Seven leading crypto companies have announced the formation of the Blockchain Payments Consortium (BPC). The initiative aims to establish unified standards for blockchain payments and simplify the connection between the world of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance. It comes amid record growth in the use of stablecoins – digital currencies pegged to real-world assets – whose transaction volumes in 2024 already surpassed Visa and Mastercard combined.

Who’s behind it

The consortium brings together seven major crypto names: Fireblocks, Solana Foundation, TON Foundation, Polygon Labs, Stellar Development Foundation, Mysten Labs, and Monad Foundation.

Together, they aim to build a framework that harmonizes blockchain payment standards while aligning with the needs of traditional financial systems.

According to BPC representatives, today’s blockchain payment landscape is fragmented, and users and institutions often face interoperability issues.

“To unlock the full potential of blockchain, it’s essential to simplify transitions between traditional payments and blockchain-based ones,” the group stated.

Blockchain catching up with – and surpassing – card networks

The popularity of stablecoins has surged. Data from Artemis Terminal shows that transfer volumes over the past 30 days grew by 4.36 %, reaching 3.7 trillion USD.
For the entire year 2024, stablecoin transaction volume hit 27.6 trillion USD – 7.7 % more than

Visa and Mastercard combined.

Goal: faster and cheaper payments worldwide

The Blockchain Payments Consortium aims to make cross-border payments more efficient and affordable, addressing the slow and costly nature of the traditional financial system. The new standards are also expected to improve collaboration between the crypto sector and traditional banks while providing a unified approach to regulations across countries.

“This initiative will allow banks, businesses, and institutions to create payment systems that operate seamlessly across multiple blockchains and jurisdictions,” said BPC.

Common standards as the path to adoption

While cryptocurrencies continue to grow at record speed, technology alone isn’t enough for widespread adoption in everyday payments. The ability of blockchain networks to interoperate and follow shared standards will be key to achieving greater compatibility and trust.

That’s the mission of the Blockchain Payments Consortium, which could play a crucial role in accelerating the integration of blockchain payments into the mainstream financial system. If successful, crypto payments could become a viable alternative to traditional card networks such as Visa and Mastercard.

Sources:

https://x.com/bpconsortium/status/1986464063581294981

https://blockchainpaymentsconsortium.substack.com/p/introducing-the-blockchain-payments

https://app.artemisanalytics.com/stablecoins

https://blog.cex.io/ecosystem/stablecoin-landscape-34864