Visa CEO: Bitcoin is Not a Payment System

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Sead Fadilpašić

Journalist

Sead Fadilpašić

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Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served...

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Last updated: 

June 26, 2023

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The payment card company Visa would not be processing transactions that are cryptocurrency-based, told Visa CEO Alfred Kelly in an interview with CNBC. He said he didn’t see Bitcoin as a “payment system player”.

“My take is that Bitcoin is much more today a commodity that somebody could invest in; and honestly, somewhat of a speculative commodity,” said Kelly.

This goes hand-in-hand with the recent veto on cryptocurrency cards; earlier this month, Visa subsidiary Wavecrest withdrew its service seemingly overnight, leaving crypto card issuers struggling to find alternative solutions. And while Visa remains tight-lipped about the reasons for the veto, offering only that it was due to “continued non-compliance with our operating rules”, Wirex CEO Pavel Matveev told Bitcoin News that, “Wavecrest have been violating Visa rules for months…it’s 100% Wavecrest’s fault and they knew it was coming a couple of months ago.”

Back in 2015, Fortune published an article about the stance of Visa and MasterCard towards Bitcoin, especially noting their seeming reluctance to throw in with cryptocurrency, instead expressing their interest in the underlying blockchain technology. The CEO’s current stance on Bitcoin only serves to support this existing speculation.

In light of this latest unequivocal rejection of cryptocurrency, any companies intent on bridging the gap between crypto and fiat currency will have to look for other ways, knowing that no support will be forthcoming from either Visa or any of its subsidiaries.