Visa Launches Program to Invest in NFT Creators

Payments giant Visa has launched the Visa Creator Program, a one-year product strategy and mentorship course for entrepreneurs from the art, music, fashion and film worlds who seek to augment their work with non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The program had its beginnings in October 2021 when Visa announced former major league baseballer Micah Johnson as its first official creator. Johnson’s art has since sold for a total value of almost US$21 million. His best-known piece is Aku, a young black astronaut who digitally “travels” to the International Space Station.

Roughly 50 million artists, musicians, fashion designers and filmmakers already publish content as a source of income, with the global creator economy worth an estimated US$100 billion. Visa’s inaugural class of content creators are already engaging with NFTs, and prospective candidates who intend to join them must apply and be selected.

Program Also Offers Web3 Engagement

The Visa Creator Program offers participants opportunities to engage with Visa’s network of clients and partners, as well as providing access to “thought leaders” in the Web3 space.

Visa’s immersion in the NFT space began last August when it bought a CryptoPunk for almost US$150,000. At the time, the company’s head of crypto Cuy Sheffield said that Visa wanted to “signal [its] support” for people involved in the NFT market.

Six months later, you could say it’s a case of mission accomplished.