Mastercard firmly believes that crypto and blockchain technology can bring much more value to financial industries once it can solve the key issues of security and simplicity, Tech Crunch reported, citing the company’s EVP and head of crypto and blockchain Raj Dhamodharan.
Dhamodharan made the comments during a blockchain-focused panel at Mastercard’s North America Innovation Day on May 23.
‘A lot of promise’
Dhamodharan said that crypto and blockchain technology has been gaining more traction worldwide by the day; however, their use cases are currently limited due to a lack of comprehensive security and complicated user interactions.
He said:
“Instilling trust in the blockchain ecosystem is a critical step in realizing its full potential.”
According to Dhamodharan, once these issues are resolved, brands and companies would become much more confident about engaging with the web3 industry.
He added that most people view crypto as an investment opportunity, but the “technology itself holds a lot of promise” beyond just being a good way to move and store capital.
Mastercard’s EVP of security and cyber innovation Johan Berger said during the panel:
“What you need for this tech to scale globally is interoperability and underlying security of trust.”
Mastercard’s steady push into crypto
Mastercard was one of the first traditional financial institutions to start engaging with the crypto industry.
The company has steadily expanded its repertoire of crypto services by partnering with various industry players like Binance, Gemini and Paxos over the years. Many exchanges offer debit and credit cards that are powered by Mastercard.
The company is also heavily involved in helping governments figure out central bank digital currencies and the underlying payments infrastructure.
Dhamodharan joined Mastercard in 2010 and became head of the crypto division in 2019. He has been leading the company’s aggressive push into crypto in recent years and considers the industry to be an opportunity rather than a threat to its dominance in the payments sector.
He said in an interview with Protocol in 2022:
“We don’t think about it that way [as a threat] at all. I go back to the maturity cycles of various technologies in crypto. Potentially, the most mature one is crypto as an investment asset class.”
Dhamodharan also said at the time that Mastercard got into crypto because its customer base was interested in purchasing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He added that Mastercard’s intent is to provide a safe way for its users to experience crypto.
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