Solana Stablecoin Payments Gain Momentum With Meta and Western Union

Circle’s USDC Minting Pushes Solana Toward a Larger Stablecoin Share

Circle minted $500 million in USDC on the Solana blockchain on April 29, adding another major liquidity injection to a network already seeing heavy stablecoin activity. That mint brought total weekly USDC issuance on Solana to $3.25 billion, based on on-chain data tracked by Whale Alert.

The latest minting moves Solana closer to holding roughly 10% of total circulating USDC supply. Ethereum still holds the largest share, accounting for about 66% of all USDC, but Solana’s growing share shows how quickly stablecoin activity is shifting across major blockchain networks.

USDC Activity on Solana Has Accelerated Through 2026

The recent $500 million USDC mint follows a broader rise in activity throughout 2026. Earlier in April, Circle minted about $3.25 billion in USDC over one week through repeated $250 million transactions.

SolanaFloor identified that stretch as the largest weekly stablecoin minting event of the year. By mid-April, total USDC minted on Solana in 2026 had already reached $38 billion.

That kind of volume points to a network becoming more central to stablecoin settlement, especially as payment-focused integrations begin to move beyond crypto trading and into real-world use cases.

Meta Begins USDC Creator Payouts on Solana and Polygon

The rise in USDC issuance lines up with a wave of payment integrations choosing Solana as a settlement layer. Meta began rolling out USDC payouts for content creators in Colombia and the Philippines, using both Solana and Polygon networks.

Stripe is serving as the infrastructure partner for the rollout. A Meta spokesperson told Decrypt that the company is “not issuing a Meta stablecoin,” but is instead using Circle’s USDC to “provide the most relevant payment options.”

The structure matters. Meta is not creating its own token for the payout program. It is using an existing stablecoin and established blockchain networks to support creator payments in selected markets.

Western Union Plans a Solana-Based Stablecoin for Settlement

Western Union also confirmed during its Q1 2026 earnings call that it will launch USDPT in May 2026. USDPT is a Solana-based stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank.

The token is designed to replace SWIFT-dependent settlement across Western Union’s global agent network, which spans more than 200 countries. That marks another payment-focused use case where Solana is being positioned as infrastructure for cross-border settlement.

Shinhan Card Signs Stablecoin Infrastructure Agreement With Solana Foundation

South Korea’s Shinhan Card also moved toward Solana-based payment infrastructure. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation on April 30 to develop stablecoin payment infrastructure built on the network.

Shinhan Card is South Korea’s largest credit card issuer, with 28 million cardholders. Its agreement adds another large payments player to the list of institutions exploring stablecoin systems on Solana.

Solana’s Stablecoin Transaction Volume Surpasses Ethereum for February

The growing activity reflects a wider shift in the stablecoin market. Solana processed $650 billion in stablecoin transactions in February 2026 alone, surpassing Ethereum for that month.

By March, total stablecoin supply on Solana had exceeded $17 billion. At the same time, USDC’s share of that supply declined from 82% in early 2025 to around 54%, as newer entrants such as USDG, USD1, and PYUSD established positions on the network.

That mix tells a more layered story. Solana is not just seeing more USDC activity; its stablecoin ecosystem is also becoming more diverse.

Stablecoin Competition Moves Beyond the Trading Desk

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron told Fortune that Meta’s stablecoin payout program is expected to expand to more than 160 countries by year-end.

That expected expansion signals how quickly the infrastructure race between blockchain networks is moving into real-world payment flows. Stablecoins are no longer being discussed only as trading tools. They are increasingly being used in payout systems, settlement networks, and payment infrastructure tied to large companies and global financial providers.