The company’s trademark owner applied for its name to be used in software “to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange” crypto and NFTs.
Visa’s trademark applications suggest more involvement in crypto space
SWIFT action: JPMorgan and Visa team on cross-border blockchain payments
Visa is set to integrate its B2B connect network with JPMorgan’s suit of blockchain based cross-border payment products.
Rep. Warren Davidson: Stablecoin bill has ‘outside chance’ of finalizing this year
Earlier this week, new draft legislation on stablecoins came to light aimed at “endogenously collateralized stablecoins.”
Mastercard to allow 2.9B cardholders to make direct NFT purchases
Card payments for NFTs were first announced in association with Coinbase’s latest NFT marketplace in January.
Tim Draper: Women will drive the next Bitcoin bull market
Famed crypto and tech investor Tim Draper believes the retail purchasing power of women, paired with Bitcoin acceptance at merchant stores, could send the asset to new highs above $250K.
Mastercard files 15 metaverse and NFT related trademarks
Mastercard joins Visa and American Express with moves into the Metaverse as it seeks to increase revenue streams and remain competitive in the virtual economy.
Nifty News: UK Royal Mint NFT, $960k Billionaire Dog rug and Pudgy Penguins
The Royal Mint NFT featured in a series of announcements aimed at making the UK a global crypto hub, with officials saying the NFT is “an emblem” of the approach the UK “is determined to take”.
Visa launches immersion program to help creators build their business with NFTs
The Visa Creator Program is the latest in a string of initiatives that Visa has carried out as it targets the digital creator economy.
Crypto Biz: Have you considered a career in crypto? March 11-17
Companies like Visa and Nomura Holdings have set up dedicated crypto departments as they continue to embrace digital assets.
Visa seeks new college grads for Crypto Development Program
Successful candidates will, among many other tasks, “define Visa’s crypto strategy and identify new product opportunities.”
No credit for crypto — users react to Russia-issued credit card ban
“Visa and Mastercard dig their own graves by politicizing their products and pushing people all over the world toward Bitcoin,” said Marty Bent.
Cambridge University launches crypto research project with IMF and BIS
Some regulators were recently concerned about the alleged lack of consistent and transparent data on crypto markets.
Tribal partners with Visa to expand credit options for businesses
The initiative is focused on expanding credit and financing options for small- and medium-sized businesses in Latin America.
Can crypto be used to prove financial independence for travel visas?
“There could be individual situations where a consulate might also accept other proof of assets, such as crypto-assets,” said Laura Bernard of the European Commission.
Warren Buffett invests $1B in Bitcoin-friendly neobank, dumps Visa and Mastercard stocks
The “Oracle of Omaha” now has more companies in his portfolio that have direct/indirect exposure to Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies.
Digital yuan transactions beat out Visa at Winter Olympics venue: report
Many of the National Stadium retailers allowing purchases with China’s CBDC were outside the Olympics’ quarantine bubble for athletes, journalists, and staff.
Visa Teams Up With Consensys To Build Payment Infrastructure For CBDCs
Visa and ConsenSys, a blockchain software startup, are working to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program to explore retail applications such as cards and wallets.
Both firms will first meet with an estimated 30 central banks to discuss the goals that governments hope to achieve with government-backed digital currency. The pilot program is scheduled to begin in the spring of this year.
Visa To Pilot CBDC In Select Countries
Visa (V) announced on Thursday that it will take its crypto services to the next level by teaming with blockchain software company Consensys to create a central bank digital currency onramp (CBDC).
The payments giant plans to launch a “CBDC sandbox” in the spring, where central banks can try out the technology after minting it on Consensys’ Quorum network.
Visa Trades At $214. Source: TradingView
Customers will be able to use their CBDC-linked Visa card or digital wallet anyplace Visa is accepted globally, according to Catherine Gu, Visa’s head of CBDC, who spoke with ConsenSys in a blog post Q&A.
Gu Said:
“If successful, CBDC could expand access to financial services and make government disbursements more efficient, targeted and secure – that’s an attractive proposition for policy makers.”
A CBDC is a type of central bank obligation that is issued in digital form and can be used by the general public, comparable to the US dollar.
Related article | Visa Survey Shows Crypto Payments Could Boom In 2022
Countries Are Launching CBDCs
The decision comes as regulators around the world struggle to figure out how to treat CBDCs in a changing financial landscape dominated by cryptocurrencies. The notion that crypto and digital money will upend financial markets or replace fiat currency is a major issue.
Mastercard also announced the launch of a CBDC test platform in 2020, which allowed banks to simulate the issuance, distribution, and exchange of CBDCs amongst banks, financial service providers, and consumers.
“Central banks are moving from research to actually wanting to have a tangible product they can experiment with,” Chuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto.
If Visa is successful, it might help bridge the gap between central banks and financial institutions. Visa is accepted by over 80 million merchant locations worldwide.
In the last year and a half, the number of countries investigating CBDCs has more than doubled. According to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker, at least 87 different countries — accounting for 90% of global GDP — are considering financial technology in some way.
China has already started a number of digital yuan pilot initiatives and plans to accept the currency for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Nigeria and the Bahamas have their own CBDCs in circulation.
In early December, Visa announced the formation of a worldwide crypto advisory practice to assist financial institutions in developing their cryptocurrency operations as demand for crypto goods grows.
