Payments firm Visa files a patent for a new centralized technology that creates and manages digital currency. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published the filing on Thursday.
Visa made the filing in November 2019. In the filing, details can be found on the cryptocurrency network that the firm may build. It is based on existing digital currency technology.
According to the filing,
“Examples of a cryptocurrency network may include networks of computers that manage any suitable cryptocurrency including, but not limited to, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Dash, Ripple, and Monero.
Visa’s new system could be used to make centralized digital versions of different types of fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars and Chinese Yen. Ethereum could be used to build the technology. Despite this move to pair its technology with the decentralized blockchain, worries persist over the centralized nature of the platform. Visa’s patent describes a centralized system.
The patent states,
“A ‘central entity’ may refer to an entity that regulates something. A central entity may be a central bank, which regulates a monetary supply. A central entity may implement a monetary policy and issue currency. A central entity may maintain exclusive rights to create or destroy currency in a region such as a nation. A central entity may be associated with a government of such a region.”
Visa’s major partners are making similar moves to leverage on decentralized technology. International bank Santander recently pushed its blockchain service closer to the region. Santander and Ripple are launching a blockchain-powered payment service in Mexico which could increase the on-demand liquidity for the digital currency. The solution already has a green flag in Spain, UK, Brazil, and Polan. In 2019, Portugal and Chile were added to locations for use of the application.
