Mastercard launches Crypto Partner Program with 85 digital asset firms

Mastercard announces Crypto Partner Program with 85 digital asset firms as it moves to defend its position against stablecoins and Visa. Through the program, participants will engage with Mastercard teams on the design and direction of future products and services, including solutions that aim to bring the speed and programmability that digital assets offer together with established card rails and global commerce flows.

Source: Mastercard Press Release

➡️ Why this matters

As I noted in my recent analysis, the latest data on stablecoin usage shows that consumer-to-business (C2B) payments are the fastest-growing stablecoin use case. (https://lnkd.in/eMGjEvnN) 

That puts card networks directly in the competitive crosshairs, as stablecoins increasingly are used in the same merchant payment flows that Visa and Mastercard dominate today by consumers who want to spend their crypto for everyday purchases.

Within the card network duopoly, Visa currently enjoys roughly a 9:1 volume advantage over Mastercard, driven largely by its B2B2C distribution strategy and aggressive partnerships with fintechs and crypto firms. 

Mastercard therefore cannot afford to sit still.

This program represents Mastercard’s most coordinated effort so far to engage the digital asset ecosystem and co-develop products that can bridge crypto infrastructure with the global card acceptance network.

But despite the strong headline, the real question is not the number of partners.

The key question is whether Mastercard can compete with Visa on user acquisition and distribution, which ultimately determines where payment volume flows.

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