Mastercard said Monday that it will help banks offer a way for customers to buy and sell crypto, highlighting the push for infrastructure to enable traditional financial institutions to jump into the growing market.
Mastercard said its new Crypto Source program will make it possible for bank partners to offer crypto services to customers through a partnership with Paxos, the crypto investment services company. Mastercard will serve as the bridge between banks while Paxos, a regulated crypto bank, will provide “crypto-asset trading and custody services on behalf of the banks,” the company said.
The move creates a path for banks that are eager to enter the crypto market but face regulatory constraints related to holding digital assets for customers.
The move shows Mastercard’s focus on services “that will help bring users safely and securely into the crypto ecosystem,” Ajay Bhalla, Mastercard’s president of cyber and intelligence, said in a statement.
The Mastercard-Paxos partnership “will give financial institutions the fastest and most trusted way to offer safe, reliable crypto access for their consumers globally,” Walter Hessert, Paxos’ head of strategy, said in a statement.
The partnership is part of a growing trend in the financial services industry of big institutions turning to companies that offer tools and services for crypto trading for their clients.
One example is EDX Markets, a new exchange being developed by major Wall Street companies including Citadel Securities, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity Digital Assets. EDXM will also use Paxos’ infrastructure to run the exchange.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE