Following Western Union's launch of a stablecoin on Solana

Western Union, one of the world's largest money-transfer companies, is moving closer to blockchain with the launch of a new stablecoin issued by Anchorage and operated on the Solana network, bringing Solana into mainstream finance.

The executive is calling Western Union's decision to launch a stablecoin on Solana a major step towards mainstream digital payments.

Related: 175-Year-Old Fintech Giant Reveals Plans to Launch Stablecoin on Solana

Speaking to Jackson Hinkle of The Street Roundtable, Sheraz Shere, General Manager of Payments and Commerce at the Solana Foundation, said that stablecoins have already proven their value in real-world use cases like cross-border payments, but widespread adoption still depends on traditional institutions.

"Stablecoins are the most important thing for everyone," he said. "They already have products that are ready for the market and are being used for money transactions. But we still need large payment companies and banks that know how to handle large-scale money transactions to drive adoption before this technology becomes mainstream."

According to data from Defilama, the total stablecoin market capitalization is $305.18 billion, with Tether (USDT) dominating at 60.1%. On Solana, stablecoins now total $13.49 billion, led by USD Coin (USDC), which holds 62.2%.

These figures reflect Solana's growing role in global stablecoin circulation and on-chain payments.

Solana's Growing Network of Payment Partners

The Western Union project joins a growing list of major institutions testing or integrating Solana's infrastructure.

The network has attracted payment firms like Visa and PayPal, both of which are experimenting with settlement on Solana, and recently listed on major broker platforms alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

When asked how Solana plans to compete with Ethereum and Tron, the two largest networks based on stablecoin activity, Shere said dominance comes from real-world utility rather than market capitalization.