“Crypto is on the cusp of really going mainstream,” says Mastercard’s Chief Digital Officer Jorn Lambert

Mastercard is partnering with Paxos to bring crypto trading to banks.

Quick take:

  • Mastercard has launched Crypto Source, a new program that brings crypto trading capabilities to banks.
  • Mastercard’s financial institution partners will gain access to a comprehensive suite of trading services for select crypto assets.
  • Mastercard will leverage Paxos’ crypto trading technologies and integrate them into banks’ interfaces.

Mastercard today launches Crypto Source, a new program that enables financial institutions to offer crypto trading abilities and services. 

With Crypto Source, Mastercard’s partnering financial institutions will be able to access a comprehensive suite of buy, hold and sell services for select crypto assets, augmented with proven identity, cyber, security and advisory services.

This Crypto Source offering is complemented by Mastercard Crypto Secure to bring additional security to the crypto ecosystem and support card issuers in their compliance with complex regulations.

As part of this program, Mastercard is expanding its partnership with regulated blockchain infrastructure platform, Paxos, which is already used by PayPal to offer similar crypto trading services. Mastercard will serve as a bridge between TradFi and crypto as Paxos provides crypto-asset trading and custody services on behalf of the banks while Mastercard will integrate those capabilities into banks’ interfaces.

Mastercard’s suite of crypto-related offerings for banks and fintechs includes technology that supports crypto trading, security management, crypto spend and cash out capabilities, and crypto program management. 

“There’s a lot of consumers out there that are really interested in this, and intrigued by crypto, but would feel a lot more confident if those services were offered by their financial institutions,” Mastercard’s chief digital officer, Jorn Lambert

The 2022 Mastercard New Payments Index reported that 29% of respondents globally hold cryptocurrency as an investment, with another 65% indicating a preference for crypto-related services to be provided by their current trusted financial institution.

With this program, it appears that Mastercard is ramping up its efforts to be the bridge between Web2 and Web3 and accelerate the mass adoption of Web3. As of March 2021, 249 million Mastercard credit cards have been issued in the U.S. while 725 million Mastercards have been issued in the rest of the world.

In June, the financial services company announced a multi-platform partnership to enable NFT commerce. 

Mastercard’s Chief Digital Officer Jorn Lambert told CNBC that while the crypto space is going through a bear market, more transactions down the road would fuel the company’s core business as a payment processing company. He added that crypto is on the “cusp of really going mainstream” and that “it’s hard to believe that the crypto industry will truly go mainstream without embracing the financial industry as we know it.”

Crypto Source is currently being prepared for pilot programs in Q1 2023. Lambert did not disclose which banks have signed up for the program so far. Additional details on broader availability will be revealed at a later date.

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