While VISA may have taken a dim view of competition from Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies just a few years ago, that’s no longer the case at all since 2020. The bank card payments giant would even rather become an expert in crypto advice. And the latest statements from VISA’s head of crypto-assets are totally in line with this.
VISA seduced by the incredible potential of Bitcoin and cryptos
Not only is VISA no longer hostile to cryptocurrencies, but is now even contributing to their adoption/understanding. The payment company even has an advisory service called “Global Crypto Advisory” to help its customers and partners enter the cryptosphere.
NDTV media recently interviewed the head of VISA’s Cryptocurrency team, Cuy Sheffield. And to say the least, he is very optimistic about the future of the industry:
“While crypto wallets were initially used to simply store one’s crypto-assets, people are now using them for things, like discovering new genres of music or new forms of art. Crypto wallets increasingly have the potential to become a kind of “super app”, embedded in consumers’ daily lives. (…) Cryptocurrencies are not just a technological phenomenon or an asset class. It is also a deeply cultural phenomenon. Many users believe that there is tremendous potential, and that crypto will be part of the future of money.”
VISA: a special affinity for NFTs
Ever since VISA bought its first CryptoPunks, we’ve known that the bank card giant is a fan of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). But it seems that the company has an ambition to offer services in this area, to its corporate customers:
“NFTs are another exciting aspect of the crypto ecosystem that we are following closely at VISA. NFTs have the potential to become a powerful gas pedal for the creator economy, and lower the barrier to entry for individual creators to make a living through digital commerce. NFTs could also fuel small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in unprecedented ways. (…) NFTs allow small businesses to leverage public blockchains to produce digital goods, which can be delivered instantly to a crypto wallet (…)”
Cuy Sheffield
And VISA is putting its money where its mouth is, as the executive also explains that the number of employees working for the company in the crypto asset space has literally increased tenfold. Indeed, there are now reportedly “hundreds” of people at VISA who are looking into the revolutionary potential brought by Bitcoin and its altcoins.
We also learn that there have been many tie-ups between VISA and crypto-companies, as over the past 18 months, nearly 60 partnerships have been formed.
It must be said that VISA and its competitor Mastercard have perfectly understood that crypto-currencies are going to weigh heavily in the digital payment balance of tomorrow. In fact, with regard to Bitcoin in particular, this is already the case, since the volume of value processed by the BTC network has already surpassed that of PayPal.
