Mastercard is queuing up a full suite of crypto partners, according to , in efforts to streamline its card program for crypto wallets and exchanges. The company initiative seeks to provide crypto companies with a card option that gives crypto-holders the ability to spend their digital assets anywhere that Mastercard is accepted.
Paxos and Circle, arguably two of the most recognizable names in the list, will support Mastercard with the conversion of crypto-to-fiat by way of stablecoins; the process will allow Mastercard to have stronger internal stability and ideally allow more banks and crypto partners to get involved down the line. For Circle, Mastercard is another strong partnership in the mix after the firm locked in Visa as a partner back in December 2020. Circle, of course, is a major payments infrastructure firm most known for being the principal operator for the USD Coin (USDC).
Could a new race in stablecoin-to-fiat adoption for major institutions be well underway?
Swipin’ New Partnerships
The flurry of partnerships include:- Circle
- Paxos
- Evolve Bank & Trust
- Metropolitan Commercial Bank
- Uphold
- BitPay
- Apto Payments
- i2c Inc.
- Galileo Financial Technologies
Mastercard is one of the largest financial services firms across the globe, and is now doubling down on crypto-integrated efforts. | Source:
Related Reading | As Bitcoin Drops Below $30k, Stablecoins Surpass $100 Billion In Total Supply
What It Means
The announcement comes less than a month after primary Mastercard competitor Visa shared that their customers had spent over $1B on crypto-linked cards just mid-way through the calendar year. Consumer demand is undoubtedly making waves when it comes to mainstream corporate adoption in the crypto-sphere.
“Today not all crypto companies have the foundational infrastructure to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency, and we’re making it easier” said the firm’s EVP of digital asset and blockchain products & partnerships Raj Dhamodharan in the release. “Mastercard expects to deliver on our promise of consumer choice to provide options to people around the world on how and when to pay.” Elsewhere in the release, established partners showed excitement around a move that clearly signals increased crypto adoption; BitPay co-founder and CEO Stephen Pair noted that the partnership shows promise to “accelerate consumers’ use of crypto as a means of commerce.”Related Reading | This Is Why Grayscale Is Doubling Down On Its DeFi Bet With New Fund
Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com
