VISA and Mastercard Stall Launch Of Strategic Crypto Partnership – Report

A recent report from Reuters revealed that two of the world’s leading digital card payment solution platforms, VISA and Mastercard, had halted their planned partnership. VISA and Mastercard decided to delay the launch of the new partnership with crypto firms due to the high-profile insolvencies in the industry.

Delayed Partnership

According to the Reuters report, VISA and Mastercard are looking to enter a new deal with crypto firms following periods of the warm relationship between the two entities. The card payment giants are seeking to further explore the digital asset industry following the explosion in cryptocurrency adoption.

However, the new partnership would be put on hold as the crypto industry continues to struggle due to several bankruptcies and increasing regulatory scrutiny. Furthermore, reports indicate that VISA and Mastercard are pushing back the unveiling of certain crypto-based products and services until the market condition and regulatory oversight improve.

Sources with inside knowledge of the matter disclosed that the delays are unrelated to VISA and Mastercard’s core businesses. Instead, the wait is due to the uncertain regulatory environment in the crypto space following numerous insolvencies that have shaken the broader market.

Last year’s collapse of crypto custodial firms like Celsius, Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), FTX, and others sent shock waves across the digital asset ecosystem. According to the VISA spokesperson, the incidents of 2022 in the crypto sector are a critical reminder that there is still a long way to go before virtual assets become part of the mainstream payment system.

Ukraine’s Slow Crypto Adoption

Meanwhile, war-torn Ukraine continues to advance with its crypto legislative drive a year after Russia invaded it, according to Yuri Boiko. The Ukrainian National Commission on Securities and Stock Market (NCSSM) commissioner, Yuri Boiko, stated that despite the war, the country is moving ahead with its legislative action as planned.

Furthermore, Ukraine will continue to toe the path of the European Union concerning digital asset regulations, added Boiko. The commissioner noted that the country’s lawmakers are steadily working on implementing the yet-to-be-adopted Market in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) bill.

Boiko stressed that Ukraine’s approach to regulating the virtual asset industry remained the same as before and during the war. However, he admitted that the adoption of crypto regulations in Ukraine has been slow due to the need to make the necessary amendments to the country’s tax code.

Additionally, Ukraine’s pursuit of EU integration influences how the NCSSM would set out to achieve its aims to ensure its laws reflect the upcoming MiCA regulations.

Commenting on the latest developments, the head of the parliamentary association Blockchain4Ukraine, Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi, revealed that the country’s lawmakers began working on implementing crypto market regulations in October 2017.

But the former administration was unable to adopt a comprehensive crypto law, and not until the election of President Volodmye Zelensky did the country’s legislature return to consider it, Oleksii added.