Despite the ongoing crypto bear market, VISA is betting that cryptocurrency investors will continue to use their holdings for day-to-day purchases.
According to a CNBC article published on October 7, the largest payments network in the world is partnering with FTX, a globally renowned crypto exchange, to launch debit card services in forty different countries, with a focus on Latin America, Asia, and Europe.
Users will be able to instantly access their FTX crypto investment account using a card that is currently available for purchase in the United States. According to VISA’s CFO, the move will allow customers to spend digital currencies as they would with any bank account without taking their funds off an exchange.
According to VISA CFO Vasant Prabhu, “Even though values have come down there’s still steady interest in crypto. We don’t have a position as a company on what the value of cryptocurrency should be, or whether it’s a good thing in the long run — as long as people have things they want to buy, we want to facilitate it. ”
Visa’s latest foray into the sector brings the company’s total number of cryptocurrency partnerships to more than 70. The San Francisco-based firm has previously collaborated with FTX competitors, Coinbase and Binance.
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, argues that the market must evolve beyond its current role as a speculative asset or, for some, a store of wealth and that this can only happen if merchants accept crypto card payments. The partnership alleviates the burden on businesses to develop cryptocurrency acceptance systems.
Both executives agree that the biggest opportunities exist in emerging economies, where currency volatility and inflation make digital assets more desirable than they might be in the United States. Bankman-Fried singled out Turkey and Argentina for their sky-high inflation rates, which currently sit at 83% and 78%, respectively.
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