Mastercard to power crypto trading through banks

According to a report from CNBC on October 17, Mastercard revealed a pilot program to provide Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading for traditional banking accounts.

Jorn Lambert, the chief digital officer of the payment giant, claims that bank users have a considerable interest in trading and owning cryptocurrencies. Customers would rather transact with virtual currency through their banks because they are wary of the rising crypto business.

Furthermore, Lambert added that many consumers are quite interested in this and captivated by cryptocurrencies, but they would feel much more secure if those services were provided by their financial institutions. In addition, he said that some folks still find it a little frightening.

In order to provide banks with cryptocurrency trading capabilities and allay worries, Mastercard has partnered with cryptocurrency broker Paxos through a pilot program that will begin in Q1 2023.

According to reports, traditional banks have avoided crypto assets up to this point due to security and regulatory compliance concerns.

By addressing these two essential areas, the payment giant will act as a link between crypto and TradFi institutions.

Mastercard also has a deal with major crypto exchange Coinbase for fiat payments on its NFT marketplace.