BREAKING: Mastercard launches crypto-linked cards across Asia-Pacific

November 8, 2021 Coin Telegraph

From CBDCs to payments and up to crypto forensics, Mastercard has been highly active in the digital currency market.

Credit card giant Mastercard made a big splash in the digital asset market on Tuesday by announcing the launch of crypto-linked payment cards across the Asia-Pacific region.

In partnership with three cryptocurrency service providers, namely Amber Group and Bitkub in Thailand and CoinJar in Australia, Mastercard will offer crypto-funded payment cards that enable users to instantly convert their digital assets into traditional fiat money.

“Rather than directly transferring cryptocurrencies to a merchant, cardholders will now be able to instantly convert their cryptocurrencies into traditional fiat currency which can be spent everywhere Mastercard is accepted around the world, both online and offline,” the company said.

Although Mastercard didn’t specify which cryptocurrencies would be supported, the company singled out Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as two assets that are already accepted by some merchants but haven’t yet achieved widescale adoption. According to Mastercard’s own research on the Asia-Pacific region, 45% of people surveyed say they are considering using cryptocurrency in the next year.

News of the crypto credit cards quickly spread throughout Twitter, with influencers touting the growing mainstream appeal of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Although crypto is enjoying newfound legitimacy as an investable asset class, as evidenced by the market’s recent $3 trillion milestone, uptake in the payments sector has been much slower.

BREAKING: MasterCard is launching #Bitcoin-backed cards across the Asia-Pacific region after announcing 3 partnerships today.
— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) November 8, 2021

Mastercard, meanwhile, has had its fingerprints all over the cryptocurrency market, perhaps in anticipation that digital assets will one day gain traction as a payments vector. Last month, the credit card giant announced plans to allow United States partners to offer crypto loyalty rewards. By partnering with digital asset platform Bakkt, Mastercard said it plans to allow customers in the United States to buy, sell and hold crypto through custodial wallets.

Mastercard plans to allow US partners to offer crypto loyalty rewards

October 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Banks

Millions of loyalty rewards program users who may have never had any knowledge or use of cryptocurrencies could soon have some exposure.

Major credit card company Mastercard has announced it is preparing to integrate cryptocurrencies into its loyalty program offerings for U.S.-based banks, merchants, and fintech firms on its payment network.

In an Oct. 25 announcement, Mastercard said it would be working with digital asset platform Bakkt to allow its customers based in the United States to buy, sell and hold digital assets through custodial wallets. The partnership will also enable card holders to earn and spend rewards in crypto rather than using loyalty points, accruing tokens or redeeming them for purchases.

“We’ll not only empower our partners to offer a dynamic mix of digital assets options, but also deliver differentiated and relevant consumer experiences,” said executive vice president for digital partnerships at Mastercard Sherri Haymond.

According to data from Colloquy Loyalty Census research conducted in 2017, U.S. consumers held 3.8 billion memberships in loyalty programs, though these numbers have likely changed following the evolving financial landscape amid the pandemic. Mastercard also reported there were 249 million of its cards in the United States as of the end of Q1 2021. Millions of loyalty rewards program users who may have never had any knowledge or use of cryptocurrencies could soon have some exposure.

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said in July the company “[has] to be in this space” in part due to the growing interest around central bank digital currencies and crypto. In February, the credit card firm announced its roughly one billion users would be able to use crypto at its more than 30 million supported merchants. However, Mastercard has not yet clarified which tokens would be supported.

The digital assets management arm of the Intercontinental Exchange, Bakkt recently listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols BKKT and BKKT WS. The platform has also partnered with Google to allow customers to convert their crypto balances to make fiat payments using Google Pay.

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Swipe, IoTeX and CyberVein lead altcoins higher after Bitcoin hits $46K

August 9, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Swipe, IoTeX and CyberVein lead altcoins higher after Bitcoin hits K

Altcoin Watch

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro shows IOTX, SXP and CVT racking up double-digit gains right as bulls pushed BTC price above $46,000.

The cryptocurrency market has shown a new level of resilience on Aug. 9 as a majority of tokens have managed to maintain recent gains and Bitcoin price hit a new 3 month high at $46,293.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were IoTeX (IOTX), CyberVein (CVT) and Swipe (SXP).

*Top 7 coins with the highest 24-hour price change. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

IOTX/USDT

IoTeX (IOTX), a platform focused on the decentralized internet of things, has been the best performer over the past 24-hours with a gain of 27%.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of IOTX rallied 53% from a low of $0.0213 in the early trading hours on Aug. 9 to an intraday high at $0.0326.

*IOTX/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

Excitement for the project comes following the Aug. 6 launch of ioTube v5 which includes a new cross-chain bridge with Polygon, an Ethereum (ETH) layer-two solution, that enables two-way token swaps between both protocols.

SXP/USD

Over the past 24-hours the project Swipe, which focuses on the development of a card payment infrastructure for the cryptocurrency economy, has seen its token rally by 17.12%.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for SXP on Aug. 8, prior to the recent price rise.

The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.

*VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. SXP price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen on the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for SXP climbed into the green zone on Aug. 7 and reached a high of 74 on Aug. 8, around seven hours before its price began to increase 23% over the next day.

The surge in excitement for the token came following an announcement from Visa that it had partnered with Swipe, along with 49 other platforms, in an effort “to launch card programs that make it easy to convert and spend digital currency at 70 million merchants worldwide.”

