Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of finance and cryptography.
Mastercard Sees Crypto More As Asset Class Than Payment – Featured Bitcoin News
Mastercard views cryptocurrency as more of an asset class than a means of payment, according to the payments giant’s CFO. Mastercard’s crypto strategy “has been quite successful ever since crypto communities emerged,” he added.
Mastercard’s CFO on Crypto as Asset Class vs. Payment methods
Mastercard Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sachin Mehra shared his views on cryptocurrency in an interview published Tuesday by Bloomberg.
He was asked how successful Mastercard’s crypto strategy has been. “In the crypto world, we play the role of an on-ramp, with people using our debit and credit products to buy crypto. And we act as the off-ramp: when people want to redeem it, we help them get access to be able to use their crypto balances everywhere Mastercard is accepted,” he elaborated:
It is an income generating ability that has been quite successful ever since crypto communities emerged.
The company has previously explained that it has plans to develop products and services in three key crypto-related areas: cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Mehra was further asked how much traction cryptoassets can gain as a real form of payment. “For something to be a means of payment in our minds, it has to have a store of value,” he replied. “If something fluctuates in value every day, so that today your Starbucks coffee costs you $3 and tomorrow it’s going to cost you $9 and the day after that it’s going to cost you a dollar, that’s a problem from a consumer point of view.”
Mastercard CFO added:
So we look at crypto more as an asset class.
“But as a payment instrument, we think stablecoins and CBDCs potentially have a little more runway,” Mehra concluded.
In February, Mastercard expanded its payments-focused consulting service to include cryptocurrency. The service covers “a range of digital currency functions, from early education, risk assessments and bankwide crypto and NFT strategy development to crypto cards and crypto loyalty program design.”
The payments giant filed 15 trademark applications in April for a wide range of metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) services. In June, the company said it is bringing its payments network to web3 and NFTs.
What do you think of Mastercard’s CFO’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.
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