‼️ Visa and Mastercard prove an early Bitcoin payments prediction right
➡️ A prediction made more than a decade ago about closer ties between Bitcoin startups and traditional payment companies increasingly resembles the payments market of 2026. Former Electronic Transactions Association CEO Jason Oxman discussed that possibility in an August 2014 interview with CoinDesk. His comments followed BitPay becoming the first digital currency company to join the payments trade group. Oxman said the association would remain open to new payment technologies without formally backing Bitcoin over other systems.
🌐 Oxman argued that payment companies ultimately respond to how consumers and merchants choose to transact. He said the industry was “in the business of facilitating electronic transactions,” regardless of which technology carried those payments.
📣 The comments came during an early period for commercial Bitcoin adoption, when regulators were still debating New York’s BitLicense proposal. Oxman also warned regulators against applying rules simply because a technology was new, while accepting that consumer protection remained a valid concern.