Mastercard has launched a new crypto partnership program that brings together more than 85 companies in the digital assets and payments industry, with the aim of connecting blockchain technology more directly to the infrastructure that underpins global commerce.
The program includes crypto exchanges, blockchain developers, fintech companies and banks such as Binance, Circle, Ripple, Gemini, PayPal and Paxos, the company told CoinDesk in a statement. Participants will work with Mastercard to explore how blockchain-based systems can connect to traditional payment channels used by banks, merchants and consumers around the world.
Mastercard said the initiative focuses on practical use cases where digital assets are already gaining traction, including cross-border transfers, business-to-business payments and global payments.
Digital assets once operated largely outside of the traditional financial system. In recent years, however, businesses and financial institutions have begun experimenting with blockchain tools to more quickly move money across borders or settle transactions around the clock.
For payments companies like Mastercard, the challenge is less about replacing existing systems than about connecting new systems to the networks that already manage global commerce.
The Mastercard network connects banks, merchants and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories. The company says blockchain-based payments will only be able to scale at scale if they can connect to this type of global infrastructure.
The Crypto Partner Program is designed to create this bridge. Companies participating in the program will work with Mastercard teams to help shape products that combine on-chain tools – such as programmable payments or tokenized assets – with established payment rails.
The initiative also gives partners access to forums where they can collaborate with each other and with Mastercard’s broader ecosystem of financial institutions and merchants.
The move builds on several previous efforts by Mastercard to engage in the digital assets sector. The company has supported crypto-related payment cards, supported blockchain startups through its Start Path accelerator, and developed services aimed at helping banks manage crypto compliance and risks.
Competitors have taken similar steps. Visa has worked with stablecoin issuers and blockchain companies to test settlement using digital dollars, while major banks continue to explore tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payment systems.
Yet integrating digital assets into everyday commerce remains a complex process. Payments require consistent standards, regulatory oversight and systems that work across borders – areas in which traditional card networks have decades of experience.
