Circle Partners With Mastercard on USDC Settlement Pilot
- The pilot program will test crypto-to-fiat conversions using USDC.
- Mastercard will use the program to enhance its card program for cryptocurrency exchanges.
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In a press release published on 20 July, Circle announced it has entered into a partnership with Mastercard to launch a crypto-to-fiat conversion pilot program using USDC. The engagement will enable Mastercard to enhance its crypto card program for cryptocurrency exchanges, making it simpler for its partners to convert crypto to fiat currencies.
Card issuers that enable cryptocurrency payments first need to convert those assets before settling the transaction with the merchant. Conversions are a costly and complex step for most issuers, as most digital assets don’t have the same stability as the U.S. dollar has.
By using Circle’s USDC to settle these transactions, card issuers such as Mastercard will be able to provide its users with the stability seen only in traditional settlement options. The test of this new capability will enable more crypto companies to offer a card option that allows their customers to spend their digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Jeremy Allaire, the Co-Founder and CEO of Circle, said the engagement with Mastercard shows that USDC has taken on an important role in facilitating payments and commerce on the internet. The company is dedicated to building a vital bridge between digital currency payment systems and large, established payment networks such as Mastercard, he added in the press release.
- The digital ID project said Orb Operators received USDC payments as part of the project’s transitional phase after launch, and now that it is nearing its end Worldcoin will be switching to WLD payments.
- Worldcoin warned Orb Operators to check if they can claim rewards in their region as WLD are not available in the United States and “certain other restricted territories”.
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- SVB Financial Group has filed for a Chapter 11 court-supervised reorganization in the U.S. in order to “preserve value”.
- The company stressed it is no longer affiliated with Silicon Valley Bank, the closure of which sent ripples across the crypto industry.
- Despite the events of last week, Circle has been able to clear almost all USDC backlog, and redeemed $3.8 billions USDC between March 13 and March 15.
- The stablecoin issuer also went live with a new transaction banking partner for both domestic and international wires, and expects to bring more capabilities back soon.