Mastercard launches P2P crypto network, vanity address system
Quick Take
- Mastercard is launching a peer-to-peer network for sending and receiving digital assets across borders.
- The P2P network, called Mastercard Crypto Credential, will serve users in Europe and Latin America.
Mastercard is launching a peer-to-peer platform for cryptocurrency users in Europe and Latin America.
The Mastercard Crypto Credential network, which is in pilot mode, supports transactions on Bit2Me, Lirium and Mercado Bitcoin exchanges, enabling cross-border payments across the Atlantic, Mastercard said Wednesday in a statement. The P2P platform’s rollout forms part of the payments company's push to leverage digital assets for cross-border payments, a growing payments services sector.
“As interest in blockchain and digital assets continues to surge in Latin America and around the world, it is essential to keep delivering trusted and verifiable interactions across public blockchain networks,” Walter Pimenta, executive vice president of product and engineering for Latin America and the Caribbean at Mastercard, said in a statement.
Users of the P2P network will also be able to use Mastercard Crypto Credential aliases for their transactions. The aliases, which are short-hand labels for crypto wallets, are vanity addresses much like those offered by the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) on the Ethereum network.
The wallet labeling feature will facilitate cross-border payments, helping Mastercard capture market share in the fast-growing remittances services sector, which is at the heart of the company's crypto push, according to Mastercard. According to data cited by the United Nations International Organization for Migrations, migrants sent an estimated $831 billion in remittances worldwide in 2022, up roughly 16% from the $717 billion sent in 2020.
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