Mastercard invests in 7 new crypto startups

Mastercard recently added seven new startups to its cryptocurrency accelerator to make the future of crypto more accessible to users.

Shortly after Visa, Mastercard had already moved into creating cards that would allow crypto payments for users. The addition of these new startups is another way for the financial giant to fuel and facilitate the future of crypto. 

Which are the startups added by Mastercard 

The news comes from yesterday’s tweet from Blockworks. 

Mastercard has added 7 startups to its crypto accelerator aimed at making crypto more accessible: pic.twitter.com/zd7hkcu0CD

— Blockworks (@Blockworks_) November 3, 2022

The startups added by Mastercard are joining Start Path to leverage innovation in ways that fuel economies and empower people. 

Let’s look specifically at what they are. 

The first, Digital Treasures Center (DTC), Singapore, enables merchants to pay, receive and transfer funds including card, cash and cryptocurrencies, as well as process major currencies using DTC Pay.

Next up, Fasset, Abu Dhabi, which is an emerging market digital asset exchange pioneering Web3 use cases for the next billion, aimed at improving the way people own, connect and share digital assets.

Next, Loot Bolt, USA, which enables organizations to create, grow and expand passionate communities by leveraging a Web3-based social payments system.

  Then, Quadrata, USA, which uses privacy-protection technology and is resistant to Sybil to bring identity and compliance to public blockchains while reducing reputational risk.

Next, Stable, Colombia, which offers global remittances, peer-to-peer payments, and card usage based on technology that stabilizes all global currencies, including stablecoins, easily and securely.

  ТВТМ (Take Back the Mic) Studios, Dubai, which is building the world’s first blockchain-based multimedia fintech, turning culture into currency, rewarding fans and compensating creators for creating communities around great content.

Finally, Uptop, USA, which uses blockchain to create a clutter-free place where brands can control customer relationships and shoppers can receive fun, personalized rewards.

Mastercard and crypto credit cards  

Shortly after Visa, even Mastercard was quick to get involved in the crypto sector. Indeed, even before the new startups, the financial giant had already proposed credit cards that allow cryptocurrency payments. 

On 25 October, Mastercard signed a strategic partnership with BitOasis, the leading crypto platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), to launch a series of crypto card programs designed to facilitate the adoption of digital assets in the region.

The partnership follows a $30 million Series B funding round by BitOasis, which closed in October 2021. The funding facilitated the expansion of its Dubai-based platform in MENA .

As a result of the partnership, BitOasis customers will be able to link their wallets to the new card and convert cryptocurrencies to fiat to enable them to use Mastercard’s global merchant network, with the card scheduled to launch in early 2023.

Nexo Card, Mastercard’s revolution in decentralized finance 

The first credit card that Mastercard has proposed in favor of crypto is Nexo Card. Indeed, the Nexo Card offers liquidity to Bitcoin & co. holders, allowing them to make purchases without having to sell their digital assets and also guaranteeing cashback in tokens. 

The Nexo Card product was created by a collaboration between Mastercard and Lithuanian fintech DiPocket and will be available in some European markets. Specifically, the Nexo Card is linked to a cryptocurrency-backed line of credit that allows cardholders to use their digital assets as collateral instead of selling them. 

The credit line can make use of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether as collateral, among other assets. Those with the new Nexo card can pay by spending up to 90% of the value of crypto assets without having to sell their digital assets.

The card, available both physically and virtually through integrations with Apple Pay and Google Pay, can be used at more than 92 million websites and merchants worldwide, where Mastercard is accepted, at an annual percentage rate of 0%.

However, this no-cost credit is available to eligible Nexo customers who maintain a loan-to-value ratio of 20% or less. There are no minimum, monthly repayment or inactivity fees or foreign transaction fees of up to 20k per month. 

Instead, each Nexo Card transaction is rewarded with instant cashback of up to 2%, paid in Bitcoin or Nexo’s native token. 

The aim of the payments giant: to simplify cryptocurrency payments

When The Nexo Card launch in Europe was official, Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and CEO of Nexo, said: 

“The launch of the Nexo Card in Europe is a great milestone and the latest proof of the immense synergy between the existing financial network and digital assets. The card will allow millions of people, first in Europe and then around the world, to spend instantly without having to give up the potential of their cryptocurrencies. It also offers unprecedented day-to-day utility for emerging digital assets.”

Together with Nexo, Mastercard is seeking to simplify cryptocurrency payments in everyday life with the new card, transforming Bitcoin and the like from merely financial instruments to spendable currency. 

In the next stages of the Nexo Card’s development, the company plans to add a debit card feature and expand the offering internationally.

Now, as Mastercard’s proposed new startups also arrive, the path of incorporating crypto into classic finance can be said to be almost fully completed.