Visa has denied media reports that it is allegedly putting its cryptocurrency projects on hold following the collapse of several major crypto companies. Mastercard also said it will continue to explore use cases for blockchain technology.
On February 28, Reuters published an article stating, citing unnamed sources, that Visa and Mastercard have “hit the brakes” on making new contacts in the crypto industry and decided to postpone the launch of certain products and services related to cryptocurrency.
The article notes that payment giants have put their crypto projects on hold due to recent bankruptcies in the industry and uncertainty in its regulation.
Visa Vice President and head of its crypto division Kai Sheffield said that the Reuters material is not true. He said that the company continues to cooperate with crypto companies and follows its roadmap to create new products related to digital assets.
Sheffield noted that recent setbacks in the industry will not change Visa’s strategy, which is primarily focused on stablecoin transactions, which can play an important role in the payment system.
Mastercard did not deny the accusations made in the Reuters article, but told Blockworks that it continues to explore use cases for blockchain technology.
“Our efforts remain focused on blockchain technology and how it can be applied to solve current problems and create more efficient systems for consumers and businesses,” said a Mastercard spokesperson.
Payment companies from the traditional financial industry are actively developing various projects related to blockchain and cryptocurrency. At the end of September 2022, the interbank messaging system SWIFT and the Chainlink oracle network announced a collaboration on a blockchain project that will allow traditional financial companies to conduct transactions on a platform that supports almost all blockchains.
In December, Visa announced that it had developed an auto payment solution on the Ethereum blockchain. In early February, the company conducted a trial run of payments in stablecoins in the SWIFT system. And Mastercard, using the infrastructure of its own Immersve Web3 protocol, announced that it would introduce cryptocurrency payments in DeFi services and metaverses.