Related article | Visa Is Building A Payment Channel Network On Ethereum
Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView.com
Visa Survey Shows Crypto Payments Could Boom In 2022
The payment company giant Visa Inc just surveyed 2,250 small businesses from nine countries to understand if merchants are planning to adopt crypto to receive payments. Results show that over 25% of them want to start doing so this year.
Reuters reported that Visa expects many retail businesses to join the crypto boom starting this year. The payment company has been long involved in the cryptocurrency industry and is interested in its mainstream acceptance as an opportunity to grow its own line of products and services.
Visa currently offers cryptocurrency-linked cards for consumers to make purchases using digital currencies. However, this service doesn’t mean stores directly accept digital assets as payments. The user’s holdings directly turn into a fiat currency “instantly, behind the scenes” as they pay.
Even though Visa consumers are reportedly adopting crypto with over $3.5 billion in crypto-linked digital transactions in 2021, merchants have been skeptical about directly receiving it as payment so far.
Visa’s Crypto Survey Results
Visa surveyed small businesses from the United States, Brazil, Singapore, Canada, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Germany, and Ireland.
Reportedly, small businesses from North America were the least enthusiastic about starting to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. 19% of small businesses from the U.S. and only 8% from Canada want to offer digital currencies as a form of payment this year.
However, over 30% of small retailers from the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Brazil –where the crypto industry is booming– intend to allow users to pay using crypto in 2022.
Furthermore, around three-quarters of the surveyed retailers thought that accepting crypto as a payment option would be “fundamental” for their businesses to grow.
Related Reading | Visa Creates Service To Advise Financial Institutions On Cryptocurrencies
BitPay Chips In
Similarly, CEO of crypto payments platform BitPay Stephen Pair just made comments that contribute to the 2022’s forecast on digital currencies acceptance.
BitPay company provides cryptocurrency payment processing services for retailers and reportedly has seen a growing number of businesses using their services to directly receive digital currencies as payment.
Pair thinks that “There could be an inflection point in 2022″ for the common use of digital coins “where it starts to become a little unusual for you to not have some”. He commented the following:
“I think in 2022, you’ll see many more people — that next wave of people — getting interested in crypto both from an investment perspective and a ‘let’s try it for a payment’ [perspective]…There’s going to be many more places with that service — that you’ll be able to spend crypto and do it in an in-person setting, which may make people more comfortable trying it out than perhaps if it’s on a website where they’re not sure if they’re doing it right or wrong.”
Related Reading | FinTech Behind Cardano’s First Stablecoin Launches Bank Accounts And Visa Debit Cards
Crypto total market cap at $2.0 trillion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
Solana: A Quick Review And Look Ahead
Solana has had an amazing past 2 years as it became one of the fastest growing altcoins; in 2022, we see how they are doing what many tokens couldn’t and won’t be able to do.
Few fall in the same category as Solana, so let’s take a look at what’s taken the token here, and what may look ahead.
Related Reading | GameStop Turn To NFTs, Plans To Launch Marketplace Later In The Year
Briefing Of Solana And It’s Rise During 2021…
Solana in short, is a public blockchain platform. It achieves consensus using the proof of stake mechanism. It’s internal cryptocurrency ticker is SOL. In 2021, Bloomberg journalist Joanna Ossinger described Solana as “a potential long-term rival for Ethereum,” citing superior transaction speeds and lower associated costs.
Last year was a pretty good year for Solana ($SOL) as many early investors saw upwards of 45,000% gains in 2021 – which propelled Solana to being a top 10 crypto. Altcoins had a booming year, and Solana was no exception. The project has a unique blockchain that uses ‘proof-of-stake’ coupled with ‘proof-of-history’. This means transactions are processed in order, which results in very quick, very low costs transactions.
SOLANA hit a 10% drop this past week. SOL-USD on TradingView.com
Solana also made headlines with Visa as they get ready launch their Fast Track program. According to a press release in recent months, Zebec is the first Solana-based project accepted to the Visa program, which has supported companies such as Stripe, Chime, and Crypto.com. Here’s what Sam Thapaliya, founder and CEO of Zebec Protocol, stated regarding the release:
“By joining Visa’s Fast Track program, exciting Fintechs like Zebec Protocol gain unprecedented access to Visa experts, technology, and resources. From payroll to investments, subscriptions, rewards and more, Zebec is completely reimagining every financial transaction by making it programmable and continuous. We’re thrilled to join with Visa to accelerate the process of bringing our innovative payment solutions to millions of users worldwide.”
The Good And The Bad..
Many investors are excited to see what Solana brings to the table, as recent studies show that a survey of 30 random crypto token holders, 10 held Solana’s token over bigger coins.
Despite high rising movement throughout 2021 for many of the biggest names in altcoins, 2022 has been a rough go for most if not all of the top altcoins on the market. SOL’s price has not been kind to bulls of late. Over the past nine trading days, SOL has dropped nearly 30% from the high of nearly $205. With that being said, the selling pressure at the highs was nothing compared to the buying pressure at the lows, and that is a sign of hope for the near future.
Related Reading | TA: Bitcoin Consolidates Below $45K: What Could Trigger Another Decline
Binance to finalize acquisition of Swipe, paving for CEO exit
The exchange acquired a majority stake in Swipe in July 2020 as part of a broader effort to advance mainstream adoption of crypto payments.
