Visa (V) to Settle Transactions in USDC Via Ethereum Blockchain

Visa Inc. V recently announced a major news of allowing settlement of cryptocurrency transaction in its network. With this, the company becomes the first in the industry to bridge the gap between digital and traditional fiat currencies.

In order to settle a transaction with Visa via Ethereum, an actively used open-source blockchain, the usage of USD Coin (USDC) will now be allowed.

The leading card issuer aims to offer this USDC settlement capability to more partners later this year. Notably, it is piloting the feature with Crypto.com, a Visa partner and one of the world’s biggest crypto platforms.

Visa also partnered with Anchorage, a federally chartered digital asset bank and an exclusive Visa digital currency settlement partner and the company launched a pilot allowing Crypto.com to send USDC to Visa to settle a portion of its obligations for the Crypto.com Visa card program.

This milestone move also signifies the rising acceptance of digital currencies by the mainstream, traditional financial industry. Visa has been addressing the growing needs of fintechs in managing their businesses for a while now. This strategic action is in line with its commitment to the same.

With this step, there is no need for converting digital coin into traditional money to realize a transaction. By leveraging its wide global presence, alliances and trusted reputation, the company has plans to make cryptocurrencies safer and more secure.

Visa’s network of networks strategy will also be enhanced with this landmark move. Other companies in the same space, such as Mastercard Incorporated MA also embraced digital coins.

The year 2020 was a fabulous period for cryptocurrency and continuing with that trend, now is the right time for Visa to advance into that direction. Investors’ optimism on cryptocurrency also projects that it might become a common investment option soon.

Notably, the company put in efforts last year to create a pathway for digital currency settlement within its existing treasury infrastructure. Strikingly, the platform moves billions of dollars on a regular basis across so many institutions in more than 200 markets and 160 currencies.

Recently, Visa collaborated with BlockFi to roll out a credit card, which will exclusively reward bitcoin to users after each purchase. Notably, BlockFi is best known for offering enhanced financial products and services to participants in the cryptocurrency markets.

Other factors, such as inorganic growth story, expanding business volumes, investment in digital technology and a solid balance sheet poise it well for long-term growth.

Zacks Rank and Price Performance

In a year’s time, this presently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has rallied 33.1% compared with its industry’s growth of 35.7%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The price performance looks a bit subdued when compared to other companies in the same space. For instance, Discover Financial Services DFS and Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated DBD have soared 163.8% and 281.5%, respectively, over the same time frame.

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