U.S. payment giants Visa and Mastercard are slamming the brakes on plans to forge new partnerships with crypto firms after a string of high-profile collapses shook faith in the industry, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
"Recent high-profile failures in the crypto sector are an important reminder that we have a long way to go before crypto becomes a part of mainstream payments and financial services," a spokesperson for Visa, the world's largest payment processor, said.A spokesperson for Mastercard said:"Our efforts continue to focus on the underlying blockchain technology and how that can be applied to help address current pain points and build more efficient systems.
In November, Visa severed its global credit card agreements with FTX, just a month after announcing an expanded partnership with the exchange. But it is not viewing crypto tokens as a strategic priority in the near-term, a source familiar with the matter said.