Visa is deepening its connection to the crypto sector via a partnership with Tangem, a crypto wallet provider, announced via the latter’s LinkedIn.
Tangem shared the news by posting an article by PYMENTS.com on the social media site, the article, in turn, having been shared by Visa’s Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield.
The deal will incorporate Visa payments cards into Tangem’s hardware crypto wallet. The end goal is to enable users to make seamless payments using crypto or stablecoin balances at Visa-accepting merchant locations.
This demonstrates the increasing mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrency, with the global market having been bolstered by regulatory decisions this year such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
Andrey Kurennykh, Co-Founder and CEO of Tangem, said: “Our users will get a two-in-one solution – the convenience of a regular bank card and the capabilities of a self-custodial crypto wallet, all in one card.
“This is a significant step towards bridging the gap between traditional banking and digital assets, making it easier for everyday users to navigate and leverage the benefits of both worlds”.
One of the world’s leading payments companies, alongside its rival and fellow US giant Mastercard, Visa has been following crypto trends closely and continues to strengthen its partnerships in the space.
The deal marks its first partnership with a crypto company since an agreement with Web3 platform Transak was inked back in January. Other crypto activity has seen the launch of a new stablecoin dashboard back in March.
Commenting on LinkedIn about the Tangem deal, Visa’s Sheffield remarked: “We are excited to partner with Tangem to enable a new product that provides the convenience of a Visa card integrated into a hardware wallet that can be used to spend crypto or stablecoin balances at any merchant that accepts Visa.”