Mastercard Backs Cryptocurrencies

Credit card and payments firm Mastercard becomes the latest crypto backer as it announces plans to offer support for select cryptocurrencies.

Currently, Mastercard is already offering cards that allow customers to transact using their cryptocurrencies without going through its network. The latest move is expected to further expand business opportunities for merchants.

Doing this work will create a lot more possibilities for shoppers and merchants, allowing them to transact in an entirely new form of payment,» Mastercard said, though it noted that tighter compliance measures were still needed for many of the hundreds of digital assets in circulation.

This change may open merchants up to new customers who are already flocking to digital assets.

Mastercard becomes the latest corporate giant to join the crypto wave just days after Tesla revealed that it had purchased $1.5 billion of bitcoin and that it would soon be accepted as a form of payment.

Also in this week, DBS group chief executive Piyush Gupta signaled bullishness in crypto demand, revealing that its digital exchange registered 300 trades per day since launching in December last year.

So far it’s looking good, but I think we have the opportunity to scale, given the amount of interest and energy around tokenized assets, Gupta said.