• Visa and Mastercard have reportedly paused their crypto-related products, citing uncertain market and regulatory conditions.
• The payment giants are however still focusing on blockchain technology, sources said.
• Both companies have struck numerous partnerships with projects and services across the digital assets space.
Visa and Mastercard, two of the world’s leading payment card companies, have reportedly put brakes on their respective crypto-related products due to recent turmoil in crypto markets as well as a fresh regulatory cloud that currently hangs over the broader sector. Sources say that both companies are pausing new partnerships until these conditions change but will continue to focus on blockchain technology.
Over the past two years, increased adoption of cryptocurrencies in the payments sector has seen Visa and Mastercard take an aggressive approach towards integrating crypto into their services. The US-based companies have indeed struck numerous partnerships with projects and services across the digital assets space including Crypto.com, Nexo, and most recently Wirex. However, due to current market uncertainty they are now pushing back on plans for new partnerships until further notice.
Despite this setback, both Visa and Mastercard are not scrapping their crypto strategies just yet according to sources. Instead they will continue to focus on exploring blockchain technology which could offer solutions for payments processing in the future. A spokesperson for Mastercard commented that this is where their focus lies at present irrespective of any other circumstances surrounding cryptocurrency assets.
The uncertain regulatory landscape is one of the main factors causing Visa and Mastercard to pause plans for new crypto product partnerships for now according to sources close to developments at both companies. It remains unclear when or if certain regulations may be relaxed or changed which would pave way for further integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream payments systems such as those offered by Visa or Mastercard but they remain hopeful that these changes may come soon enough so that they can resume work on these initiatives once again in future.
It appears that although Visa and Mastercard have hit pause on some of their plans regarding integration of cryptocurrency into payments systems at present due to uncertain market conditions, they still remain focused on exploring potential applications of blockchain technology which could enhance existing methods in this space going forward – a sentiment echoed by a spokesperson from one company who noted that this is where their focus currently lies regardless of the circumstances surrounding cryptocurrency assets right now.