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The crypto community will soon welcome another big player in the industry. Mastercard, one of the world’s largest payments network, recently revealed plans to allow cryptocurrency payments on its network this year.
“We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on our network,” Mastercard executive vice president Raj Dhamodharan wrote on a post on Wednesday.
Regardless of what people’s opinion might be regarding cryptocurrencies, it is an escapable fact that digital currencies are becoming more important in the payments world. For those who prefer to use crypto in their transactions, Mastercard is simply giving them the option to do so in their network.
“Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It's about choice,” the Mastercard executive explained. “Mastercard isn't here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants, and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want.”
At the moment, the company did not yet specify if its network will support Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (Eth), the world’s top two largest cryptos. What is clear, however, is that not every crypto will make the cut. “We will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on our principles for digital currencies, which focus on consumer protections and compliance,” Dhamodrahan added.
The company’s announcement seems to hint at its preference for stablecoins. “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,” Dhamodrahan said. “It’s those very same stablecoins that we expect to bring into our network.”
Mastercard already supported limited crypto transactions via its cryptocard partners Wirex and Uphold, according to Coindesk. In these cases, however, cryptocurrencies do not actually move through Mastercard’s network as they are converted to fiat by the crypto partners before transmitting the money through the network.
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