FTT token surges after VISA crypto debit card announcement
By Peter Henn
14:18, 7 October 2022
The FTT cryptocurrency, the native token of the FTX crypto exchange, has shot up after its announcement of a cryptocurrency debit card.
The token, which had traded at a low of $23.91 on 3 October, briefly broke past the $25.60 mark on Friday 7 October before settling down to be worth about $24.80 that afternoon.
The crypto’s price was boosted after CNBC reported that the payment system Visa was partnering with the exchange to offer the new cards in 40 different countries, with a focus on Latin America, Europe and Asia.
This rollout will see new countries joining the United States in having the cards available, meaning people will be able to spend their cryptocurrency without taking it through an exchange.
Visa’s CFO, Vasant Prabhu, said: “We don’t have a position as a company on what the value of cryptocurrency should be, or whether it’s a good thing in the long run – as long as people have things they want to buy, we want to facilitate it.”
Visa has already announced partnerships with the Coinbase (COIN) and Binance (BNB) crypto exchanges.
Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive of FTX, said he thought that the launch was “more valuable” across the world than in his native US, adding: “That’s where you’ll find places with really poor alternatives for payment rails and huge demand for something better.”
Bankman-Fried acknowledged that, for some, the partnership between a crypto exchange and a traditional payment provider might seem a little strange, adding: “It’s a technology that we absolutely see disrupting traditional payment networks.
“There’s a decision you have to make as a traditional payments company: do you want to lean into this or do you want to fight against it? I respect the fact that many of them are leaning into it.”
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