VISA said yesterday that its customers spent more than $1 billion (about R14.3bn) on its crypto-linked cards in the first half of this year, as the payments processor takes steps to make crypto transactions smoother.
The company said it was partnering with 50 cryptocurrency platforms to make it easier for customers to convert and spend digital currencies at 70 million merchants worldwide.
The move was in line with Visa’s broader acceptance of digital currencies. In March, the company announced it would allow the use of USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network.
Investor sentiment on cryptocurrencies has somewhat soured recently, with regulatory crackdowns in China and elsewhere. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, has seen a punishing slide following the euphoria earlier this year that took it to record highs.
However, a clutch of high-profile names are continuing to strengthen their involvement with the digital assets. Last week, Japan’s investment giant SoftBank invested $200 million in Mercado Bitcoin, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America.
Wells Fargo said in May it would onboard an actively managed cryptocurrency strategy for its wealthy clients, while Goldman Sachs launched a crypto trading team the same month.
Yesterday, cryptocurrency exchange Binance also said it planned on doubling its compliance team by year’s end and said it would “humbly welcome more capable talents” as it faces a blizzard of global regulatory probes.
Authorities in the UK, Japan, Germany and Thailand have raised concerns about the exchange, one of the largest, amid a worldwide crackdown on cryptocurrencies this year.
Binance offers spot crypto trading, derivatives, trade in tokenised versions of stocks and its own cryptocurrency, Binance Coin.
REUTERS