CVT/USD

CyberVein, a project which looks to reinvent decentralized databases and the way people store, secure and monetize information, has also seen its price increase 17% on Monday.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for CVT on Aug. 8, prior to the recent price rise.

*VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. CVT price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen on the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for CVT turned green on Aug. 8 and reached a high of 76, around 14 hours before its price began to increase 35% over the next five hours.

The price recovery for CVT comes following the announcement that the daily operations of the project are now being handled by the CyberVein Foundation.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

We have to be in the crypto space, Mastercard CEO says

July 30, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

Mastercard is angling to become the go-to for governments and private entities when testing and rolling out central bank digital currencies or stablecoins.

Traditional card networks are vying to ensure their services remain at the center of new developments in digital assets, whether they be central bank digital currencies or private sector stablecoins.

In an earnings call on July 29, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach discussed recent developments in crypto and CBDCs, making the pitch that the company was well-positioned to remain a linchpin of intra- and international value flows:

"What we believe we do is bring a perspective to the market as a multi-rail payment provider. We have to be in this space because people are looking for answers."

Mastercard has been highly proactive in keeping up with innovations in digital currency, spurred, in part, by competition with its rival, Visa. In February, Mastercard unveiled plans to support crypto in 2021, paving the way for its nearly one billion users to spend their crypto at over 30 million supported merchants worldwide.

Earlier this week, the company announced a new startup engagement program as part of Mastercard Start Path – an accelerator program aiming to support fintechs and companies working with digital assets, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The latest to be onboarded include blockchain oracle startup SupraOracles, blockchain infrastructure provider STACS, digital asset firm Taurus and Mintable, a marketplace for issuing and trading NFTs.

On the public front, the company has also rolled out a virtual testing environment designed to help central banks to simulate issuance, distribution and transactions of CBDCs between multiple parties. The platform is geared for both wholesale and retail CBDC designs and offers practical insight into how, among many other possibilities, a CBDC could be interoperable with existing payment methods and be used to pay for everyday goods and services.

During the earnings call, Miebach argued: “All of these countries have to make a trade-off between existing delivery of financial products and what a CBDC is solving for, whether it's financial inclusion or cross-border payments. We have experience with all of that."

Nor is Mastercard overlooking the stablecoin sector, which has already seen successful currencies like Circle’s dollar-pegged USD Coin (USDC) and is poised for the launch of Facebook-affiliated Diem. Miebach confirmed that the company is readying its network to support stablecoin transactions, providing its issuers meet regulatory requirements and fulfill consumer protection and safety standards.

Visa’s CEO has this year made similarly bullish remarks regarding stablecoins, arguing that their blockchains can be thought of as payment rails similar to RPT or ACH networks. Nor is Visa averse to more volatile crypto assets, viewing them as a store-of-value for which the company can still provide fiat on-ramp services.

Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures, told reporters this week that both stablecoins and CBDCs should be “in Mastercard and Visa’s wheelhouse” and that both card networks should engage with these developments “with gusto.”

Earlier this month, Mastercard announced fresh partnerships with Circle, Paxos, Evolve Bank & Trust, and many others on a joint project to enable banks and crypto companies to roll out crypto cards that can be used anywhere that Mastercard is accepted.

Crypto frenzy may be winding down, Visa CFO says

July 28, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Debit Card

This spring, crypto-related transactions using Visa were a significant boost to the company’s cross-border volume, although this effect is beginning to wane.

This year has seen unprecedented growth in the crypto markets, with lucrative knock-on effects for third parties like Visa. This, however, may already be beginning to dwindle, according to the company’s senior executives.

The payments giant’s newly released financial results for fiscal Q3 2021 show bullish figures for cross-border and overseas transactions — a key metric for analysts on the lookout for early signals of pandemic recovery.

Earlier this month, Visa revealed that its crypto-enabled cards had processed more than $1 billion in total spending for H1 2021, registering an impact on overseas volume as crypto users deposited funds into crypto platforms across various jurisdictions. These effects are still visible in the company’s latest results for Q3, with the report indicating that:

“Cross-border volume excluding transactions within Europe, which drive our international transaction revenues, increased 53% on a constant-dollar basis for the three months ended June 30, 2021. Total cross-border volume on a constant-dollar basis increased 47% in the quarter.”

In a fresh interview, however, Visa chief financial officer Vasant Prabhu said that much of the crypto-driven momentum behind higher cross-border spending was in fact limited to the first two months of the quarter.

Highlighting the spike in crypto purchases in April and May, Prabhu noted that it had begun to fall back by June. Given the faltering return to international travel, Prabhu warned that the cross-border volume could be poised to decline without being buoyed up by a booming crypto market.

The overall picture for the past quarter shows that Visa drew in significant revenues from its overseas transaction processing, which is significantly more lucrative for the firm than intra-national spending. Overall, the company reported a 34% year-on-year increase in payments using its cards — keeping in mind that much of the globe was under strict lockdowns last year. The company has also reported net revenues of $6.1 billion for Q3 2021, an increase of 27%, outstripping the $5.86 billion average of analysts’ estimates.

Among recent deals, the report notes Visa’s recent signature of a definitive agreement to acquire Currencycloud, a cross-border payments platform that supports roughly 500 banking and technology clients across over 180 countries. Currencycloud has recently entered a partnership with Ripple, the company behind XRP, to jointly explore new cross-border transactions mechanisms.