Payments giant Visa has announced the formation of a new cryptocurrency-focused advisory unit to help clients get to grips with the sector.
The unit will sit within the companys broader consulting and analytics division, which offers payments-related consultancy services.
The move comes amid growing corporate demand for guidance on how to engage with cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and even non-fungible tokens (NFTs) picking up significantly.
Nikola Plecas, Visas crypto business lead in Europe, said the firm will offer a range of advice, from examining the impact of key trends within the sector to devising strategies for entering the market.
“The focus that we‘ve seen so far, when it comes to our clients, is really on what the impact of the trends we’re seeing in crypto will be on their everyday business,” he said.
Visa has been selling consulting services to companies interested in crypto for some time, but formalized the new crypto unit in response to growing client demand, according to Plecas.
The firm is also an active operator in the sector — offering payments services to exchanges and wallet firms, as well as investing in startups and even in the acquisition of a CryptoPunk NFT. Visa currently works with 60 crypto platforms globally.
Alongside the new consulting unit, Visa has unveiled the results of a survey of more than 6,000 financial decision makers across eight markets.
Headline findings from the survey suggest that crypto awareness among this group is now at 94%. Close to one in three of those with some awareness of crypto already own or use it, and 62% of that group reported that their usage had increased in the past year.
For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit- the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.