Mastercard is launching a program that allows financial institutions to offer cryptocurrency trading to their customers.
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MasterCard is partnering with Paxos, a cryptocurrency trading platform, to offer banks a cryptocurrency trading service – it already partners with them on PayPal. Mastercard will handle regulatory compliance and security for banks – two key reasons banks cite for avoiding the asset class.
Some consumers still remain skeptical because cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are notoriously volatile, and the world's top digital asset has lost more than half its value this year. The industry has lost billions to hacks since January.
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Mastercard's chief digital officer said the poll still shows demand for the asset, but about 60% of respondents said they prefer to try through their existing bank.
Large investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley , and JPMorgan have dedicated crypto teams, but have largely avoided offering it to consumers.
Mastercard said its role is to keep banks on the right side of regulation by following crypto compliance rules, verifying transactions and providing anti-money laundering and identity tracking services. Lambert declined to say which banks have signed up so far.
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While the industry is living through a bear market or a “crypto winter,” Lambert said more activity on the street could lead to more transactions and fuel Mastercard’s core business.
“It’s hard to believe that the crypto industry will truly become mainstream without embracing the financial industry as we know it,” Lambert said.
Information source: cnbc.com
