More than 85 partners will collaborate with Mastercard to connect on-chain payments to banks, merchants, and global commerce as part of the recent cryptocurrency program of the payments giant.


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What to know:

• Mastercard launched a Crypto Partnership Program with over 85 companies to connect blockchain technology to its global payment infrastructure.

• The initiative focuses on practical uses, such as cross-border transfers, business-to-business payments, and global payments, linking on-chain tools with existing payment infrastructures.

• The program expands Mastercard's previous efforts in the cryptocurrency segment and reflects the initiatives of competitors like Visa, while traditional payment networks seek to integrate digital assets, facing regulatory and operational complexities at the same time.

Mastercard has launched a new Crypto Partner Program that brings together over 85 companies from various digital asset and payment sectors, an initiative to connect blockchain technology more directly with the infrastructure that supports global commerce.

The program includes cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain developers, fintech companies, and banks such as Binance, Circle, Ripple, Gemini, PayPal, and Paxos, the company informed CoinDesk in a statement. Participants will work with Mastercard to explore how blockchain-based systems can connect with the traditional payment networks used by banks, merchants, and consumers around the world.

Mastercard stated that the initiative focuses on practical use cases where digital assets are already gaining traction, including cross-border transfers, business-to-business payments, and global payments.

Digital assets previously operated largely outside the traditional financial system. In recent years, however, companies and financial institutions have begun experimenting with blockchain tools to move money more quickly across borders or settle transactions 24 hours a day.

For payment companies like Mastercard, the challenge is less about replacing existing systems and more about connecting new systems to the networks that already manage global commerce.

Mastercard's network connects banks, merchants, and consumers in over 200 countries and territories. The company argues that blockchain-based payments will only achieve wide scale if they can integrate with this type of global infrastructure.

The Crypto Partner Program was created to build this bridge. Participating companies in the program will work alongside Mastercard teams to help shape products that combine on-chain tools—such as programmable payments or tokenized assets—with already established payment systems.

The initiative also provides partners access to forums where they can collaborate with each other and with the broader ecosystem of financial institutions and merchants of Mastercard.

The initiative reinforces several previous actions by Mastercard to engage with the digital assets industry. The company has supported payment cards linked to cryptocurrencies, sponsored blockchain startups through its Start Path accelerator, and developed services aimed at assisting banks in managing compliance and risk related to crypto assets.

Competitors have taken similar measures. Visa has worked with stablecoin issuers and blockchain companies to test settlement using digital dollars, while major banks continue to explore tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payment systems.

Still, the integration of digital assets into everyday commerce remains a complex process. Payments require consistent standards, regulatory oversight, and systems that work across borders—areas in which traditional card networks have decades of experience.