- Visa purchased CryptoPunk #7610 for $150,000 in ETH
- Why? Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa says, “First and Foremost, we wanted to learn.”
- The company simultaneously released a report called “NFTs: Engaging Today’s Fans in Crypto and Commerce”
- The transaction was executed by Anchorage Digital Bank
Visa, a scion of the fiat financial services industry, just dipped its toes into Web3 and crypto. The company bought CryptoPunk #7610 for $150,000 in mid-August. Visa promptly replaced its social media avatar on Twitter with its new punk. Is this a sign of digital migration by the legacy financial services industry?
An Opportunity to Learn
This seems more like a trial balloon marketing stunt right now combined with a desire to learn according to Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa. “We think NFTs will play an important role in the future of retail, social media, entertainment, and commerce. To help our clients and partners participate, we need a firsthand understanding of the infrastructure requirements for a global brand to purchase, store, and leverage an NFT,” said Sheffield in an interview. He also issues a series of Tweets on the move.
The experiment is bound to draw the company further into Web3 and crypto. Once you own an NFT, your learning accelerates.
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