Mastercard is launching a new Crypto Partner Program that brings together more than 85 companies from across the digital assets and payments industry to more directly connect blockchain technology to the infrastructure that supports global commerce.
The program includes crypto exchanges, blockchain developers, fintech companies, and banks such as Binance, Circle, Ripple, Gemini, PayPal, and Paxos, the company told CoinDesk in a statement. Participants will work with Mastercard to explore how blockchain-based systems can connect with traditional payment rails used by banks, merchants, and consumers around the world.
Mastercard said the initiative focuses on practical use cases where digital assets are already gaining traction, such as cross-border remittances, business-to-business payments, and global payments.
Digital assets were once primarily operated outside the traditional financial system. But in recent years, companies and financial institutions have begun experimenting with blockchain tools to move funds more quickly across borders and settle transactions around the clock.
For payments companies like Mastercard, the challenge is less about replacing existing systems and more about connecting new systems to networks that already process global commerce.
Mastercard’s network connects banks, merchants, and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories. The company claims that blockchain-based payments can only be widely scaled if they can connect to such global infrastructure.
The Crypto Partner Program is designed to bridge that gap. Companies participating in the program will work with the Mastercard team to help shape products that combine established payment rails with on-chain tools such as programmable payments and tokenized assets.
This initiative will give partners access to a forum where they can collaborate with each other and with Mastercard’s broader ecosystem of financial institutions and merchants.
The move builds on several previous efforts by Mastercard to engage in the digital asset industry. The company has developed services aimed at supporting cryptocurrency-linked payment cards, supporting blockchain startups through its Start Path accelerator, and helping banks manage cryptocurrency compliance and risk.
Competitors are taking similar steps. Visa is working with stablecoin issuers and blockchain companies to test payments using digital dollars, and major banks continue to explore tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payment systems.
Still, integrating digital assets into everyday commerce remains a complex process. Payments require consistent standards, regulatory oversight, and systems that work across borders. Traditional card networks have decades of experience in this area.
