#稳定币支付 Stablecoins' evolving role in prediction markets is worth paying attention to. News mentions that Visa will launch an on-chain USDC settlement pilot in December, which is not just a simple upgrade of payment tools but a key evolution in prediction market infrastructure.

Breaking it down: by 2025, prediction market trading volume is expected to surge tenfold month-over-month to $13 billion, and the settlement pressure behind this number cannot be underestimated. Traditional fiat channels already face bottlenecks in scalability during peak demand; the liquidity concentration of 104 matches over five weeks of the World Cup will push the settlement infrastructure to its limits. The core advantage of stablecoins lies here—instantaneous, global coverage, available 24/7—these features will directly translate into competitiveness under peak loads.

But reality is complex. The European Central Bank, in its November financial stability assessment, remains cautious about the impact of private stablecoin expansion on bank funds. This means regulatory battles are still ongoing, and whether stablecoins can become "settlement middleware" depends on the speed of policy tilt.

In the short term, mainstream betting platforms will gradually integrate stablecoin deposit channels, but the key is not technical feasibility but whether regulators provide a sufficiently clear framework. The settlement pressure during the 2026 World Cup week will serve as a stress test—only platforms that can operate smoothly under complex regulation and extreme loads will be true winners.