A recent report suggested that the giant Visa was shying away from cryptocurrencies. But the firm has confirmed its commitment to the ecosystem, particularly with regard to stablecoins
Visa still convinced by the interest of blockchain
A Reuters report yesterday said Visa and Mastercard had both paused some blockchain-related projects, according to several anonymous sources. But Visa’s head of crypto projects, Cuy Sheffield, responded late yesterday, explaining that this was not the case.
In a twitter thread, Cuy Sheffield explains that partnerships with crypto companies are indeed happening:
2/ We continue to partner with crypto companies to improve fiat on and off ramps as well as progress on our product roadmap to build new products that can facilitate stablecoin payments in a secure, compliant, and convenient way.
– Cuy Sheffield (@cuysheffield) February 28, 2023
“We continue to partner with crypto companies to improve the pathways for fiat payments, and we are making progress on our roadmap to build new products that facilitate stablecoin payments. “
Visa’s head of cryptos says that despite the uncertainty, Visa sees “fiat-backed digital currencies running on public blockchains” as having definite potential for the future of payments. And at the same time, it invites those working at the intersection of cryptocurrencies and traditional payment services to contact Visa.
Financial institutions not so shaken by the bear market
Mastercard also confirmed to CoinDesk that it is continuing to work with partners and focus on blockchain technologies… Without mentioning any specific crypto-currencies. That said, it is noted that the crisis situations experienced by the ecosystem in 2022 have had perhaps a more measured effect on the big players in traditional finance than might be expected.
Beyond Mastercard and Visa, we note for example that Goldman Sachs continues to hire in the blockchain sector. Its digital currency team confirmed yesterday that the bank continues to be “very supportive” of exploring blockchain-based applications.
So while there is a move towards assets deemed more secure (non-algorithmic stablecoins in particular), the major financial institutions don’t seem to be that shaken. The bear market that started last year is likely to last, but this underlying sentiment could allow the ecosystem to bounce back more swiftly than in the past.
