands around 20-30 based on recent data. This indicates that a limited number of validators control a significant portion of staked SOL. While improved from earlier levels, it falls short of the most decentralised networks.

Progress includes the full launch of Firedancer, a second validator client developed by Jump Crypto, on mainnet in December 2025. This diversifies the software stack and reduces risks from single-client dominance. Further upgrades, such as Alpenglow targeted for early 2026, aim to enhance resilience and performance.

Banks monitor these metrics closely, as reliability is essential for large-scale operations.

For now, Visa keeps building in crypto even during quiet markets. And this is a good signal for Solana.

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The post Visa and JPMorgan Use Solana Rails But One Risk Still Worries Banks appeared first on 99Bitcoins.