Visa CEO Al Kelly says cryptocurrency could become “extremely mainstream” within the next five years, and the payments giant wants to be positioned at the center of that shift. In a podcast interview, Kelly outlined how Visa views the crypto market and explained the company’s efforts to support both bitcoin access and digital-currency-based payments.
Visa separates crypto into two segments
Kelly said Visa broadly divides crypto into two categories. The first includes speculative assets, or what he described as “digital gold,” with bitcoin falling into that bucket. For that segment, Visa is pursuing two main initiatives: enabling bitcoin purchases through Visa credentials and working with bitcoin wallets so holdings can be converted into fiat currency before being spent.
That conversion layer is central to Visa’s approach. Rather than requiring merchants to accept bitcoin directly, the company is helping connect wallets to the existing payments infrastructure so crypto can be translated into fiat at the point of use. According to Kelly, that framework could allow spending across roughly 70 million merchant locations worldwide where Visa is accepted.
Stablecoins seen as a payments opportunity
The second category, Kelly said, is digital currencies that may develop into a new payments vehicle. He suggested they could even accelerate payment adoption in some emerging markets. Visa is already working with a broad group of participants in this area, with about 35 partners involved, and he clarified that these are mainly fiat-backed currencies, or stablecoins.
His comments align with what Visa previously told shareholders during its fiscal first-quarter 2021 earnings call. At the time, the company said its strategy was to work with wallets and exchanges so users could buy digital currencies using Visa credentials, or cash out through Visa credentials and then make fiat purchases anywhere in Visa’s merchant network.
Positioning for any future of money movement
Asked about the possibility that cryptocurrencies could reduce transaction costs and weaken the traditional role of payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard, Kelly said Visa is not trying to pick winners and losers. Instead, the company wants to remain embedded in the flow of funds regardless of which form of money gains traction.
Kelly acknowledged that it is still unclear whether crypto will prove to be a passing trend or a major part of mainstream finance in five years. Still, he argued that Visa’s job is to be ready now. If crypto scales into a significant financial rail, Visa wants to already be in the middle of helping move that money. He added that the company has evolved beyond simply facilitating purchases of goods and services and now sees itself more broadly as a global money movement business.
Taken together, Visa’s strategy appears less about making a one-way bet on a specific token and more about building the infrastructure around access, conversion, and merchant usability. If crypto becomes a larger part of everyday payments, Visa is clearly aiming to secure a meaningful share of that transaction volume.