According to the chief of crypto division at the leading payment giant Visa, Cuy Sheffield, the stablecoin settlement might just be coming to the platform. In detail, Cuy Sheffield layed down the company’s plans at the StarkWare Sessions 2023. He Reveals that visa is working on a “muscle memory” for settlements.

The settlements will enable its 2.5 billion customer base to easily convert cryptocurrency assets and fiat currencies directly on its platform.

Visa’s attention is now on building upon the worldwide settlements with crypto and fiat currencies. According to Sheffield, this is what Visa is currency engaged in ;

That’s been one of the areas where we want to build muscle memory. The same way that we can convert between dollars and euros in cross-border transaction, we should be able to convert between digital tokenized dollars and traditional dollars.

Sheffield explains that Visa is already testing the process of settlement acceptance, particularly on the Ethereum and Stellar networks. Cuy further added saying:

We’ve been testing how to actually accept settlement payments from issuers in USDC starting on Ethereum and paying out in USDC on Ethereum. So, these are large value settlement payments..

Adoption of stablecoins is going to catapult in so many ways, and value for accepted stablecoins could respond positively after integration.

Visa is no stranger to Crypto

Visa has been on the journey of bringing blockchain to its platform. Although the global payment system SWIFT, is still where all transactions will take place.

He is quoted explaining this to Cointelegraph, saying the following ;

We set all over Swift, so we can’t move money as frequently as we’d like because there are a number of limitations that exist in those networks. And so, we’ve been experimenting, We publicly announced. We’ve been testing how to actually accept settlement payments [with stablecoins].

At a recent annual shareholders meeting, Visa’s former CEO AI Kelly shares some insight details.

Per Kelly’s observations, Visa sees the potential that stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have if integrated into its platform.

Cuy Sheffield added to these observations, saying that the company is concerned with taking some of the value that Visa already provides on existing banks and rebuilding it on top of blockchain rails. That will in turn facilitate the growth of the potential in that area, if any.

Der Beitrag Large value settlements payments on Ethereum and Stellar Lumens started by Billion-$-company VISA erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

• Pending the official introduction in February, the product is currently in the beta stage.

Brazil is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world with about 10 million users as of 2022. This represented 5 percent of the total population. The country was reported to have no established crypto regulation yet. However, a proposed bill has been in discussion by the House of Commons. This will ensure additional security for active and potential investors and improve oversight of all related companies. According to the latest report, crypto exchange Binance has launched a prepaid card for Brazilian users in partnership with financial services company MasterCard. 

Pending the official introduction in February, the product is currently in the beta stage. The full implementation will make it possible for Binance customers to pay bills and shop with the card. Binance has recently prioritized bridging the gap between the traditional finance world and the fast-growing industry of digital assets. Binance and MasterCard launched similar products in Argentina, which is also among the biggest economies in the region. Cardholders can manage their card through the card dashboard on the Binance App and website. 

Maximiliano Hinz, general director of Binance in Latin America said:

Payments are one of the first and most obvious use cases for crypto, yet adoption has a lot of room to grow. By using the Binance Card, merchants continue to receive fiat and the users pay in the cryptocurrency they choose. We believe the Binance Card is a significant step in encouraging wider crypto use and global adoption and now it is available for users from Argentina.

MasterCard double down effort on crypto involvement

In the last few years, MasterCard has been so much involved in cryptos with the company partnering with crypto company Paxos to come up with a trading program strictly focused on the financial institution. Cardholders were able to purchase Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in June 2022 on most of the known marketplaces. MasterCard’s crypto involvement has been closely followed by its rival. Visa earlier announced a deal with the defunct FTX exchange. The bill has, however, been terminated following the recent collapse of the FTX ecosystem. 

Walter Pimenta, Executive Vice President, Products and Innovation, at Mastercard Latin America and the Caribbean hinted at the company’s intention to collaborate with Binance on this project.

Our work with digital currencies builds on our strong foundation to enable choice and peace of mind when people shop and pay. Together with our partners, Mastercard has been leading the payments industry in enabling entry to this exciting new world, helping bring millions of additional users into crypto and other digital assets in a safe and trusted manner.

