Mastercard has launched a global Crypto Partner Program that brings together more than 85 companies to develop blockchain-based payment and settlement infrastructure, the company said in an announcement.
The initiative is designed to link crypto firms, banks and payment providers so on-chain tools can be integrated with existing payment rails for cross-border transfers, payouts and business-to-business payments.
Participants include crypto exchanges, networks and infrastructure providers such as Binance, Circle, Gemini, Paxos, Ripple, PayPal, Polygon, Solana, Crypto.com, MoonPay and Fireblocks, according to the announcement.
Partners will collaborate with Mastercard teams on product development, technical integration and industry standards focused on cross-border money movement, settlements and commercial payments.
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Mastercard said in a post on X, "digital assets are entering a new phase," adding that technologies once operating alongside traditional finance are increasingly applied to practical use cases. Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of Digital Asset Blockchain Products & Partnerships, and Sherri Haymond, executive vice president of Digital Commercialization, said: "By bridging on-chain innovation with the framework that powers everyday payments, we’re helping ensure that what’s next works with what already does."
The program builds on Mastercard’s prior crypto work, including crypto-linked cards, startup support and recent pilots around stablecoin settlement. The company said about 30% of its transactions were tokenized in 2024 and cited earlier collaborations, such as enabling settlement with SoFi’s dollar-backed stablecoin, as groundwork for the new partner initiative.
The recap
- Mastercard launches a global crypto partner program for payments integration
- Program initially includes more than 85 companies across crypto and payments
- Partners will work with Mastercard on cross-border settlement and product development