Visa CEO Alfred Kelly believes crypto-assets could be widely used in the next five years. He seemed to hold cryptocurrencies in high regard when he made the remarks that seemingly contradict his stance on the same issue in January.
The Visa executive spoke vaguely about cryptocurrencies earlier this year when the multinational financial services company announced its quarterly results. For more than three years, Kelly has not reported any upcoming or planned projects involving digital assets at the helm of the company.
Now he acknowledges that cryptocurrencies could turn out to be established or be a short-lived craze.
“The thing about our business that I really like is […] we don’t pick winners and losers. You know, as you and I sit here today talking, I don’t know to what extent cryptocurrencies are going to take off. Are we going to say five years from now that it was a fad and not a big deal? Or will they become extremely mainstream?”
The chief wants the credit card giant to be at the center of developments in the sector if digital assets become extremely mainstream. Kelly made the remarks while speaking with Fortune CEO Alan Murray podcast “Leadership Next.” The Visa chief argued that the company would make the most of the business opportunity in the midst of the crypto boom.
“I’m not smart enough to know, but I’m smart enough to make sure our company is in the middle of it today:”
Kelly explained that Visa is taking a new approach based on the movement of money. Payments are no longer the company’s sole objective, based on his statement.
“If it does go off and we can get our fair share or more of the volume because we anticipate that this could potentially become a big deal, we certainly want to be prepared for that. And I think we’re off to a perfect start.”
The Visa CEO perceives cryptocurrencies in two different ways: bitcoin (BTC) on the one hand and fiat-backed digital currencies (stablecoins) on the other. The former, in his opinion, is the digital replacement of gold. Regarding BTC, Kelly disclosed Visa is in the process of enabling purchases. At the same time, they are working with some wallets to enable conversion to a fiat currency. On the other hand, the Visa boss expects the latter to become viable payment options.