Payments giant Visa has recently launched new consulting and advisory services to help its clients navigate the crypto world. The company is ready to provide advice to financial institutions, retailers, and other companies "on everything from rolling out crypto features to exploring non-fungible tokens." "We think it’s a critical role for Visa to play to help be this bridge between banks and the crypto ecosystem," Cuy Sheffield, the Head of Crypto at Visa said. "Every bank should have a crypto strategy."

Many analysts believe this decision was another attempt by Visa to push deeper into the crypto industry. From October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, Visa processed $3.5 billion in crypto transactions, Nikola Plecas, Visa’s European crypto lead, noted. "Some of these leading exchanges have millions or, in some instances, tens of millions of users," Plecas told CNBC. The company allows users to spend their crypto at over 80 million merchants, he added. Last but not least, Visa is also developing products with a focus on stablecoins, namely virtual tokens tied to the value of sovereign currencies, typically the US dollar and digital assets issued by central banks.

Visa is confident that its crypto consulting services will help accelerate the integration of bitcoin and other digital assets into the company's business. Like its main rival - MasterCard, it sees cryptocurrencies as "a key growth opportunity as it expands into areas beyond card payments". "Crypto for us is a huge new vertical and growth opportunity. And we will be continuing to focus on growing this business moving forward," Plecas said.