Mastercard’s New Payments Index 2022 disclosed that 51 percent of consumers in the region have already made transactions with crypto assets. Also, 54 percent of Latino consumers are optimistic about the performance of cryptos as an investment. In addition, two-thirds of the respondents look forward to the flexibility to use crypto and traditional payment methods interchangeably in their usual operations.

Elon Musk wants the Twitter payments system built with crypto in mind

In other news, Elon Musk has instructed developers to build Twitter’s payment system in such a way that it would support crypto functionality in the future. According to reports, the payment feature would be built to support fiat currencies for the start. 

Der Beitrag Bitcoin exchange Binance partners with trillion-$-company to bring crypto prepaid card to Brazil erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Recent reports show that Ripple partner DeeMoney has entered a partnership with Visa. The FinTech giant out of Thailand and a 3-year-old partner with Ripple, has partnered with Visa to fully integrate Visa Direct into its global payment platform.

Per this partnership, users will be able to carry out lighting speed cross-border payments globally. Visa as a global payment solution is present in over 170 countries and enables over 160 currencies. This becomes readily available to DeeMoney users in Thailand and will only need the Visa details of the recipient to send money.

The time-saving attribute of this partnership makes it very appealing. Visa claims that 30 minutes is more than enough for recipients to receive funds after the transaction. Unlike the days involved with traditional cross-border payment solutions.

The chief executive officer of DeeMoney, Aswin Phlaphongphanich, explains the value that Visa offers. He mentioned that Visa’s speed and security make it ideal for real-time payments.

This partnership allows our customers to send funds directly to their friends’ or family’s debit card accounts in real-time to more than 170 countries in over 160 transaction currencies. It also enables real-time payments 24/7, including weekends and holidays, which are not feasible with traditional bank

DeeMoney’s partnership with Visa rides on the back of its earlier partnership with Ripple. The partnership was intended to provide instant settlement for their customers on affordable cross-border payments in Thailand.

International Bank of Australia get RADI License

Novatti’s dedicated banking arm, IBOA, can now fully operate in Australia. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has granted the International Bank of Australia (IBOA), a Restricted Authorized Deposit-taking Institution (RADI) license until Nov. 2nd, 2024.

This license allows IBOA to offer banking services to the Australian population. It also gives Novatti access to spread its payment solution for cross-border payments in and out of Australia.

#Ripple partner Novatti (ODL) has built a bank, International Bank of Australia and obstained as Restricted Banking License. “The bank will be able to leverage Novatti’s existing payments ecosystem and global operating base…"https://t.co/ufjV09tk1G

— WrathofKahneman (@WKahneman) January 24, 2023

Peter Cook, the current managing Director of Novatti in a statement said,

Being granted a restricted banking license is a very significant milestone in the delivery of Novatti’s long term strategy, and is the culmination of several years of investment and development.

As seen in recent tweets from Australians living outside Australia, this licensing approval brings excitement as it eases their cross-border transactions.

In another statement, the acting CEO of IBOA, Guy Carvalho, highlighted that one of IBOA’s major focuses. Citing fintech partnerships as the topmost priority.

The newly licensed bank is well aware that traditional banks have not been able to match the disruptive tempo of fintech solutions. This is especially true for banks with alternative solutions for local and international payments. Hence, its pre-planned partnership with Novatti to leverage technology to stay ahead.

Der Beitrag Ripple partner joins forces with Visa to conquer billion-$-markets of Thailand and Australia – Report erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Stablecoins are becoming an essential part of the crypto economy despite the downtrend in the digital asset market. Most exchanges have seen a surge in stablecoin trading volume in recent weeks. In recently released data, Coin Metrics revealed that on-chain stablecoin settlements have risen by more than $7 trillion in 2022 and are expected to close the year with more.

Comparing Transaction Volumes

Interestingly, the largest card payment solutions provider, VISA, facilitates about $12 trillion in transactions yearly. These metrics show that stablecoin transactions are close to attaining the level of some of the card payment providers. In some cases, have surpassed several. Speaking about the latest development, Peter Johnson, co-head of Brevan Howard Digital, noted that stablecoin payment settlements had already outperformed Mastercard and American Express.

According to him, he foresees on-chain stablecoin transactions volume surpassing VISA by 2023. He added that stablecoin transaction volume exceeds VISA and is likely to outperform the aggregate volume of the four card payment providers. However, Johnson stressed that the on-chain stablecoins do not include transaction volume on centralized exchanges, which he believes make up a large part of their trading volume.

