Crypto-linked Card Usage Tops Cryptocurrency Spending in First Half of Year, Says Visa

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Visa Inc (NYSE: V) has announced that consumers spent over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency globally on goods and services through their crypto-linked cards in the first six months of the year. The American payment corporation reportedly estimated half of the current amount in the same period in 2020 and 2019. Visa however did not release the exact figures.

Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu speaking after the announcement stated that the company is doing a lot to create an ecosystem that makes cryptocurrency more usable and more like any other currency. “People are exploring numerous ways in which they can use cryptocurrencies for things they otherwise use normal or fiat currencies for. There are lots of risks, however, in terms of volatility, etc. But that’s up to the consumers of those cryptocurrencies to manage and track,” he stated.

“We know about the large volume of cryptocurrency transactions with these regulated crypto exchanges our network and as far as we can see that trend continues,” Prabhu added. The CFO however noted that Visa has no short-term plans to add any cryptocurrency to its balance sheet, citing Tesla, MicroStrategy as examples of companies who recently adopted cryptocurrencies.

Prabhu explained that the company only holds currencies they need to run their business on their balance sheet hence the reason not to hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheet. “We hold currencies that we get paid in or we pay people in which happens to be the US dollar, euro, and the British Pound. So we have absolutely no plans to hold cryptocurrency because it’s not typically the way we get paid or the way we pay people,” he said.

A recent research from one of Visa’s direct rivals MasterCard Inc (NASDAQ: MA) revealed that 93% of North American consumers have plans to use cryptocurrency or any other emerging payment technology, such as biometrics, contactless, or QR code systems, in 2022. The research study also stated that 75% of millennials would use cryptocurrencies if they had a better understanding of them.

Visa also revealed that crypto-linked cards as well as other payments platform startups including biometrics and QR code have the potential to upset the $18 trillion spent every year with cash and checks across the globe.

MasterCard will reportedly launch a card with Gemini, the crypto exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins this summer. The card will enable consumers to earn cryptocurrency as a reward. Cardholders will however not be allowed to access their digital wallet on the site.

Visa also announced today that it was adding the FTX cryptocurrency platform founded by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, to its Fintech Fast Track Program, which has set out to make cryptocurrency more practical for consumer and business spending.

Crypto fanatic, writer and researcher. Thinks that Blockchain is second to a digital camera on the list of greatest inventions.