MasterCard is one of the most recognized global payments & technology companies. You might already have a MasterCard in your wallet. And it’s likely that you’ve had a lot of use out of it. Therefore, it’s not a stretch to say that the company has built up quite a reputation for itself in the financial industry. And it turns out, they have quite a bit to say about crypto and have future plans for cryptocurrency. We are curious to find out if MasterCard supports cryptocurrency. Let's see more about MasterCard Crypto!
Does MasterCard Take Crypto?
Surprisingly, Yes but not yet.
On Feb 10, Mastercard announced that it would support select cryptocurrencies on its payment network. The consumers will be able to begin transacting in crypto on its network sometime in 2021, as per the announcement. The company is still working on developing a solution, and there is no set date for when crypto will be supported.
Mastercard has stated that the reason for the decision is to "enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want." As part of its efforts, in September, the company announced the acquisition of CipherTrace to enhance its crypto capabilities. This analytical crypto service monitors suspicious activity on the blockchain of more than 900 digital assets.
Meanwhile, in October, Mastercard also partnered with Bakkt cryptocurrency platform to "offer a broad set of cryptocurrency solutions and services". Mastercard will offer "the ability for consumers to buy, sell and hold digital assets through custodial wallets powered by the Bakkt platform and streamlined issuance of branded crypto debit and credit cards". In addition, the company will also integrate crypto into its loyalty solutions, enabling its partners to offer cryptocurrency as rewards. This means bonus points from airlines, shops, hotels, etc. will be in the form of crypto coins.
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What Crypto Does it Support?
MasterCard hasn’t specified which cryptocurrencies it will support. Most cryptocurrencies are unable to comply with the company's current requirements. The announcement says:
To be completely clear, not all of today’s cryptocurrencies will be supported on our network. While stablecoins are more regulated and reliable than in the recent past, many of the hundreds of digital assets in circulation still need to tighten their compliance measures, so they won’t meet our requirements. We expect consumers and the ecosystem as a whole will start to rally around the crypto assets that offer reliability and security. It’s those very same stablecoins that we expect to bring into our network.
On this occasion, we can only assume that MasterCard Crypto will accept all major cryptocurrencies, and will consider supporting additional digital currencies as they are developed. On the whole, MasterCard Crypto is a great initiative for the crypto community as well as for the company itself. We’re looking forward to swiping it.
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