Visa announced that it has successfully processed a USDC payment directly on the Ethereum blockchain, using the USDC cryptocurrency. The international payments giant thinks it can introduce this new feature to its collaborators by the end of the year. Bitcoin is back above $ 58.000 in the wake of the latest news.
Visa leverages Ethereum to process cryptocurrency payments on its network
According to a post published on its blog on March 29, Visa has partnered with card issuer and cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to make cryptocurrency payments more efficient. In a pilot program conducted earlier this month, Crypto.com sent a transaction in USDC to Visa's ethereum address at blockchain institutional security firm Anchorage. The announcement describes this as "a small step for Visa's settlement platform, a giant step forward in integrating digital and traditional fiat currencies."
The company's use of the Ethereum blockchain eliminates the need to convert cryptocurrencies into fiat money before the transaction is completed, substantially eliminating the current complexities for many companies.
Jack Forestell, Visa's Chief Product Officer, said: “Native cryptocurrency fintechs want partners who understand their business and the intricacies of digital currency form factors. What we announced today marks an important milestone for us to fully meet the needs of fintechs in managing their cryptocurrency or stablecoin assets. This becomes a real extension to the work we do every day. In this way, secure payments in all currencies of the world are facilitated ”.
Visa also notes that its payment system currently handles "billions of dollars" every day. In the future, the credit card giant is set to “support reconciliation and currency conversion for stablecoins like USDC” and a “regulation report” for cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin ready for the mainstream
Notably, Visa's foray into the cryptocurrency industry doesn't end there. Visa CEO Al Kelly recently indicated that the company is planning to add support for bitcoin purchases on its credentials.
The move comes at a time when institutional investors like Mastercard, PayPal, MicroStrategy, Square, bitcoin mining company Marathon, Tesla, and others have embraced bitcoin.
After investing a staggering $ 1,5 billion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a few days ago that the electric vehicle maker will accept bitcoin payments.
The price of bitcoin reacted positively to the announcement. The largest cryptocurrency in the world is trading at $ 59.114,10, up 3,60% on the day. Suffice it to say that Visa's bold move is likely to bring bitcoin one step closer to traditional adoption.
If this were to happen, it wouldn't surprise us to see the quotation of bitcoin skyrocket and continue an incredible run. The value at the end of the year, therefore, could really reach 100 thousand dollars.
