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Money talks…and so does money-making.
The surge of consumer money into cryptos, DeFi and NFTs is happening fast, and the pace of traditional Big Finance and Big Tech looking to buy into the action is happening just as fast.
Credit card giant Visa on Monday announced that it had purchased one of the original collectives of NFT artwork for 150 thousand dollars.
Cuy Sheffield, head crypto specialist at Visa, who happens to be an NFT enthusiast, explained his thoughts on the market’s rapid development over the last few years, and Visa’s intentions, in a blog post:
“We need a first-hand knowledge of the infrastructure needs for a global brand to buy, store, and utilize an NFT to enable our customers and partners to participate…
“The capacity to monitor and use a digital asset in various settings may imply exciting new possibilities in tickets, gaming, music, art, and beyond.”
Visa bought CryptoPunk 7610, a female figure with a mohawk, clown green eyes, and lipstick, which was claimed on June 23, 2017 and sold a month later for 0.6 Ether (ETH) ($114 at the time).
CryptoPunks is a pixelated face collection that includes people, zombies, aliens and other depictions:
They’re a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which means each one has its own set of characteristics, and they were first developed by Larva Labs.
Following the Visa news, The Block reported that some 90 NFTs from the collection were sold in a single hour, with the total value of those transactions hitting around $20 million.
Visa’s move is another signal that traditional financials are turning a corner, and will be trying to make the most of a crypto phenomenon many have discounted or suppressed in the past.
“We’re a company steeped in the history of commerce and payments—but with our eyes on the future,” Sheffield’s post concluded. “With our CryptoPunk purchase, we’re jumping in feet first. This is just the beginning of our work in this space.”