Credit card giant %Mastercard (NYSE: $MA) is expanding its %Cryptocurrency offerings, saying it is focused on “real world solutions” for consumers.
Mastercard’s head of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, Raj Dhamodharan, said in a media interview that the credit card issuer is moving beyond the experimentation phase when it comes to %Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) and other digital assets.
Dhamodharan notes that Mastercard now enables %Stablecoin payments for financial institutions, reflecting a growing trend in crypto adoption worldwide.
Last week, the payments company announced a partnership with crypto compliance firm Notabene, which will integrate Mastercard’s Crypto Credential into its SafeTransact platform to make digital asset transactions more secure and easier to use.
The Crypto Credential system is a focus of Mastercard’s crypto strategy. It allows users to send funds using familiar identifiers like email addresses rather than complex digital wallets.
The system also helps prevent misdirected transactions by verifying whether a recipient’s digital wallet can receive a specific asset.
Dhamodharan said that Mastercard’s goal is to be a bridge between traditional finance and blockchain networks, ensuring regulatory compliance while enabling new business models.
The company plans to announce additional partnerships and use cases for crypto throughout 2025, reinforcing its commitment to integrating digital assets into global payment systems.
Dhamodharan said that Mastercard is optimistic about the future of tokenization, which he said will require new business models to feed the growing demand for tokenization of real-world assets by investment firms such as %BlackRock (NYSE: $BLK).
Mastercard’s stock has risen 26% in the last 12 months to trade at $568.61 U.S. per share.
