VISA Purchases CryptoPunk For $150,000, How It Affects The Ethereum Ecosystem

• Avinandan Banerjee
• September 27, 2022

VISA, the global payment giant has placed yet another bet on the hugely popular Ethereum ecosystem. The company has declared very recently the news of a purchase they have made of a globally popular Non-Fungible Token or NFT collection known as the CryptoPunk.

VISA has purchased the NFT which is completely Ethereum based on the 18th of August, 2021. The NFT can be best described as Item 7610 which is one of the 3840 female versions of the CryptoPunk that comes with a Mohawk, Hot Lipstick and Clown Eyes Green. In order to buy this NFT, VISA had made a payment of around 49.50 ETH which roughly sums up to an estimated $150,000 at the time of the payment. 

In an announcement, the company declared that over the course of the last 60 years, the company has accumulated amazing collections of historic commerce artifacts, which includes a diverse range of artifacts such as zip-zap machines and even early paper credit cards. At this point of time, since the world is entering a new form of NFT driven commerce, VISA is more than happy to welcome the CryptoPunk#7610 in their collection as a token or reminder of the transition of the modes of commerce.

9/ This is just the beginning of our work in this space and we are excited to share more in the months ahead about our plans to build products and partnerships that can help issuers, merchants, brands, social media and content platforms participate in NFT-commerce.

— Cuy Sheffield (@cuysheffield) August 23, 2021

In addition to that, Cuy Sheffield, who is also the head of the Crypto division of VISA, mentioned that VISA has been engaged as a pivotal player in the transformation of global commerce. He even added that the payment giant has decided to invest in NFT based on their belief that it represents a confluence of commerce and culture at the same time. Hence it is natural to assume that the company is in favour of NFTs such as the Ethereum based CryptoPunk, gaining more significance and relevance in online retail, social media and the entertainment sector. 

According to Sheffield, the company has emphasized quite a lot over the past year with the aim of bridging the gap between the entire crypto ecosystem and the huge global network of more than 70 million merchants worldwide. As a result they are really excited to help their clients in due process of understanding, participating and also accelerating the growth and adoption of the NFT based commerce. 

To corroborate his argument, Sheffield went on to give an example stating that in the early days of the advent of social media, it was not really a common practice to even expect that all the major corporations or big businesses would have a social media account. However, now it seems highly unlikely that one will find even a single company who does not maintain a thriving social media presence on Twitter, Facebook and so on. 

He also stated that even though VISA is one of the first major companies in the world to have set an example, they expect that other global brands will eventually follow in their footsteps and understand the importance of collecting NFTs to express or represent their brand values. Moreover this is also an opportunity to support and engage with a passionate group of collectors and creators. Keeping that perspective in mind, Sheffield has pointed out this venture from VISA is nothing but an amazing opportunity. VISA had purchased the NFT in collaboration with its long term partner, the digital bank named Anchorage.

What is inside the Ethereum wallet of VISA?

After VISA had declared their purchase of the CryptoPunk NFT, several community members have sent different NFTs to the associated crypto wallet of VISA. According to data gathered from OpenSea, VISA is currently holding many different items from several NFTs collections. 

Among the collections of NFTs in the wallet of VISA, there are items from collections such as “Wife Collection”, “Zombie Baby”, “HD Punks”, “Lord Kek”, “Bastard Forks” and so on. However the CryptoPunk NFT that VISA has acquired is going to be an extremely rare item in their NFTs collection. The NFT is one piece out of the 10,000 that will be ever made and that is what makes it so rare. Moreover it is one the earliest pieces that was introduced on the Ethereum Blockchain by using the ERC-721 Blockchain.

update ppl are apparently dropping things in Visa's NFT wallet in which case whoever dropped that ultra rare Lord Kek u r the most Chad🔥👽 https://t.co/rsuhJSrM4L

— Meltem Demirors (@Melt_Dem) August 23, 2021

On the 1st of August, 2021, someone had actually offered a staggering amount of $90.5 for this particular NFT but the then holder had actually passed the order on, and now that VISA has jumped into the scene has people wondering that the NFTs are going to become a major player in the future of crypto industry, the Ethereum blockchain and also the future of finance. 

Finishing thoughts: How to build your own NFT based projects?

Learning Blockchain, and NFTs are easy now, all thanks to reputed online courses and training sessions. Blockchain Council is one such organization that offers online training and certification programs to aspiring trainees to render them desired competencies so that they have a successful career in the Blockchain space. Keeping the rising demands of blockchain professionals in mind, Blockchain Council certifications are diversified to meet each aspirant’s discrete needs. They have a host of training and courses on NFTs that provide world-class knowledge and support.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.