After a report indicating that Visa and Mastercard are temporarily halting their digital asset endeavors, the former’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield, took to Twitter to deny the rumors. According to Sheffield, not only has Visa’s long-term strategy regarding cryptocurrencies remained unchanged, but the firm also has no intention to pause its partnerships with digital asset companies in the short term.
Visa’s Cuy Sheffield Denies Reports that the Payment Giant Is Halting Crypto Partnerships
Earlier on Tuesday, Reuters reported that Visa and Mastercard are pausing their cryptocurrency efforts due to the current turmoil in the industry. At the same time, it was alleged that despite the temporary halt, both companies remain committed to their cryptocurrency strategies long-term.
Just hours later, Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s Head of Crypto, took to Twitter to deny the reports. According to Sheffield, while his company acknowledges the uncertainty currently engulfing the industry, Visa is not only halting its partnerships but is actively searching for more cryptocurrency companies to work with. According to the payment giant’s head of crypto, Visa still holds the view that fiat-backed digital assets have a serious potential to become a major part of the payments ecosystem.
Circle’s Jeremy Allaire endorsed Sheffield’s statement calling on the community to ignore “FUD” stemming from various media reports. He also lauded Visa for its continued work with regard to blockchain and added that he and his company are thrilled to continue cooperating with the payment giant, as well as with other similar companies.
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Visa and Mastercard Continue Digital Asset Expansion
Both Visa and Mastercard have been actively pursuing partnerships with numerous cryptocurrency companies around the world. Both companies have also so far proven committed to their cryptocurrency-related efforts through various setbacks such as in 2021 when Binance was facing regulatory pressure from agencies in multiple countries in all corners of the world.
The payment giants’ partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange already saw the issuance of Binance and either Visa or Mastercard-branded cards in multiple countries across the globe with the most recent addition coming in the form of a new debit card in Brazil. The two companies have also partnered with other major firms in the industry such as Blockchain.com with that partnership leading to the issuance of a no-fee card in the US.
The most recent developments when it comes to the companies’ cryptocurrency efforts came in February. On the 6th, it was reported that Visa is actively exploring stablecoin settlements. For its part, Mastercard entered into a partnership with a New Zealand company called Immersve in an effort to enable customers to make everyday payments with their cryptocurrency wallets.
This article originally appeared on The Tokenist
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