You are thinking too literally. An electronic legal tender must necessarily have an electronic means of conveying it. That may not be Visa, but the means of payment would be just as essential to the concept as acceptance of payment.
I wouldn't put too much credence on the US government to figure this out in any sort of timely manner. There's plenty of areas in our country which are years behind in terms of governance, policy and societal effects.
They're still playing the game "if it's an internet technology, the Constitution doesn't really apply".. So to see if they could wrap their heads around an internet based currency is pretty much a joke.
And then I think, how did the FCC decision pass? Bureaucracy. It's not the Legislative/Executive/Judicial.
