Consortium including Visa, Mastercard jointly launch new global stablecoin

- A consortium (including Visa, Mastercard, and several major banks) plans to launch a new global stablecoin in 2026. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value (often pegged 1:1 to a fiat currency like the US dollar), unlike volatile assets like Bitcoin. - The initiative is a response to the rise of private stablecoins (e.g., Tether, USDC) and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Major payment networks fear being sidelined if digital payments shift to these competing systems. - This is notable because Visa and Mastercard have historically been competitors, not collaborators, in payments. Their joint effort signals a coordinated attempt by traditional finance to maintain relevance in the coming "tokenized" era of money movement. - The consortium model also attempts to solve the "trust" problem: no single company controls the stablecoin, which could make it more palatable to regulators than existing privately-issued stablecoins.