Hyundai Card Tests Stablecoin Treasury Rails on Avalanche

Hyundai Card has successfully tested its stablecoin treasury rails on Avalanche, settling a $20,000 intercompany transfer between U.S. and Mexico affiliates in just seven minutes.

The transaction used USDT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether, to facilitate the transfer. This is significant because it demonstrates that stablecoins can be used as corporate treasury infrastructure rather than just a crypto investment product.

The pilot program involved Hyundai Card, Hyundai Motor America, and Hyundai Motor Mexico, among other participants. It also highlighted the importance of compliance in using stablecoins for cross-border payments. The company had to review accounting treatment, tax exposure, legal standing, and internal-control frameworks across both jurisdictions before running the transfer.

The European phase of the pilot, scheduled for late July 2026, will involve Circle (USDC/EURC) and Visa as partners. This will test the feasibility of using stablecoins for multi-currency intercompany transfers and on-chain foreign-exchange conversion through stablecoin liquidity pools or through Circle's own settlement routes.

The pilot program has sparked debate about the regulatory environment in South Korea, where the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act does not formally recognize stablecoins as a legitimate means of cross-border payment. However, Hyundai Motor Group is pushing ahead with its plans to use stablecoins for remittance rails, which could potentially update the domestic regulatory framework.