In 2021, we saw increased collaborations between crypto and mainstream financial services companies. The adoption of cryptocurrency is growing; many financial institutions and services providers are now developing and offering crypto services to their clients to retain partisanship and sustain their customer base.
The growing crypto appetite has forced payment processing giants, MasterCard, to delve into cryptocurrency. MasterCard announced a crypto feature that would allow its users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. To achieve this, MasterCard called for pitches from crypto firms. Later, it announced that it would take on board several of them.
One of those companies is Ava Labs, one of the biggest blockchain development firms in the industry. Ava Labs has successfully developed several blockchains products such as Avalanche and Ryval. The firm will now focus on bringing massive blockchain experience to traditional finance by joining others in MasterCard’s Start Path Crypto Program.
MasterCard’s Crypto Program Will Impact Finance Positively
According to Jess Turner, a top business executive at MasterCard, the payment processing firm is not interested in competing or fighting digital asset technology. Rather, he said, MasterCard is bent on researching the best ways to deploy blockchain to solve problems in our world and add value to current financial services.
Turner noted that the past 12 months witnessed a massive growth of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), crypto assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) globally. He expressed MasterCard’s belief that the crypto companies being onboarded on MasterCard’s crypto program will collaborate with the in-house experts to create and advance crypto products for consumers.
Ava Labs joins several crypto companies in the Crypto Path Program. Each of the chosen companies will be in charge of specific aspects of the program but is expected to take on more roles in the future. MasterCard is among the financial services companies accelerating the development of crypt services on their platforms.
The growth of cryptocurrency means that more people are looking for the best platforms to exchange their fiat funds for cryptocurrencies. This development creates a ready market for financial services companies to sell to. A steady increase in demand will aid the growth of the financial sector as more firms and partnerships are established to meet demands.
Ava Labs “Excited” About The program
According to the president of Ava Labs, John Wu, the firm is excited with the development and is looking towards what he called an “exciting” partnership with MasterCard. Wu also expressed delight at the prospect of working with other blockchain companies in the program. He said that MasterCard had set an example of adopting blockchain technology through the program instead of fighting it.
Ava Labs is the parent company of Avalanche blockchain, one of the growing blockchains in the industry. The team’s expertise will be a great addition to the Start path Program.
The program will onboard other crypto companies in the future. MasterCard has not announced if the program will have new cohorts, but in 2022, we expect to see new developments that will help blockchain democratize finance.
