The international payment system Visa will allow using the USD coin (USDC) stablecoin for settlements in its network. The peculiarity of this solution is that stablecoin will not be converted to fiat currency at the time of transfer.
Visa’s head of products, Jack Forestell, said the decision to add support for the USDC is a response to strong demand among cryptocurrency companies. Reported by Reuters.
To this end, Visa has launched a pilot program in collaboration with the Crypto.com service. During the year, the company intends to expand the list of partners after consultation with clients, investors and regulators. Thus, Visa becomes the first major payment network to use stablecoin as a currency for settlements. Until that time, Visa only allowed payments in fiat currencies.
“We are seeing an increase in demand from customers around the world for the ability to access, hold and use digital currencies. In addition, we see a demand among our clients for creating products that would provide such access , ”said Kai Sheffield, head of the Visa cryptocurrency business .
Under normal circumstances, when paying with cryptocurrency, it is converted into traditional money, which makes doing business more expensive and difficult. The new program will eliminate the need to convert digital currencies into traditional ones for transactions.
Anchorage digital bank is also taking part in the project. Partners have already completed their first transaction, sending USDC from Crypto.com to Visa’s Anchorage address. Visa first approached them in 2019 with the idea to combine the two platforms for secure and efficient payments based on digital currencies, Anchorage said.
“Today’s announcement marks an important achievement. Now we will be able to meet the needs of the financial technology industry, who need to conduct transactions in stablecoins or cryptocurrencies. This is a continuation of our day-to-day work to make payments securely in multiple currencies , ”said Jack Forstell, Visa Product Director.
The new program at Visa is described as «one small step forward» for the payment platform, but at the same time «one giant step forward» for the proliferation of digital assets. In the future, Visa plans to add to its network support for digital currencies of central banks and an interface that allows you to buy and sell bitcoins through banks.
Where is it more profitable to buy cryptocurrency? TOP-5 exchanges
For the safe and convenient purchase of cryptocurrencies with a minimum commission, we have prepared a rating of the most reliable and popular cryptocurrency exchanges that support the deposit and withdrawal of funds in rubles, hryvnia, dollars and euros .
The reliability of the site is primarily determined by the trading volume and the number of users. By all key metrics, Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Binance is also the most popular crypto exchange in Russia and the CIS, since it has the largest cash turnover and supports transfers in rubles from Visa / MasterCard bank cards and payment systems QIWI, Advcash, Payeer .
Especially for beginners, we have prepared a detailed guide: How to buy bitcoin on a crypto exchange for rubles?
Rating of cryptocurrency exchanges :
| # | Exchange: | Website: | Rating: |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | Binance | https://binance.com | 9.7 |
| 2 | Bybit | https://bybit.com | 7.5 |
| 3 | OKEx | https://okex.com | 7.1 |
| four | Exmo | https://exmo.me | 6.9 |
| five | Huobi | https://huobi.com | 6.5 |
The criteria by which the rating is set in our rating of crypto-exchanges :
- Reliability of work – stability of access to all functions of the platform, including uninterrupted trading, deposit and withdrawal of funds, as well as the period of work on the market and daily trading volume.
- Commissions – the size of the commission for intra-site trading and withdrawal of assets.
- Feedback and support – we analyze user reviews and the quality of technical support.
- Convenience of the interface – we evaluate the functionality and intuitiveness of the interface, possible errors and failures when working with the exchange.
- Features of the platform – availability of additional features – futures, options, staking, etc.
- Final grade – the average number of points for all indicators, determines the place in the rating.
