Alfred Kelly calls bitcoin "digital gold" and says the company can use digital currencies in the same way that it processes traditional money on its network
In the first 2021 conference call to talk about the company's results, the CEO of Visa, spoke about the company's integration with cryptocurrencies.
For him, cryptocurrencies are a reality and will be the future of payments.
Al Kelly says the company is "in a unique position to help make cryptocurrencies safer" and aims to make digital assets "more useful and efficient as a means of payment".
The division of the crypto market into two segments
Kelly says Visa's intention is to divide the crypto market into two segments, which he defines as crypto and cryptocurrencies.
In the first, there would be assets such as bitcoin, which the CEO himself described as "digital gold", defining that the segment would include crypto "which are used predominantly as investment assets and not as a means of payment".
“Our strategy here is to work with wallets and exchanges to allow users to buy these assets with their Visa credentials, or make withdrawals to their Visa credentials, where they can buy with fiat currencies at any of the 70 million stores that accept Visa in the world ”, said the executive.
Regarding cryptocurrencies, he says the segment would include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and digital currencies backed by fiat currencies, such as stablecoins.
For him, these innovations in the payments sector can potentially “be used for global trade like any fiat currency”.
The payments giant's CEO also highlighted the cryptocurrency companies that already work with Visa in issuing cards. Some of them are BlockFi, Crypto.com, Fold and BitPanda.
“The partnership with these portfolios represents the potential to issue more than 50 million Visa credentials. "And it goes without saying that, as a specific digital currency becomes a recognized medium of exchange, there is no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which currently supports more than 160 currencies," concluded the executive.
Some of these partnerships are already well known, as is the case with BlockFi and the Brazilian fintech Alter.
But the possible adoption of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrencies directly executed on the Visa network can place coins and digital assets on an equal footing with the 160 currencies already used by the company in its payment network, which would certainly boost their adoption and use.
Visa vs Bitcoin
In recent months, Visa and BTC have fought an interesting “battle” in the financial market. This gained a lot of prominence when the market value of the cryptocurrency exceeded that of the company.
As of this moment, Bitcoin has become the largest financial product among currencies, banks and card issuers. The position remains until this moment.
Bitcoin's market value is 50% higher than Visa's. Source: AssetDash
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