Many observers believe that the comparison between the two entities has no basis considering that they are from two different ecosystems. Some of the observers noted that Johnson failed to distinguish between credit card volumes and stablecoin settlements, which to them, are not identical. It is worth noting that Johnson’s comparison indicates a substantial increase in stablecoin adoption.

Credit card transactions involve users’ spending, while fiat-backed crypto assets like stablecoins are associated with crypto trading.

Will Stablecoin Transactions Surpass Credit Cards?

The lack of regulations creates a critical barrier to consumers’ active use of stablecoins for micropayments, just like they do with VISA and Mastercard. With no clear guidelines regarding stablecoins, it will be difficult for consumers to use the asset to pay for utilities as they do with conventional payment cards. However, the soon-to-retire Republican Senator Pat Toomey is moving to change the narrative with his proposed stablecoin bill.

The new bill seeks to allow non-state and non-banking platforms to issue stablecoins, subject to having a federal license approved by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Stablecoin issuers must comply with the country’s public disclosure standard, provide attestations from approved accounting firms and clearly outline their redemptive policies.

The Senator, who also serves as a member of the US Banking Committee, noted that the Stablecoin TRUST Act of 2022 would be the foundation of the upcoming stablecoin legislation in 2023. The Congressman on December 21 remarked that stablecoins are exciting financial technology that could transform the payment system and how money is used. Of the entire market capitalization of the crypto industry, stablecoins make up about 16.5% representing a value of $140 billion.

Tether’s USDT currently leads the stablecoin market with 66.3 billion tokens in supply, followed by Circle’s USDC with 44.3 billion.

Der Beitrag Tether, Stellar’s USDC, BUSD to overtake VISA, Mastercard, and PayPal in 2023 – Report erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) clinches a new milestone in its emergence into the multi-billion-dollar payment market. Leading non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet platform, Guarda, has announced that payments using SHIB are now enabled at over 60 million stores worldwide.

The feat is thanks to Guarda’s integration of the memecoin on its prepaid Visa card offering. The platform also announced the integration of other tokens, bringing the total number of supported cryptos to over 20. Other new additions include BUSD, DAI, DOGE, AAVE, and ATOM.

'Tis the season for #crypto shopping✨

Top up your Guarda @Visa Card with 20+ #cryptocurrencies… then pay in over 60M+ stores worldwide! 💳🛍️

🆕More assets supported to top-up your card⤵️ $BUSD$DAI$SHIB$DOGE$AAVE$ATOM

Book yours now 👉https://t.co/a744QvRweW pic.twitter.com/kHzEKM3yVD

— GUARDA 💎 (@GuardaWallet) December 15, 2022

The integrations are aimed at allowing Guarda Wallet users easily top up their Guarda prepaid Visa cards to shop during the holiday season.

The platform launched the card offering back in August this year. At the time, it stated that the offering was available in over 25 European Union countries. It includes options for both physical and virtual cards. The cards can also be added to other payment solutions like Apple Pay and will work everywhere Visa cards are supported.

“Guarda Wallet is thrilled to announce the release of its own prepaid Visa card. You can use this card anywhere Visa is accepted, which means you can use it for online shopping, in-store purchases, and much more,” the company noted.

Guarda is not the only payment solution to announce support for SHIB recently. Last month also saw FCFPay roll out further support for the memecoin. The company announced that SHIB holders can now pay for flight tickets with SHIB at both American Air and Air Canada.

FCFPay crypto-enabled prepaid Visa cards were already accepted at hundreds of online merchants including Netflix and Amazon. Similar to Guarda’s integration, FCFPay cards can also be added to Apple/Google pay, but only in the U.S. and Canada.

It added that SHIB can now be accepted by hundreds of online merchants including subscription-based streaming service Netflix and e-commerce giant Amazon. FCF Pay also enables users of its virtual Visa cards to connect to Apple/Google Pay in the U.S. and Canada and convert their crypto to local currency.

Will payments use case adoption drive SHIB to new price highs?

The adoption SHIB is seeing in the payments industry has the potential to move the token from being a memecoin to a coin with more utility. This could in turn drive the price of SHIB to higher price levels.

