By Alicia Maher
NFT creators looking to expand their business can rejoice following the launch of a new initiative by famous payment processor giant, Visa. Visa’s new initiative seeks creators in film, music, art, and fashion who already have an NFT-inclusive business model or plan to have one.
Details Of The New Initiative
Recent Signal Fire data shows that nearly 55M creators (especially artists and musicians) earn a source of livelihood through their content. Also, a new report by found (an influencer market research firm) estimated the market size of the creator economy to be over $101B. Head of Visa’s crypto arm, Cuy Sheffield, said, “our team has been researching the NFT space to explore its profitability for content creators across various industries regardless of the media they use.”
He also said, “the primary aim of launching this Visa creator initiative is to assist small or medium-scale firms to optimize new digital commerce media to their advantage.” Last October, Visa disclosed that it was working on a platform for content creators but declined to reveal full details about the project until today.
The payment processor firm only revealed that it was working with ex-pro basketball player, Micah Johnson, to ensure that creators from every sector find this new project useful. After retiring from professional basketball, Johnson established Aku (a media and entertainment firm).
When discussing his role in the partnership with Visa, Johnson said, “when I started my NFT entrepreneurship journey, I had to lean on the kind-heartedness of NFT experts and enthusiasts who assisted me with having a good grasp of how things work in the NFT world. Now, I am delighted to pass on my knowledge through this partnership with Visa and help more artists get the best out of their NFT journey.”
Part of the official announcement from Visa states that Visa is interested in helping as many willing creators as possible to explore the crypto commerce space. A Visa representative added that “however, we won’t want the group of creators to be too large for us to handle. Thus, we can provide them with the best technical support, mentorship, and community building.”
The rep also said, “creators that will be the first for consideration are those with inspirational mission-based stories.” Visa also announced that it would disburse some stipends to the creators through this initiative but declined to specify the amount.
The team leaders of the payment processor’s crypto product and strategy arm will discuss topics like NFT platforms, smart contracts, blockchain technology as the basis of cryptocurrencies. Through this initiative, creators will also access Visa’s audience and partners.
Visa’s Recent Crypto Moves
Visa has been making tremendous moves in the crypto sphere in the last 12 months. Visa’s latest initiative follows its previous investment in Cryptopunk NFT, where it purchased $150k worth of Cryptopunk NFT last August.
While speaking on why Visa made that purchase, Sheffield remarked that the company purchased to fully understand the basic requirements a global brand must have to own and leverage NFT as a digital asset. Also, Visa now has a crypto advisory subsidiary that assists its clients and partners in evaluating and pursuing opportunities in the NFT space.