After Paypal, Visa seems to be jumping onto the crypto bandwagon.
It took a lot for the crypto industry to shun off its association with the dark net. With the value of the overall industry surging to a high of a trillion dollars, several mainstream companies have been getting into the crypto-verse. Paypal recently won the hearts of several crypto lovers by adding support to an array of digital assets. While that further insinuated a crypto rally, Visa’s CEO recently revealed that Visa could be following the trail of Paypal and adding support for certain assets.
The CEO of Visa, Alfred Kelly recently addressed the fiscal Q1 2021 earnings call of Visa. In the same, Kelly spoke about the crypto industry. He went on to reveal that cryptocurrencies were going to make a debut on the payments platform.
While Visa has already been supporting an array of crypto platforms, Kelly suggested that the payments giant hopes to make cryptocurrencies safer to use. He added,
“In this space, we see ways that we can add differentiated value to the ecosystem. And we believe that we are uniquely positioned to help make cryptocurrencies more safe, useful and applicable for payments through our global presence, our partnership approach and our trusted brand.”
Previously, the payments platform had partnered with Facebook for its crypto venture, Libra [now renamed as Diem]. However, Visa backed out as the regulatory pressure around the project prevailed. Kelly further pointed out that digital assets would have a strong presence in global financial scene. “We think of digital currencies running on public blockchains as additional networks just like RTP or ACH networks, so we see them as part of our network of networks strategy,” Kelly suggested.
Furthermore, Kelly affirmed that cryptocurrencies would eventually make it to the Visa network as it already supports over 160 fiat currencies. He said,
“It goes without saying, to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there’s no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today.”