At press time, SHIB was trading at around $0.0000088, up 3.08% in the last 24 hours. This marks an about 90% drop from its previous all-time high price of $ 0.0000875 reached in October 2021.

Meanwhile, payments are not the only use case for which SHIB is seeing adoption. The Shiba Inu ecosystem is also awash with anticipation for the launch of projects including a metaverse platform and a layer 2 scaling solution.

Der Beitrag Shiba Inu enters billion-$-market with VISA partnership – Will it drive SHIB price to $1? erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Global financial services behemoth Visa has filed two crypto-related trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) detailing plans to manage cryptocurrency transactions and create a virtual environment “in which users can interact for recreational, leisure or entertainment purposes.”

The applications, which were filed on October 22 and disclosed by Washington-based trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis on October 27 further showed that the company planned on launching cryptocurrency wallets and software for auditing cryptocurrencies.

VISA has filed 2 trademark applications claiming plans for:

▶️ Managing Digital, Virtual, and Cryptocurrency transactions
▶️ Digital currency + Cryptocurrency wallets
▶️ NFTs + Virtual goods
▶️ Providing virtual environments
…and more#NFT #Metaverse #Web3 #Cryptocurrency pic.twitter.com/SnTkt8jx4o

— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) October 27, 2022

The applications also showed that the firm has its eyes peeled on Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and other digital collectables as it plans on providing temporary use of non-downable software for users to view, access, store, and transmit them on the d’Alembert system.

Visa’s crypto journey dates as far back as 2014 when Charlie Scharf, its former CEO, noted that there were some “interesting things” about Bitcoin. Early last year, Alfred Kelly the firm’s current CEO noted that crypto could become “extremely popular” in the next five years adding that even though that was not the case, he wanted to make sure that the company was in the middle of the crypto revolution.

Visa has been slowly stretching its tentacles into the crypto-ecosystem partnering with more than 60 crypto firms, including wallet service providers and crypto exchanges, to enable crypto payments at over 80 million merchants worldwide. In 2020, the San Francisco-based payments giant filed a patent application to create digital currency on a centralized computer using blockchain technology.

In December 2021, it launched crypto advisory services to help educate more customers about the nascent asset class. Last August, the firm purchased a $150,000 Crypto Punk NFT for its corporate collection later launching a program to help creators navigate NFTs.  Earlier this month, Visa partnered with FTX to help the exchange rollout FTX-branded debit cards for the Latin American Asian and European markets.

That said, Visa is not the only Institution that has been dabbling with the crypto sector. The number of firms making crypto-related trademark applications with the USPTO has been surging with Western Union and Paypal filing trademarks for various crypto services last week. Formula One, Ford, Facebook owner Meta, Ecommerce giant E-bay, Mastercard, and racing giant Formula One are some of the other global brands that have filed for crypto-focussed trademarks in the past year.

Der Beitrag BREAKING: Visa trillion dollar company to launch Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple (XRP) wallet erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Credit card payment giant, VISA, is convinced that crypto investors are still willing to spend their digital assets despite declining crypto prices this year. VISA is partnering with the popular crypto exchange, FTX, to provide debit cards in 40 nations across Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The card is directly linked with each holder’s FTX investing account.

VISA’s CFO, Vasant Prabhu, said the partnership would enable users to conduct transactions with crypto without needing to convert their cryptos to fiat or withdraw from the crypto exchange platform. Prabhu also said there is still a strong interest in crypto despite the drop in values.

As a company, we have no control over the value of digital currencies or whether it has a long-term positive effect. We want to simplify payment processes for people even when they want to process payments with crypto.

More crypto deals for VISA

VISA’s new partnership with FTX adds to its multiple crypto collaborations. The Credit Card firm has collaborations with Binance and Coinbase, which are FTX’s fiercest competitors. Another leader in the credit card space, MasterCard, has also been involved in several crypto partnership deals.

Two notable MasterCard crypto partnerships are with Coinbase and Bakkt. The former is to ease NFT payment transactions, while the latter allows banks and small business owners in the Bakkt network to provide crypto services. Another credit card firm, American Express, said it is developing a way to link its cards and network with stablecoins.

