Many people dismissed the Internet in its early years as a passing phenomenon that would be forgotten in a few years. According to Visa, blockchain technology is following a similar path and will eventually blossom and take over despite criticism and dismissal.
The original use of blockchain technology was to serve as the foundational framework for cryptocurrencies, but it has since evolved. Despite the continued success of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology has many uses that go far beyond digital currency. It has developed into a flexible platform that has the potential to reinvent trust in the digital sphere and transform entire sectors.
Many well-known people, including Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman and astronomer Clifford Stoll, predicted that the Internet would fail in the early 1990s. Today, we struggle to imagine a future without the Internet since we rely on it for so many things, including work, play, connecting with others, education, communication, and business.
The blockchain will similarly play a significant role in determining our future, according to Cuy Sheffield, head of cryptocurrency at Visa. Cuy recently compared the emergence of the two technologies in a blog post and supported blockchain’s takeover of international payments.
He further mentioned that Visa has been at the forefront of payment technology for more than six decades. He said that they had recognized the potential of the Internet in its early days and had played a substantial role in assisting it in scaling and supporting new forms of commerce. He also pointed out that they currently see significant potential for blockchain networks and envision various possible futures.
Visa revealed last week that merchant acquirers will now have access to its stablecoin capabilities. To settle fiat-denominated payments, the company is using USDC across blockchain networks, which it claims “improves the speed of cross-border settlement and provides a modern option for our clients to easily send or receive funds.”
In response to the stablecoin expansion, Cuy remarked that Visa is dedicated to being at the forefront of blockchain and digital currency innovation and utilizing these new technologies to help enhance how we move money.
The Era Of High-Speed Blockchain Technology Advancements
Due to most networks’ incapacity to scale, payments over the blockchain have been restricted for more than ten years. Only seven transactions can be processed every second by BTC, which has long dominated the market. Visa can do 24,000 transactions per second, in contrast.
On the contrary, the BSV blockchain, for instance, may grow to accommodate the growing demand for international payments. The network reached a new record in August with 129 million transactions in a single day, or more than 1,200 transactions every second.
The 10 billion transactions per second aim established by Satoshi Nakamoto shows how much more the network is capable of. Despite the fact that this may seem like a significant figure for payment transactions, keep in mind that BSV processes a variety of data, including the data that powers Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Over 15 billion IoT devices are currently connected, and 41 billion will be by 2025.
The second major obstacle to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology after scalability is fees. Due to large costs, it is impractical to conduct microtransactions on networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite the unrestricted scaling, BSV still charges the least of any network. The network kept the fees at $0.000007 when it achieved the record with 129 million transactions in a 24-hour period.
Takeaways
Skepticism frequently precedes dramatic development in the field of technology. Blockchain technology, like the Internet in its early days, is already developing as a flexible and disruptive force. With its dedication to blockchain innovation, Visa foresees a bright future in which this technology reshapes international payments.
