Mastercard is queuing up a full suite of crypto partners, according to an announcement this week, 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.

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

Each partner looks to play a unique role in Mastercards revitalization to the firm’s already existing Crypto Card Program. Evolve Bank & Trust and Metropolitan Commercial Bank are set to likely be the card issuers while Uphold and BitPay provide supporting crypto wallet technology infrastructure. Meanwhile, i2c Inc., Apto Payments, and Galileo Financial Technologies will support processing and program management for Mastercard.

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).

Mastercard is one of the largest financial services firms across the globe, and is now doubling down on crypto-integrated efforts.  | Source: NYSE: MA on TradingView.com

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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.”

Could a new race in stablecoin-to-fiat adoption for major institutions be well underway?

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