The Electronic Transactions Association, whose members include major payment companies such as Visa, MasterCard, Amazon and PayPal, is showing a more open stance toward Bitcoin-related businesses. In comments to CoinDesk, ETA CEO Jason Oxman said the payments industry is starting to recognize Bitcoin’s disruptive potential and that partnerships between established payment providers and Bitcoin startups are likely to increase. Oxman pointed to BitPay’s admission to the association in August 2014 as an early sign of that shift. The Atlanta-based company became the first virtual currency business to formally join ETA, and the group said at the time that it expected more collaborations of that kind. Oxman said ETA is not ignoring innovation and is trying to present itself as willing to work with startups built around new technology, including Bitcoin. He also credited the Bitcoin Foundation with helping ETA better understand Bitcoin, highlighting a 2013 presentation by the foundation’s then general counsel Patrick Murck. On regulation, Oxman said consumer protection remains central, but warned against applying rules to new payment technology simply because it is new, citing the need for regulators to understand how Bitcoin, blockchain systems and payment processors actually work.