Crypto Must Be Integrated With Existing Systems for Wider Adoption, Says Mastercard Exec

The crypto industry, that is currently valued at $1.28 trillion (roughly Rs. 97,98,871 crore) is trying to make its space amid existing financial systems worldwide. Mastercard official Harold Bossé believes that cryptocurrencies need to be stitched into the global economic structure so intricately that they become next to invisible. This could drive mainstream adoption of virtual assets around the world, Mastercard's vice president for new product development and innovation recently said in an interview.

Bossé was speaking at an online event hosted by Avalanche, when he outlined this potential plan aimed at getting more people aboard the crypto sector.

“[Crypto] has to become invisible. I keep saying that and I sound like a broken record, but it has to disappear in the background for a user who doesn't care — honestly, my mom doesn't care if it's [centralised finance] or Decentralised Finance DeFi,” the financial services veteran said.

At this point, Bossé said, the lack of crypto knowledge is also a major factor that is obstructing its acceptance among the masses. The Mastercard executive noted that even at senior management levels, there is a crippling lack of crypto knowledge.

“The complexity of the technology has to disappear. In the endgame, we should have these subnets being operated just like the internet is operated today. No one will use digital assets on blockchains unless they are absolutely certain that this money is good money,” he added.

Currently, the crypto industry is facing a downtime losing big loads of capital.

The digital assets industry saw the year's second-largest outflow as investors pulled out some $141 million (roughly Rs. 1,109 crore) from the industry last week following Terra's recent crash.

Industry experts however believe, that as more countries bind the crypto sector in regulations, the faster its volatility will shed.

In a fresh development on crypto adoption, the Central African Republic (CAR) adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender in April and became the first African nation to do so.

A special economic zone of Prospera has also recognised Bitcoin as an acceptable currency. Following the announcement, municipalities in Honduras are now allowed to issue bonds in BTC to attract foreign investments.

Meanwhile, Mastercard is taking steps to integrate crypto services with its existing facilities.

The New York-headquartered financial services provider, last October, entered into a deal with crypto-wallet platform Bakkt in order to allow merchants, fintech firms, and banks to accept and extend ‘a broad set' of solutions and services involving cryptocurrencies.

In December, Mastercard filed for 15 trademarks surrounding its entry into the metaverse. The company is looking to host educational seminars as well as social events and concerts in the metaverse, its patent applications reveal. It could take as long as six months for Mastercard to get an update on its filings.