The bear market brought about immense loss to a multitude of people over the last couple of months. This, however, did not stop platforms from doubling down on their interest in crypto. Payments giant Visa did not steer away from the industry and its latest partnership was proof of the same. Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto platform, FTX was fueling this collaboration.
As per its latest partnership, FTX is expected to roll out debit cards across 40 countries. Unlink other debit cards, this one would allow customers to make purchases without having to move their cryptocurrencies from the exchange.
Visa’s CFO Vasant Prabhu noted that Visa’s stance on crypto remains neutral. However, it intends to address consumer demands and facilitate them.
Elaborating on Visa’s latest crypto-centric move, SBF said,
“It’s a technology that we absolutely see disrupting traditional payment networks. There’s a decision you have to make as a traditional payments company: do you want to lean into this or do you want to fight against it? I respect the fact that many of them are leaning into it.”
Taking Crypto beyond the US
As mentioned earlier, the debit cards would be launched in about 40 countries. It was noted that both the parties involved were focusing on Latin America, Asia, and Europe. The cards will instantly connect to a user’s FTX crypto account and are already accessible in the United States.
Bankman-Fried addressed the same and said,
“Many of these things like are potentially cool and valuable in the United States but more so when you look globally. That’s where you’ll find places with really poor alternatives for payment rails and huge demand for something better.”
Amidst this ever-surging interest in crypto, the fear of risk surrounding these assets continues to persist. Prabhu stated that “nothing is risk-free, you do the best you can.” However, Visa has reportedly been onboarding innovation while safeguarding the Visa brand.