According to a CNBC report, payment giant Visa users spent more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency assets globally on goods and services through their crypto-linked cards in the first half of 2021. During an interview with CNBC, Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu highlighted the growing popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in recent years. The US-based payment firm also mentioned that it is planning to create an ecosystem to increase the usage of cryptocurrency assets.
Visa is working towards making crypto more useable.
The US-based payment firm reveaeld that they are working towards making crypto more useable. “We are doing a lot to create an ecosystem that makes cryptocurrency assets more usable and more like any other currency. People are exploring ways in which they can use cryptocurrencies for things they would use normal currencies for. There are lots of issues in terms of volatility, etc. But that’s up to the owners of digital currencies to manage and track. We see a lot of volume on our [network] of people buying cryptocurrencies at these various regulated exchanges, and as far as we can, see that trend continues,” Visa CFO said in the interview.
Institutional interest in bitcoin and crypto continues to grow.
In the past few years, institutional interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets has increased substantially. Large organizations, including Tesla, MicroStrategy, and Meitu, added Bitcoin and other digital currencies to their balance sheets this year alone. However, Visa CFO cleared that the company is not holding Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. “We don’t hold cryptocurrencies on our balance sheet today. We hold currencies on our balance sheet that we need to run our business. We hold currencies that we get paid in or we pay people in,” CFO added.
