Visa to launch Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple wallets
Visa is moving forward with its cryptocurrency program with two diverse cryptocurrency-related trademark applications.
Visa has partnered with more than 60 cryptocurrency companies, including wallet providers and cryptocurrency exchanges, to enable cryptocurrency payments for more than 80 million merchants worldwide.
Global financial services behemoth Visa has filed two cryptocurrency-related trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), detailing plans to manage cryptocurrency transactions and create a virtual environment “where users can interact for recreation, leisure or entertainment.”
The applications, which were filed on October 22 and disclosed by Washington trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis on October 27, further indicated that the company plans to launch cryptocurrency wallets and cryptocurrency audit software.
Visa’s cryptocurrency journey dates back to 2014, when Charlie Scharf, its former CEO, noted that there were some “interesting things” about Bitcoin. Early last year, Alfred Kelly, the company’s current CEO, noted that cryptocurrencies could become “extremely popular” in the next five years, adding that even if that’s not the case, he wanted to make sure the company was in the middle of the cryptocurrency revolution.
Visa is slowly extending its tentacles into the cryptocurrency ecosystem by partnering with more than 60 cryptocurrency companies, including wallet providers and cryptocurrency exchanges, to enable cryptocurrency payments at more than 80 million merchants worldwide. In 2020, the San Francisco-based payments giant filed a patent application to create a digital currency on a centralized computer using blockchain technology.
In December 2021, it launched a cryptocurrency consulting service to help educate more customers about the emerging asset class. Last August, the company purchased NFT Crypto Punk worth $150,000 for its corporate collection later launching a program to help developers navigate NFT. Earlier this month, Visa partnered with FTX to help the exchange launch FTX-branded debit cards in Latin American, Asian and European markets.
That said, Visa is not the only institution dabbling with the cryptocurrency sector. The number of companies filing cryptocurrency-related trademark applications with the USPTO has skyrocketed, with Western Union and Paypal filing trademarks for various cryptocurrency services last week. Formula One, Ford, owner of Facebook, Meta, e-commerce giant E-bay, Mastercard and racing giant Formula One are some of the other global brands that have filed for cryptocurrency-focused trademarks over the past year.
For more than 6 years, he has been interested in cryptocurrencies, tokens and blockchain, as well as other modern technologies like artificial intelligence. I have been actively investing for more than 10 years. I have developed hundreds of highly substantive articles and publications for this and many other external portals.
New comments