MasterCard to Acquire Crypto Analytics Firm CipherTrace

MasterCard has entered into an agreement to acquire CipherTrace, a leading cryptocurrency intelligence company. According to an announcement published on 9 September, the acquisition is part of MasterCard’s larger strategy to expand into the digital assets space. 

It follows a number of other crypto-related moves the company made in the past year, including partnering with Uphold, Gemini, and BitPay, creating platforms to test CBDCs, and launching programs to support broader use of blockchain technology.

While the terms of the agreement haven’t been disclosed, CipherTrace said it anticipates the transaction will close before the end of the year, once certain conditions are met. 

“Digital assets have the potential to reimagine commerce, from everyday acts like paying and getting paid to transforming economies, making them more inclusive and efficient,” said Ajay Bhalla, the President of Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard. “With the rapid growth of the digital asset ecosystem comes the need to ensure it is trusted and safe. Our aim is to build upon the complementary capabilities of Mastercard and CipherTrace to do just this.”

The integrated offering will leverage CipherTrace’s suite of digital assets and MasterCard’s cyber security solutions to provide businesses with better risk assessment tools. MasterCard will combine CipherTrace’s tech with artificial intelligence (AI) to differentiate its card and real-time payments infrastructure.