Why blockchain settlement rails are becoming core financial infrastructure

Settlement is shifting from overnight batches to instant, programmable rails. In August 2025, Marex became the first clearing firm to use J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys blockchain payment rails, Brevan Howard Digital expanded its role in building that ecosystem, and Visa added Avalanche to its stablecoin settlement infrastructure. These are not pilots, they are production systems. They show where financial markets are headed: programmable, 24/7 settlement that cuts risk and cost. Innovo is already applying the same model to clean energy, where speed and transparency matter just as much.

What happened with blockchain in 2025? 

On August 6, Marex announced it is the first clearing firm to settle trades using Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, a blockchain-based payments network that operates with deposit accounts. Brevan Howard Digital joined as a key partner, helping build the infrastructure for instant, programmable settlement. The goal is clear: reduce counterparty risk, lower cost, and bring efficiency to clearing workflows that have historically relied on slow, batch-based systems.

A week later, Visa confirmed on its Q3 earnings call that it had integrated Avalanche into its core settlement stack for regulated stablecoins like USDG, PYUSD, and EURC. This allows Visa to process cross-border transactions, remittances, and B2B payments at a speed and cost legacy rails cannot match. With $25 billion already spent on crypto-linked cards since 2020, Visa’s move shows stablecoins are no longer experiments, they are infrastructure.

Why does this matter for financial markets?

Traditional clearing exposes counterparties to settlement risk that can ripple through entire markets. Settlement is the backbone of financial stability. Delays create counterparty exposure, tie up capital, and add systemic risk. By moving from T+1 or T+2 cycles to near real-time programmable settlement, markets can shrink risk windows from days to seconds. Firms can free up liquidity, reduce collateral demands, and automate reconciliation. For clearing firms, asset managers, and payment networks, the business case is speed plus safety.

What does this signal about the future?

The direction is unmistakable: programmable money is becoming the standard for how value moves. J.P. Morgan, Visa, and Marex are showing that blockchain settlement rails can operate at institutional scale. Former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins captured the policy signal in early August: “We will make sure the next chapter of financial innovation is written right here in America.”  That means the next wave of market infrastructure will be built onshore, with regulated institutions driving adoption.

Taken together with J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys push and Visa’s Avalanche integration, the message is clear. Policymakers and market leaders are aligning on the importance of building programmable settlement rails inside the U.S. financial system rather than leaving that infrastructure to offshore markets.

How does Visa’s Avalanche integration accelerate this shift?

On its Q3 2025 earnings call, Visa confirmed that Avalanche is now part of its settlement infrastructure for regulated stablecoins like USDG, PYUSD, and EURC. The integration supports cross-border payments, remittances, and B2B settlement, with potential to lower costs and improve speed in markets where legacy rails remain slow and expensive. Visa has processed over $25 billion in crypto-linked card spend since 2020. By adding Avalanche, it signals that stablecoin settlement is no longer experimental, it is part of the core network strategy.

How does this connect to energy markets?

Energy markets face the same structural problems as finance: long settlement cycles, high transaction costs, and low transparency. At Innovo, we are applying the same playbook that Kinexys and Visa are using. Our platform digitizes the full lifecycle of Renewable Energy Certificates, sourcing, settlement, retirement, and reporting. Settlement is instant, data is enriched, and every transaction is verifiable.

Just as financial markets are moving from pilots to infrastructure, clean energy procurement is shifting from paper-heavy claims to digitized rails. The prize is the same: lower risk, lower cost, and the transparency regulators and investors demand.

What is the bottom line?

This August’s announcements from Marex, J.P. Morgan, Brevan Howard Digital, and Visa confirm what the market has known for years but only now sees in production: programmable settlement is not a side experiment, it is the future of financial infrastructure. And that future is already underway in U.S. clean energy markets.

At Innovo, we are building the rails that will carry the next wave of Renewable Energy Certificates with the same speed and transparency that financial institutions are now demanding in capital markets.

The rails matter as much as the asset. Let’s build them right.