Visa's Crypto Integration: A Game Changer or a Risky Bet?

A global payment giant, Visa Inc. V, is increasing its focus on blockchain technology to bridge the gap between the worlds of traditional finance and decentralized currencies. The company has been increasing its presence in the crypto space through fintech partnerships and pilot projects. It has teamed up with crypto platforms like Crypto.com and Coinbase to issue crypto-linked cards and enable direct crypto payments.

V has been on a roll, expanding its interoperability efforts. The company launched its first seven-day-a-week stablecoin settlement. It has already surpassed a whopping $200 million in cumulative stablecoin settlement volume. On the programmability front, Visa has also developed the Visa tokenized asset platform, which is designed to help banks issue and utilize stablecoins for innovative new forms of programmable finance.

In the stablecoin market, Visa is actively concentrating on a wider range of product opportunities and collaborations. These strategies are designed to make cross-border payments smoother, speed up transactions and meet the needs of a new wave of consumers who are savvy about cryptocurrencies. Visa’s cross-border volume increased 13% year over year on a constant-dollar basis in the second quarter of fiscal 2025. Its focus on utilizing stablecoins to reduce remittance fees is a major positive.

In a world quickly moving toward digital-first finance, Visa’s forward-thinking strategy could help ensure it stays relevant for many years. However, these strategies come with some risks. Regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrencies is still quite intense across various regions, and the inherent volatility of digital assets can threaten stability and trust.

How Are Competitors Faring?

Some of V’s competitors in the digital assets space include Mastercard Incorporated MA and PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL.

Mastercard is one of the closest competitors of Visa in the crypto arena. Mastercard has launched Crypto Credential to secure blockchain transactions. The company is also launching crypto-linked cards across various geographies. Wirex, Bit2Me and Coins.ph have also joined MA’s Crypto Credential ecosystem.

PayPal is among the pioneers in the fintech space when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption. It has allowed users in some markets to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies on its platform. PayPal introduced its own stablecoin, PYUSD, which is designed to facilitate quick and affordable digital payments within its ecosystem.

Visa’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Visa have gained 7.1% in the year-to-date period against the 0.1% decline of the industry.

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From a valuation standpoint, V trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, above the industry average of 21.66.

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s fiscal 2025 earnings implies a 12.9% jump from the year-ago period. It witnessed 10 upward estimate revisions in the past 60 days against one downward movement.

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Visa stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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