Al Kelly, CEO of Visa, said the payments giant is able to make cryptocurrencies “safer, more useful, and more applicable” and potentially add them to the company’s payments network. Kelly described cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as “digital gold”, which “is currently not used in any significant way as a means of payment”.
“Our strategy is to work with wallets and exchanges so that users can purchase these currencies with their Visa credentials or cash out our Visa credentials to make a fiat purchase from any of the 70 million merchants that accept Visa worldwide to do, “said Kelly.
The payment manager also said that stablecoins could be used for “global trade” and that “digital currencies running on public blockchains run as additional networks such as RTP or ACH networks”.
“Today, 35 of the leading digital currency platforms and wallets have chosen to issue Visa, including coin-based Crypto.com, BlockFi, Fold and BitPanda. These wallet relationships have the potential for more than 50 million Visa credentials. The next leading network has a fraction of that. And it goes without saying that as a particular digital currency becomes a recognized medium of exchange, there is no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today. “
