Payment giant Visa develops experimental solution to simplify Ethereum gas fees

Visa, one of the most influential names in the world of global payments, is opening an innovative door in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. The company has been working on an experimental solution to allow users to pay gas fees on the Ethereum network directly with cards, removing the traditional barriers that new users may face when interacting with the Ethereum blockchain.

Simplifying Trading on Ethereum

The need to hold funds in Ethereum (ETH) to cover transaction fees has been a challenge for many new users venturing into the world of cryptocurrencies. Operations such as transfers and the issuance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) require ETH to pay gas fees. Visa is exploring a solution that could radically simplify this process.

A Revolutionary Visa Solution

Visa's innovative solution has been being tested on Ethereum's Goerli testnet and uses the ERC-4337 token standard. This solution takes advantage of account abstraction technology and a specialized smart contract called “paymaster”, which allows gas fees to be settled off-chain.

The key to this solution is the “paymaster”. This component acts as a sponsor of the gas tariffs in the users' contract accounts. This allows users to pay transaction fees directly with their Visa cards without the need to handle native blockchain tokens. The process involves the calculation of the rate, the payment to Visa through Cybersource, the validation and the subsequent digital signature.

Expanding the Possibilities

Visa is not only tackling gas fees on Ethereum, but is also exploring the possibility of paying these fees with other tokens, such as USDC and USDT, pegged to the dollar.

Continuing the Blockchain Exploration

This is not Visa's first foray into the blockchain space. The company has already introduced solutions that allow users to schedule automatic cryptocurrency payments from their wallets and has experimented with delegable Ethereum accounts. In addition, it has integrated the USDC stablecoin into its service network to facilitate conversion between cryptocurrencies and dollars.

This Visa initiative has the potential to make Ethereum trading more accessible and convenient for users, eliminating the need to acquire and manage ETH just to cover gas fees. As Visa continues to explore and experiment in the blockchain space, it's exciting to see traditional solutions and emerging technologies merge to create entirely new opportunities.

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