Mastercard Adds 7 Blockchain Startups to Make Crypto More Accessible

Mastercard Adds 7 Blockchain Startups to Make Crypto More Accessible

Payments giant Mastercard has added seven more startups to its Start Path Program to make cryptocurrencies more accessible. "We’re welcoming a new group of startups to ease access to digital assets, build communities for creators, and empower people to innovate for the future through Web3 technologies," Mastercard has announced.

Mastercard Expands Start Path Program 

Payments giant Mastercard announced on Thursday that seven startups from across the globe have joined its Start Path Program. The announcement details:

"Through the Mastercard Start Path global startup engagement program, we work with digital asset, blockchain, and cryptocurrency-based companies that share a vision to make blockchain technology and digital assets more accessible."

"We’re welcoming a new group of startups to ease access to digital assets, build communities for creators, and empower people to innovate for the future through Web3 technologies," the payments company added.

The startups are Singapore-based Digital Treasures Center, Abu Dhabi-based Fasset, US-based Loot Bolt, Quadrata, Uptop, Colombia-based Stable, and Dubai-based TBTM (Take Back the Mic) Studios.

They will join more than 350 companies from 40 countries that have participated in the Start Path Program since 2014.

"NFTs (non-fungible tokens), blockchain gaming, and metaverse experiences could transform how consumers shop and communicate," Mastercard has explained. "However, we need to collaborate and bring together tech, banking, fintech, and crypto to unlock this potential." The company elaborated:

"There is no single vision for the crypto economy other than that anyone who uses crypto should be able to do so simply and safely." For Mastercard, it’s about offering choice in how people pay, spend, and buy crypto."

Mastercard is focusing on five key areas to turn crypto into an everyday way to pay. Last month, the company introduced a new program called Crypto Source to enable financial institutions to offer cryptocurrency trading and related services to their customers.