Visa Proposes Paying Blockchain Gas Fees with Credit Cards

Visa Proposes a Solution for Paying Blockchain Gas Fees with Visa Cards

Financial giant Visa has come up with a new method that allows users to pay blockchain gas fees using their Visa cards. This approach aims to simplify the process for users who may not have access to cryptocurrencies or prefer to use their credit cards. Here’s how it works:

Main Breakdowns:

Initiating a Blockchain Operation: When you want to perform an action on the blockchain, your digital wallet creates a “User Operation” request that includes the action details and maximum cost, including gas fees.
Payment through Visa: Instead of sending the request directly to the blockchain, your wallet forwards it to a specialized web service along with your Visa card details. This service calculates the fiat currency equivalent of the gas fee and processes the card payment using Visa’s Cybersource payment solution.
Digital Signature Creation: Once the payment is approved, the web service generates a time-bound digital signature for the User Operation data. This signature prevents exploitation of price fluctuations in cryptocurrencies and is sent back to your wallet.
Sending to the Blockchain: Your wallet appends the received digital signature and the paymaster contract’s on-chain address to the User Operation. It then signs the operation and sends it to the blockchain.
Blockchain Verification: The paymaster contract on the blockchain reviews the User Operation data, including the digital signature. If everything is valid, the transaction is approved. Any discrepancies will result in an error, and the contract won’t cover the gas fees.

Hot Take:

Visa’s proposal to allow users to pay blockchain gas fees with their Visa cards is a significant step towards making cryptocurrency transactions more accessible and user-friendly. By leveraging their existing payment infrastructure, Visa is eliminating the need for users to acquire cryptocurrencies separately, opening up the world of blockchain to a wider audience. This innovation could potentially drive further adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the mainstream financial sector.