Mastercard Strikes Deal With Digital Wallet Bakkt, Plans to Bring ‘Broad Set’ of Crypto Services to US

New York-headquartered financial services provider Mastercard has decided to ramp up its participation in driving the globally budding crypto space. The company has 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. While Mastercard is operational in other nations as well, its deal with Bakkt, for the time being, will only favour crypto investors in the US. Owners of Mastercard cards will also be rewarded in cryptocurrencies.

As per the official announcement, Mastercard users will now be able to buy, sell, and hold digital assets on the Bakkt wallet. The streamlining of the issuance process of crypto debit and credit cards is also in the plans under this deal.

“Mastercard is committed to offering a wide range of payment solutions. 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 Sherri Haymond, Executive Vice President, Digital Partnerships at Mastercard.

In addition, Mastercard will also offer crypto rewards to consumers. People will also be able to convert their crypto holdings to buy items.

Bakkt is witnessing this opportunity to drive the crypto culture deeper into the younger generations.

“As brands and merchants look to appeal to younger consumers and their transaction preferences, these new offerings represent a unique opportunity to satisfy the increasing demand for crypto, payment and rewards flexibility,” Nancy Gordon, EVP, Loyalty Rewards and Payments at Bakkt said, commenting on the partnership.

For now, it remains unclear by when this partnership or similar pro-crypto deals from Mastercard countries will happen outside of the US.

In recent times, the crypto culture is getting hints of validation in the US. For instance, earlier last week, American retail giant Walmart announced the installation of 200 Bitcoin ATMs in select store branches in the US.

Former US Presidential candidate Andrew Yang also has launched a new pro-crypto political initiative, rooting for the regulation of cryptocurrencies.

Earlier in October, the market capitalisation of all the cryptocurrencies put together crossed a milestone of $2.5 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,87,42,625 crore) according to cryptocurrency tracker CoinMarketCap.

Indian trade association NASSCOM has also predicted a multi-fold growth for the cryptocurrency market in the next five years.