Visa CEO, Alfred Kelly, announced the payment giant’s plan to begin working with wallets and exchanges. The goal is to launch a visa card solution that is interoperable with digital tokens.
According to Kelly, wallets and exchanges are made of cryptocurrencies, which consist of Bitcoins, digital currencies, and stable coins backed by fiat holdings. Because people mostly hold cryptocurrencies anticipating their increase in value and not to make payments with, Kelly states that Visa will categorize them as digital gold. Users can use their digital gold card to buy crypto or cash out coins from their digital wallets for fiat purchases.
Cryptocurrencies Are an Opportunity for Visa
Visa wants to tap into cryptocurrencies’ potential, especially in the post-COVID-19 world, where cash and check payments have reduced considerably. As people move away from cash, digital payment systems continue to expand rapidly. It will be a smart move for the payments giant to consider all possible digital currency options.
Central banks across the globe are also slowly expanding into digital currencies. The Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) that use blockchain systems are also advancing. Kelly recognized that digital currencies running on public blockchains are an addition to their network and part of their network to network strategy. Visa wants to be at the centre of this evolution to a crypto and other digital currencies world.
The visa network currently supports 160 currencies. In the announcement, Kelly declared that the digital gold initiative has already inked 35 partnerships with leading digital currency platforms and wallets. The firms are open to handling wallets and exchanges for more digital currencies, which will grow to be utilized to exchange.
Cryptocurrencies Expanding Beyond Store of Value Function
In 2018, Kelly mentioned that Visa would expand into cryptocurrencies only if they evolved beyond their use as the store of value. The most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is nearing an all-time high despite its recent turmoil. With their values skyrocketing and cash transactions plummeting, Visa has seen cryptocurrencies’ undeniable potential filling all fiat money roles.
