Despite press reports suggesting otherwise in the midst of a harsh bear market, payment processor Visa has stated that it is not slowing down with its cryptocurrency plans.
A Reuters report saying that both Visa and Mastercard were slowing down their cryptocurrency drive was “inaccurate” when it came to Visa, according to the US company’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield.
Visa believes that “fiat backed digital currencies running on public blockchains have the potential to play an important role in the payments ecosystem,” he continued, “despite the obstacles and uncertainty in the crypto environment.”
Visa has been collaborating with the cryptocurrency industry for a while, but lately things have slowed down: It terminated its international credit card contracts with defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November.
As part of a “long-term worldwide cooperation,” the company had declared intentions to roll out cards in 40 new nations; however, when the cryptocurrency company failed, they abandoned those plans.
Despite the difficulties and unpredictability in the cryptocurrency environment, it continue to believe that fiat-backed digital currencies operating on public blockchains have a significant chance of contributing to the payments ecosystem.
After a highly publicized crash that led to its bankruptcy, FTX is now being looked into for possible criminal mismanagement. Sam Bankman-Fried, the firm’s former boss, is now charged with 12 crimes on suspicion of commingling customer cash, according to the prosecution.
In October, Visa also submitted additional trademark applications, which may have been a sign of future plans for a crypto wallet and a metaverse product. Payments can be made and digital assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum stored using crypto wallets like MetaMask or Phantom. A shared virtual environment on the internet is referred to as the “metaverse,” which has become a focus for numerous fintech and cryptocurrency businesses.
U.S. politicians and regulators are being forced to come up with new suggestions on how to regulate the industry as a result of the collapse of the giant exchange FTX and the contagion that has followed.
Recent high-profile failures in the crypto industry are an important reminder that we have a long way to go before crypto becomes a part of mainstream payments and financial services, a Visa spokeswoman said in a statement.
Visa is still focused on strengthening its core strengths in Web3 infrastructure layers and examining the blockchain protocols driving crypto development, the representative further stated.
