Mastercard makes moves in the crypto sector

  • Payments giant Mastercard has acquired CipherTrace, a crypto tracing firm that develops solutions for cryptocurrency anti-money laundering, forensics, and blockchain threat intelligence.
  • In a statement given by Ajay Bhalla, Mastercard’s president of cyber and intelligence, said the rapid growth of the digital asset ecosystem brings the need to ensure it is trusted and safe. “Our aim is to build upon the complementary capabilities of Mastercard and CipherTrace to do just this,” said Bhalla.
  • Although details of the acquisition were not disclosed, this is yet another sign of Mastercard making moves in the crypto sector. In July, the financial services company announced plans to allow merchants to accept payment in crypto. In the same month, Mastercard also announced that it will use the USDC stablecoin as a bridge asset for cardholders.
  • “Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It’s about choice,” said Mastercard’s crypto VP, Raj Dhamodharan, before stating the payments company is “here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value.”

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