Visa, Mastercard move away from crypto amid continued market uncertainty
As the cryptocurrency space remains in a volatile state following a series of high-profile implosions, the resulting increased regulatory scrutiny and heavy political involvement, major partners are taking a step back in their plans.
Reuters reported last week that America’s largest payment companies Visa (NYSE: V ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA) has announced it will pause the launch of crypto-related products and services “until market conditions and the regulatory environment improve,” citing sources who asked not to be identified.
A Visa representative said that “recent high-profile failures in the crypto sector are an important reminder that we have a long way to go before crypto becomes part of mainstream payments and financial services.”
While a Mastercard spokesperson indicated that the halt is temporary, “our efforts continue to focus on the underlying blockchain technology and how it can be used to help address current pain points and build more efficient systems.”
The U-turn away from crypto by major partners underscores the wider industry’s need to focus on improvements in governance, compliance and risk management, without losing sight of developments and breakthroughs.
Silvergate Shakeup
After recovering a bit from the massive shakeup from the messy collapse of crypto exchange FTX, the space is seeing more volatility from Silvergate Capital (NYSE: SI) noise.
On Friday, just two days after announcing a delay in filing its annual report, the bank announced on its website that it has shut down the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), the service the bank billed as its 24/7 banking service, which enabled digital currency and institutional clients to send US dollars at any time of the day.
Before the service fell apart in recent days, crypto platforms such as Coinbase, Bitstamp, Paxos, Gemini and others had signed on to the service to lend further legitimacy to the crypto market.
Bitcoin fell to around $22,000 after the incident.
Information for this briefing was found via Reuters, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations mentioned. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author has no licenses.
