Visa has introduced a new product aimed at revolutionizing the way banks engage with blockchain technology. The Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) will allow financial institutions to issue fiat-backed tokens on blockchain networks. The platform is designed to help banks seamlessly bridge traditional fiat currencies with emerging blockchain-based assets.

According to Visa’s announcement, VTAP offers a secure and efficient way for banks to mint, burn, and transfer fiat-backed tokens, such as tokenized deposits and stablecoins. This product represents Visa’s latest effort to advance digital payment technologies by leveraging blockchain innovation. The platform is available on the Visa Developer Platform, allowing participating financial institutions to experiment with and test their own fiat-backed tokens in a sandbox environment.

Visa’s press release emphasized its global reach, with over 15,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories already benefiting from Visa’s payment technologies. By launching VTAP, Visa is taking its expertise in digital payments to the blockchain, providing banks with tools to integrate blockchain technology into their existing financial systems. Visa says this product allows for programmability, enabling banks to use smart contracts and automate workflows for various financial applications.

One key feature Visa highlighted is VTAP’s interoperability across both permissioned and public blockchains. Visa’s platform is designed to allow banks to interact with multiple blockchain ecosystems through a single API connection, making it easier for them to manage tokenized assets. Visa explained that interoperability is essential to support broad adoption of tokenized assets, with VTAP serving as the bridge between various blockchain networks.

Visa also confirmed that BBVA is actively testing VTAP functionalities in its sandbox. According to the press release, BBVA has been using VTAP to issue, transfer, and redeem bank tokens on a testnet blockchain. The bank is planning a live pilot in 2025, focusing on Ethereum as its platform of choice for creating and managing fiat-backed tokens.

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