Visa Allows Payments To Be Settled With Crypto Using Ethereum Network

What Happened: Visa Inc V has launched a pilot program to allow transactions to be settled via cryptocurrencies on its payments network, Reuters has reported.

Transactions on the network will be settled via the stablecoin cryptocurrency USD Coin (USDC), whose value is directly pegged to the U.S dollar.

The payments giant has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com for the program and is expected to add more partners later this year.

“We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies, and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers,” said Cuy Sheffield to Reuters, head of crypto at Visa.

Why It Matters: Visa’s latest move eliminates the need for cryptocurrencies to be converted to traditional fiat currency in order to settle transactions.

Previously, a card holder’s cryptocurrency wallet would deposit fiat currency into a bank account which would be wired to Visa at the end of the day – something that added cost and complexity to the business.

Now, digital asset bank Anchorage and the Ethereum blockchain have enabled Visa payments to be settled in cryptocurrency alone.

See also: How to Buy Ethereum (ETH)

Visa said that it had completed the first transaction of this nature earlier this month, with Crypto.com sending the stablecoin USDC to Visa’s Ethereum wallet address at Anchorage.

Crypto.com commented on the transaction, calling it “a huge milestone for the industry as crypto and fiat networks begin to converge.”

According to Eric Anziani, chief operating officer at Crypto.com, to further support this effort, Crypto.org Chain will work to support USDC issuance on its network later this year.