Last updated on August 12th, 2021 at 10:17 am
American fintech giant Mastercard is partnering with major cryptocurrency-based companies to help them and traditional financial institutions provide clients with cryptocurrency cards.
Announcing plans to revamp its crypto card payment, the company, in a statement said, “Mastercard and its partners will test this new capability to enable more banks and crypto companies to offer a card option to people wanting to spend their digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted.”
Among companies the fintech giant will partner with are Circle, Paxos, Evolve Bank & Trust, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Uphold, BitPay, Apto Payments, i2c Inc., and Galileo Financial Technologies.
MasterCard aims to involve “cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges, making it simpler for partners to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency.”
Though the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have increased compared to where it was some 5–7 years ago, the problem of spending cryptocurrency directly without converting to fiat has remained.
Similarly, digital assets are associated with volatility and fluctuating prices, creating complications during conversion to fiat currency.
Mastercard aims to work on these limitations by using its huge payment network to eliminate the friction between fiat and cryptos and also create diverse alternatives for crypto holders to use their digital assets.
Circle, as a digital asset-based company, has a dollar-pegged stable coin — USD Coin (USDC) — which crypto holders leverage to cushion against volatility, especially when initiating payment transfers.
With these partnerships, Mastercard will take advantage of Circle and the other firms to help reduce the volatility of cryptocurrency and the difficulties surrounding the conversion of crypto to fiat.
Commenting on the partnership, Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products & partnerships at Mastercard, said: “Today not all crypto companies have the foundational infrastructure to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency, and we’re making it easier. Through our engagement with Evolve, Paxos, Circle, and the larger digital assets community, Mastercard expects to deliver on our promise of consumer choice to provide options to people around the world on how and when to pay.”
“Paxos builds the underlying technology that will usher in an open digital economy. Our stable coins are trusted, regulated, and always fully backed one-to-one by U.S. dollars. We can facilitate instant settlement for transactions on a 24/7 basis, 365 days a year. By partnering with Mastercard, we’ll bring the benefits of crypto and blockchain to the everyday lives of consumers globally,” Paxos’ CEO and co-founder, Charles Cascarilla says.
Back in February, Mastercard announced it is preparing to enable select stable coins directly on its network, expanding the future potential of digital assets and payments. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the fintech giant is imprinting its name in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.
In Conclusion…
- This move by Mastercard will further drive the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the United States.
- Conversion of crypto to fiat currency will be swift, secure, and easy,
- Adopting stable coins for its crypto card payment will cushion against the inherent volatility of cryptos
