Source: news.google.com
Visa refuses to become a dinosaur and will “actively contribute” to the development of the web3 and crypto ecosystem.
Outside of maximalists, few experts believe that cryptocurrencies pose an existential threat to fiat currencies. Legacy payment processors like Visa and Mastercard have increasingly joined with web2 era disruptors like PayPal and Square to support the web3 and crypto ecosystem.
Further public adoption of “crypto” is likely to come through CBDCs (central bank digital currencies) which are more familiar to the average person and offer the benefits of digital ledger technologies, including faster transactions, lower fees lower prices and better traceability.
Earlier this year, China’s CBDC project surpassed 360 million transactions with a total value of 100 billion yuan (£12.4 billion). The Bank for International Settlements also declared its CBDC pilot program a success.
A thread of tweets from Catherine Gu, Visa’s director of CBDC and protocols, suggests that the company will continue to help advance the industry:
Beyond acting as “a bridge of trust” between ecosystems, Visa also intends to actively contribute to the development of cryptocurrencies:
We have been closely following the development of the crypto ecosystem and many new technologies and innovations that are evolving very quickly. The best way to stay engaged and actively contribute to technical development in the crypto ecosystem is to learn by doing.
— Catalina Gu (@catgu_) December 19, 2022
And ultimately help advance web3 and improve areas that are currently lacking such as UX:
Gu specifically singled out Ethereum, the largest smart contract platform, as one of the ecosystems that Visa can collaborate with.
AA is a concept that Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin detailed in 2015 and has since been integrated into Layer 2 solutions like StarkWare:
Visa is said to be in regular communication with the main Ethereum developers. The smart contract platform is currently implementing Ethereum 2.0, a process that is expected to take several years to complete, but should correct its notoriously high fees and slow transaction speeds.
Following the grim headlines that have rocked the industry over the past year, it’s good to see players of all shapes and sizes continue to build the infrastructure that will power the next generation of the web.
The full Visa whitepaper ‘Automatic Payments for Self-Custodial Wallets’ can be found here.
Related: Ripple: Most financial institutions plan to use crypto within three years
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