Stablecoins are usually dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies. However, they are sometimes pegged to other fiat currencies, such as the Euro. However, American Express CEO, Stephen Squeri, stated in an interview earlier in the year that the firm’s customers shouldn’t expect AmEx crypto cards “soon.” In a recent phone interview, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said he respects the fact that many traditional payments companies are embracing blockchain technology rather than fighting it.

He added that banks and payment firms’ embrace of cryptocurrency would help boost its market growth besides being a store of value or a speculative asset. This VISA-FTX partnership allows merchants to accept crypto payments without needing proprietary technology. Prabhu and Bankman-Fried admitted that emerging markets provide enormous opportunities, with inflation and currency volatility making digital assets more attractive than usual.

According to Bankman-Fried, this partnership and other similar ones are more valuable outside the US (such as Turkey and Argentina), with poor payment options and huge demand for better payment alternatives. Multiple data show that inflation rates in Argentina and Turkey are currently at 78 percent and 83 percent, respectively.

Der Beitrag Big for Bitcoin adoption: FTX partners with VISA to offer Bitcoin and Ripple (XRP) to millions of users in 40 countries erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Payments giant VISA is stepping up its efforts in offering crypto-enabled cards in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a result, VISA has partnered with several local fintech players in the Latam regions to take its efforts to fruition.

The recent development comes as VISA plans to allow its customers to use and spend their cryptocurrencies using its payments network. As said, the company has partnered with a few startups in Latam such as Satoshi Tango in Argentina and Lemon Cash. Some of the other partners also include Alterbank, Crypto.com, and Zro Bank in Brazil.

The new crypto-enabled cards from VISA include paying with crypto or purchasing crypto through VISA-enabled outlets. Besides, it also allows users to receive their cashback in Bitcoin. VISA said that its crypto efforts in Latin America are already making good progress. These new partnerships with local Latin American startups will help them present more opportunities. Romina Seltzer, Senior Vice President of Products and Innovation for Visa Latin America and the Caribbean said:

As more people and businesses in the region continue to embrace crypto innovation, we at Visa are committed to being a key partner in delivering the connectivity, scale, security and value propositions needed for the crypto offering to grow and be widely accepted.

The cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to gain momentum in the region with increased investment, more consumer adoption, and more crypto-enabled use cases, and we will continue to build on our strong strategy to build the future of crypto and payments for our customers, partners, and consumers.

VISA evolving strategy with crypto

VISA says that it is also focusing on making itself the easiest and safest way to buy and use crypto through VISA cards. The American multinational hinted that its reason behind partnering with Latam startups is to offer cash backs in crypto. Its partnership with Argentina-based Lemon Cahs is particularly in this regard.  Borja Martel Seward, co-founder of Lemon said:

In the context of Latin America, cryptocurrencies are a concrete solution to improve people’s lives. At Lemon we want to contribute to the cryptocurrency revolution throughout the region, and for this we offer a 2% cash back in Bitcoin for all purchases made with Visa credentials.

VISA shall also be working with Crypto.com for some interesting cashback benefits. Filomena Ruffa, general manager of Crypto.com for Latin America said:

Through our localized products and the expansion of our card program with cash back benefits of up to 5%, we are offering consumers and businesses in the region different ways to interact and transact with cryptocurrencies.

So far, VISA has partnered with more than 70 crypto-leading platforms worldwide. VISA’s crypto-enabled cards allow users to spend digital assets at 80 million merchant locations worldwide.

Der Beitrag VISA partners with Latam-based fintech players to offer crypto-enabled card erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Visa has launched a Creator Program that will help creatives use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to develop their businesses. Since it acquired a digital work of art last August, Visa has taken bold strides in the metaverse, revolutionizing the internet into virtual reality. The head of crypto at Visa, Cuy Sheffield, mentioned previously that the digital payment network desires to play a role in NFT commerce. Visa aims to help with the buying and selling of NFTs as in traditional e-Commerce. In October, Visa announced the initiative to enhance business growth for creatives through NFTs. It will run for one year in sections, training creatives such as artists, filmmakers, fashion designers, and others on NFTs. Also, the one-year program will focus on introducing the creatives to essential crypto and e-Commerce areas. 

