- May 1, 2023
- Posted by: [email protected]
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One of the world’s largest financial services corporations, Mastercard, has launched a new Web3 solution called the “Mastercard Crypto Credential,” aimed at improving user verification standards and reducing fraudulent activities in the digital asset space. The solution will provide a unique identifier to users, enabling them to verify whether an address they want to send funds to has been vetted by Mastercard and is compliant with the company’s standards. The solution is also designed to support compliance through metadata exchange to meet regulations and reduce the risk of funds being lost. Even if bad actors manage to obtain a unique identifier, Mastercard can quickly revoke their verification if they engage in nefarious activities. The company has partnered with various crypto wallet providers, such as Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold, and blockchain firms such as Aptos, Avalanche, Polygon, and Solana. Mastercard will also use CipherTrace’s services to verify addresses and support Travel Rule compliance for cross-border transactions.
Mastercard has been increasing its exposure to the crypto sector in recent years. This latest announcement comes just a few weeks after it launched a non-fungible token (NFT)-gated musician accelerator program in collaboration with Polygon. The program provides free access (until the end of April) to materials, unique artificial intelligence (AI) tools, and other experiences to holders of Mastercard’s Music Pass NFT. Mastercard’s competitor, Visa, also made a move into the crypto space recently by announcing a new stablecoin payments-focused project. While details about the project are scarce, Cuy Sheffield, the firm’s head of crypto, shared a job listing for the role, which requires someone with strong experience in Web3 and blockchain tech.
Mastercard has launched the “Mastercard Crypto Credential” solution to enhance user verification standards and reduce fraudulent activities in the digital asset space. The solution provides a unique identifier for users to verify whether an address is compliant with Mastercard’s standards and supports compliance through metadata exchange to meet regulations. Mastercard has partnered with several crypto wallet providers and blockchain firms and will use CipherTrace’s services to support Travel Rule compliance for cross-border transactions. The move is part of Mastercard’s efforts to increase its exposure to the cryptocurrency sector, following its recent launch of a non-fungible token (NFT) gated musician accelerator program.
