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Visa Inc. on Tuesday said its crypto strategy would remain the same after a news report said it and fellow payment company Mastercard Inc.
MA,
were halting efforts to forge new partnerships with crypto firms.
A Reuters report on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the companies were delaying the launch of crypto-related products and services until market conditions and the regulatory environment improve. The delay comes after the after high profile industry setbacks, including the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX and digital asset lender BlockFi.
A Visa
V,
spokesperson told MarketWatch that the company’s strategy would remain the same as before, and that the report didn’t accurately portray Visa’s position on crypto.
The spokesperson said recent high-profile failures in the crypto sector were an important reminder that there is a long way to go before crypto becomes a part of mainstream payments and financial services and that Visa’s priority would be maintaining the integrity of hte company’s payments system.
“The recent failures do not change our crypto strategy and focus — to serve as a bridge, helping connect both platforms and technologies emerging in the crypto ecosystem with our global network of 80 million merchant locations and 15,000 financial institutions,” the spokesperson said.
A Mastercard spokesperson told MarketWatch in an email that its efforts would remain focused on the underlying blockchain technology and how that can be used to build more efficient systems for customers. Mastercard did not directly address whether it would be pausing the rollout of products and services.
Both Mastercard and Visa had partnered up with crypto companies in the past year. Mastercard worked with crypto lender Nexo in April to launch a crypto-supported payment card, and Visa had agreements with crypto exchange FTX that it later cut ties with when the exchange filed for bankruptcy in November.
Crypto prices have cooled over the past year as well, with bitcoin
BTCUSD,
trading at $23,595, versus $43,198 a year ago, according to CoinDesk data. Ether
ETHE,
is trading at $1,647, compared with $2,923 a year ago, according to CoinDesk data.
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