Visa Creator Program

Visa designed the Creator Program in liaison with former MLB player turned NFT artist Micah Johnson. Aku, a young black astronaut NFT avatar, is one of Johnson’s intellectual properties. Johnson admits to having relied on a community of NFT experts and advocates in his NFT career. He is delighted to pass the knowledge on through mentoring new artists in the NFT space. In addition to mentorship, Visa will provide a one-off honorarium to help the trainees pull through the next growth phase. Currently, the number of creatives Visa plans to train on the initiative is unknown. Nevertheless, Visa hopes to maintain a small number for esoteric mentorship and community-building purposes.

Alongside Johnson, Visa’s crypto team will lead the technical and product mentorship topics. They may include evaluating tradeoffs between underlying blockchain networks, smart contracts, and NFT marketplaces. Regarding the training, interested participants are to fill out a questionnaire. The team will interview shortlisted candidates for final consideration. Also, the creatives will have the opportunity to exchange ideologies and have a sense of belonging to a community of like-minded people.

Furthermore, the Visa Creator Program will afford them access to forefront thinkers and researchers working across e-Commerce, web3, crypto, and DeFi. An added advantage is their exposure to Visa’s network of clients and partners.

Visa supporting SMEs through NFTs

Furthermore, the initiative for creatives is part of Visa’s ongoing efforts to help SMEs gain greater access to the digital economy. Visa is determined to upscale SMEs through community-based initiatives. The Visa initiative will avail funding and expert opportunities. Cuy Sheffield said NFTs are capable of becoming powerful accelerators for the creator economy. He added 

We’ve been studying the NFT ecosystem and its potential impacts on the future of commerce, retail and social media. Through the Visa Creator Program, we want to help this new breed of small and micro businesses tap into new mediums for digital commerce.

NFTs can create holding and legitimacy of virtual assets and media, like audio, videos, and images. They can help proprietors generate revenue and grow their businesses. Cuy Sheffield, during an interview with The Block, said: 

NFTs can take many forms as creators become more invested in this medium, and we want to be positioned to support and impact creators using NFTs as a bridge to new audiences, products, and services.

Der Beitrag Visa introduces creator program to help creatives utilise NFTs to expand businesses erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.

Following the recent sanctions on the Kremlin by leading global economies, who are condemning the Ukraine invasion by Russia, some argue that Putin may use the decentralized blockchain technology to evade sanctions, but this has been challenging as well with crypto exchanges under pressure to abide by sanctions that are in place.

Moreover, every transaction on the blockchain is viewable by all, thereby making it challenging to transact huge amounts. More recently, Russia has been sanctioned by key payment tech companies including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and previously SWIFT.

Nonetheless, as Russia gets cut from the west through payment links, more retailers are expected to use the crypto market due to its indiscriminate nature. According to a recent report by Chainalisis, trading between Russia’s ruble and cryptocurrencies experienced a sharp uptick. This is an indication more people are using crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT to make international payments.

Bitcoin and crypto’s bigger picture in Russia-Ukraine war

Will crypto assets be the alternative route for Russian companies and citizens? The question remains largely vague as the war reaches a critical point. 

Huge tech corporations like Visa, PayPal, and MasterCard have opted to stand with Ukraine. However, some see it as the latest revelation of governments’ interference with tech companies.

“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” Visa chief executive Alfred Kelly said in a statement with the company adding it would cut off transactions “over the coming days.”

“We don’t take this decision lightly,” Mastercard said in a statement. “Mastercard has operated in Russia for more than 25 years.”

Notably, Visa, MasterCard, and PayPay have all joined the crypto wagon. Their cancellation of use in Russia, the largest country by area, means over 140 million people in the country cannot access the crypto market through the said payment rails.

PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman stated;

PayPal supports the Ukrainian people and stands with the international community in condemning Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine,

Consequently, more shockwaves are expected to be felt in the crypto market in the coming weeks and perhaps years, which will reciprocate to higher volatility.

“[The Visa and Mastercard shutdown] is a bigger earthquake than SWIFT,” tech lawyer Preston Byrne posted to Twitter, adding “trillions of dollars are going to be made building a mirror system that doesn’t respond to American pressure.”

The global crypto market cap has dropped approximately 3.6 percent in the past 24 hours to around $1.78 trillion according to our data. Bitcoin exchanged hands at around $38K.

Der Beitrag Bitcoin on the spotlight yet again as Visa, PayPal, and MasterCard bar Russia erschien zuerst auf Crypto News Flash.