MasterCard is opening the door for thousands of banks to convert their customers to cryptocurrencies. The payment giant announced on Monday, October 17, 2022, the future launch of a product giving its partner banks access to a full range of services for buying, holding, and selling crypto assets.
The product, called Crypto Source, will be launched in the U.S., Israel, and Brazil in early 2023 as part of a pilot program, said Ajay Bhalla, president of Master- Card's cyber and intelligence arm. Being able to buy crypto “from your own bank where you have your bank account is a very big market need and something that consumers want,” Ajay Bhalla explained, aware of the skepticism of a portion of the customer base about digital assets.
The goal, therefore, is to blend crypto asset-related services with existing ones to accelerate adoption. “What we're announcing today is a connected approach to services that will help securely integrate a billion users into the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” the executive detailed.
While banks are slowly learning about digital assets, the vast majority are hesitant to hold virtual currencies and offer them to their retail customers. But with thousands of banking partners, MasterCard's service could help cryptocurrencies become more widely adopted.
MasterCard has partnered with cryptocurrency fintech Paxos, a Blockchain infrastructure platform, to provide these crypto asset trading and custody services on behalf of banks. Services that are then integrated into the banks' interfaces by MasterCard.
Notably, Paxos provides PayPal's infrastructure dedicated to buying, selling, and holding digital assets, and also pilots the Stablecoin issued by Binance, the world's first cryptocurrency exchange platform. Valued at $2.4 billion, the startup is on a roll with institutional investors and holds a national-level banking license in the United States.
While cryptos were presented as a competing payment solution for banks and their intermediaries such as Visa and MasterCard, industry behemoths are stepping up their initiatives to combine the Blockchain with the financial industry.
Last week, Visa partnered with the FTX platform to offer crypto debit cards in 40 countries. American Express also said it is considering allowing its cards and network to be used with Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies that are indexed to the price of a fiat currency like the dollar or euro to erase volatility.
Don’t be fooled, Bitcoin is here to free from these third parties
While some will welcome this type of initiative by the financial giants of the current system, imagining that it will promote the adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, I will quickly dash their hopes.
Bitcoin is about freeing you from the giants of the current system by allowing you to interact directly in P2P with the most secure decentralized payment system in the world without any intermediary. Make no mistake if you are interested in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, you don't need MasterCard, PayPal, or any other third party.
Take the time to do your research and make the choice to truly take control as Bitcoin allows you to do.
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