Mark Weaden
Mastercard partners with stablecoin platforms Circle, Evolve and Paxos to provide swift fiat conversion for customers.
The announcement will see the main US Dollar Coin (USDC) operator Circle, as well as Evolve and Paxos Trust, work with the financial giant Mastercard pilot an expansion offering new solutions for customers to complete payments using digital assets.
With VISA forming partnerships with various companies to assist in completing payments using crypto, Mastercard seems to be following suit. Circle helps businesses accept payments globally through one unified platform. Moving money to leverage traditional payment, converting cryptocurrencies into stablecoins to enable users to spend money in dollars.
What is the plan?
While the project is only in the trial stage, it does look very positive for the plan they’ve outlined. Mastercard has previously stated that it doesn’t plan to support cryptocurrencies on its payment network but would work to enable native support of stablecoins. USDC is a coin that is pegged to the United States dollar and runs on various blockchains, which include Ethereum and Solana.
This is the latest major move from traditional financial institutions making moves in the crypto space. Given the rapid pace of development in the crypto fintech industry, it’s important for companies like VISA and Mastercard to utilize their networks to assist and profit from the potential of cryptocurrency.
The partnerships Mastercard has formed are with companies that will benefit greatly from its financial network and infrastructure. The ability to convert cryptocurrency to fiat currency will be made much easier, saving these companies years in labour trying to replicate such a system.
Ultimately, the goal for Mastercard is to ensure customers around the world are able to spend their money. It’s apparent that many consumers are turning to crypto as a means for saving and now spending.
Who are these companies?
Out of the three companies to partner with Mastercard, it’s Circle that is by far and away from the most popular, with a current market cap of just under $27 billion. The company is in the process of listing via a SPAC after a round of May funding raising $440 million.
Paxos is a much smaller company by comparison, with a market cap of $893 million. Though it is a quite different company, providing the infrastructure for PayPal’s cryptocurrency service.
Mastercard has also partnered up with Evolve Bank & Trust, issuing new crypto cards to provide fast payment using digital currencies. The plan is for Mastercard to work with Uphold and BitPay for instantaneous crypto wallet transactions. A very exciting time for cryptocurrency as now both VISA and Mastercard are making waves in the industry.
