VISA to Add Crypto to Its 70 Million Merchants Network

According to Al Kelly, CEO of VISA, the international finance company is going to add digital currencies to its payment network which contains more than 70 million merchants and hundreds of millions of users around the world.

Visa`s first-quarter 2021 report Kelly said that by adding virtual currencies to their payments the company will occupy a position to make crypto more “safe, useful, and applicable.”

"In this space, we see ways that we can add differentiated value to the ecosystem. And we believe that we are uniquely positioned to help make cryptocurrencies more safe, useful, and applicable for payments through our global presence, our partnership approach, and our trusted brand. We think of the crypto market in two segments."

Bitcoin as Digital Gold – Visa CEO

Besides, the fact that Visa CEO called Bitcoin digital gold is way pleasant and for sure meaningful for the crypto community.

"First, there are cryptocurrencies that represent new assets such as Bitcoin. Second, there are digital currencies or stable coins that are directly backed by existing fiat currencies. We see all currencies in that first segment as digital gold."

He then continued by saying that cryptocurrencies “predominantly held as assets that are not used as a form of payment in a significant way at this point.”

And added they are planning to work mainly with digital wallets and crypto exchanges “to enable users to purchase these currencies using their Visa credentials to cash out onto our Visa credential to make a fiat purchase at any of the 70 million merchants where Visa is accepted globally."

Not only VISA

Despite the uncertain legislation, Visa is not the first and not the last huge company that considers virtual currency as a legitimate payment method.

To conclude, 2020 was a great year for digital currency adoption. PayPal, the world's leading online payment company gave their millions of customers the opportunity to buy, sell and hold BTC and some other altcoins with fiat. PayPal also reportedly saw its trading volumes skyrocketing a few months later.

There are other big companies, such as MicroStrategy that made BTC its primary treasury reserve asset and now holds $26.6 billion in cryptocurrency.

For sure, 2021 will be even better for the crypto industry.