Blockchain
Global financial services company Mastercard has launched a new Web3 solution aimed at improving user authentication standards and “reducing the opportunities for bad actors” in the digital asset space.
The solution is called the “Mastercard Crypto Credential” and its launch was announced on April 29.
In an accompanying explainer video shared on Twitter, the company outlined that it is “building a way for Web3 and blockchain service providers to help secure transactions between users, authenticated to Mastercard’s standards.”
At #Consensus23, we announced how we are building trust in the blockchain ecosystem through Mastercard Crypto Credential. With crypto wallet providers @Bit2Me_Global, @LiriumAG, @MercadoBitcoin and @UpholdInc and public blockchain network organizations @AptosLabs,… pic.twitter.com/P33mtDVAas
— Mastercard News (@MastercardNews) April 28, 2023
As part of the solution, users are provided with a “Mastercard crypto credential unique identifier,” which theoretically allows people to immediately verify that an address they want to send money to has been vetted by Mastercard and is operating in accordance with the company’s standards.
“The solution is also designed to support compliance through the exchange of essential metadata needed to comply with regulations,” Mastercard stated, adding that it should help “improve the opportunities for bad actors and the risk of funds being lost for good.” go, reduce.”
Even if bad actors slip through the cracks and obtain a unique identifier, it seems Mastercard can take swift action to revoke their verification if they are found to have been involved in nefarious activities.
The company cited a long list of partners behind the solution. As for the wallet, Mastercard has partnered with crypto wallet providers Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold.
In the field of blockchains, the company has partnered with Aptos Labs (Aptos), Ava Labs (Avalanche), Polygon Labs (Polygon) and The Solana Foundation (Solana).
Related: Bybit to introduce mandatory KYC requirements from May 8
Mastercard also outlined that it will “use CipherTrace’s suite of services — including CipherTrace Traveler — to help verify addresses and support Travel Rule compliance for cross-border transactions.”
Mastercard has continuously increased its exposure to the crypto sector over the past few years, and the latest announcement comes just a few weeks after it launched a nonfungible token (NFT) gated music accelerator program in partnership with Polygon.
The program offers free access (until the end of April) to materials, unique artificial intelligence (AI) tools, and other experiences for holders of Mastercard’s Music Pass NFT.
Mastercard competitor Visa also made a crypto move earlier this week, after Cuy Sheffield, the company’s head of crypto, took to Twitter on April 24 to announce a new project focused on stablecoin payments.
While details are scarce at this stage, Sheffield shared a job posting for the role noting that the company is “building the next generation of products to facilitate commerce in everyone’s digital and mobile lives.” The company is looking for someone with strong experience in Web3 and blockchain technology.
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