Visa, Ubisoft Launch Gamified Web3 Payments; AI dApps Overtake DeFi in User Growth
Visa has expanded its efforts in Web3 and digital payments by announcing major partnerships and product launches targeting the gaming and decentralized applications (dApp) sectors. In partnership with Ubisoft, Visa is rolling out a three-year initiative to integrate digital payments with gaming experiences, initially in the EU and UK. This collaboration grants Visa cardholders exclusive game content and interactive benefits within Ubisoft games like ’Just Dance,’ signaling the potential launch of Visa-powered gaming loyalty programs and deeper connections with blockchain-enabled gaming and digital assets. Separately, Visa is also collaborating with SmartMedia Technologies, introducing a Web3-based loyalty platform that modernizes reward systems with gamified campaigns, branded wallets, and advanced CRM tools for over 80 million partners globally. Meanwhile, AI-driven decentralized applications (AI dApps) have experienced a 26% surge in active wallets, nearing four million users as of April 2025, according to DappRadar. For the first time, AI dApps have surpassed DeFi and gaming dApps in user growth, capturing a 16% category dominance, while DeFi and gaming dApps reported respective user declines of 16% and 10%. This surge is driven by mainstream AI adoption, improved user experiences, and the growing integration of AI and blockchain across industries like cybersecurity and IoT. For crypto traders, these developments suggest a shift in industry focus toward integrated payment-gaming solutions and AI-driven decentralized platforms, opening new trading and investment opportunities as Web3 adoption accelerates.
Bullish
The news of Visa’s multi-year partnership with Ubisoft to develop gamified payment and loyalty solutions, alongside its broader Web3 loyalty initiatives with SmartMedia Technologies, positions Visa at the forefront of blockchain adoption in mainstream finance and entertainment. Furthermore, the rapid user growth in AI dApps—now surpassing DeFi and gaming dApps—reflects shifting investor and user preferences towards innovative decentralized solutions. Such developments historically correlate with increased market optimism and trading activity in blockchain- and AI-related tokens. The integration of digital payments, gaming, and AI with blockchain technology points to wider adoption and evolving utility, which is generally regarded as bullish for the crypto sector in both the short and long term. These trends attract institutional interest, inspire new use cases, and can help maintain strong demand for Web3 and AI-enabled assets.