Visa reportedly testing USDC settlements on Ethereum

• Visa’s head of crypto revealed the plans at a StarkWare event this week.
• The payments giant has been trialing large-value USDC settlements on the Ethereum blockchain.
• Swarm Markets co-founder Philipp Pieper says Visa’s crypto strategy could be key to further DeFi/TradFi integration.

Payments giant Visa is reportedly testing a payments system that could see it accept digital assets payments from its customers.

The cryptocurrency news relates to an announcement Visa Head of Crypto Cuy Sheffield shared during the StarkWare Sessions 2023 event.

. @cuysheffield and @visa have fell into the rabbit hole of Account Abstraction!

This is huge! pic.twitter.com/CFniLLBq5C

— Starknet-Ecosystem.com ✨ (@StarkNetEco) February 5, 2023

According to Cuy Sheffield, Visa has recently trialed large value transfers where the network accepts tokenised digital dollar payments with settlements in traditional dollars. Specifically, Visa is looking to start with USD Coin (USDC) transactions on Ethereum. USDC is a major stablecoin issued by Circle and which Visa added support for in March 2021.

“We’ve been testing how to actually accept settlement payments from issuers in USDC starting on Ethereum and paying out in USDC on Ethereum,” Visa’s head of crypto strategy said during the StarkWare event.

Visa’s crypto strategy huge for crypto, says Swarm Markets co-founder

Visa’s plans on crypto settlements come as the global focus on stablecoins increases from a regulatory perspective following recent events in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. They also follow increased interest in central bank digital currencies, with the UK’s consultation paper on its digital pound the latest move in the CBDCs race.

Some experts view these developments as what’s likely to spark further innovation in crypto, rather than be the end of it.

Philipp Pieper, co-founder of blockchain platform Swarm, commented on Visa’s reported foray into crypto payments settlement as a major development set to bolster innovation across the global financial infrastructure.

The company’s move could also mark a key pivot in the adoption of blockchain technology and digital assets, significantly aiding decentralised finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi) integration, Pieper noted.

In a comment sent to CoinJournal, the Swarm Markets co-founder added:

“If Visa can begin to introduce seamless settlement between stablecoins and fiat then this overcomes a significant obstacle toward greater DeFi/TradFi integration. With the advent of digital assets such as stablecoins revolutionizing the way users transact and settle payments, it makes sense for Visa to start working toward this future now.”