TL;DR Breakdown
- Mastercard acquires CipherTrace.
- Payment giant to integrate CipherTrace analyticts in its platform.
- Crypto growth necessitated the acquisition, Ajay Bhalla reveals.
Payment processing giant Mastercard has announced plans to acquire CipherTrace a crypto and blockchain intelligence company. The move is an indication that MasterCard’s focus on crypto and digital currencies has deepened.
Per a press release on Thursday, the payment giant reached the agreement to acquire the blockchain analytics firm so it can integrate the platform into its own cyber security solutions for digital assets.
Mastercard said in the press release that it would combine its cyber capabilities with CipherTrace technology to differentiate its card and real-time payments architecture.
The payment giant said the deal would enable clients and partners to adopt digital assets while maintaining compliance with financial regulatory provisions.
Reportedly, the deal will also help the payment giant provide transparency to their clients regarding payment and investment across the cryptocurrency industry.
Why Mastercard had to acquire CipherTrace
Mastercard’s cyber and intelligence chief Ajay Bhalla stated that the growth of the crypto market had necessitated the need for trusted and safe operations.
He noted that Ciphertrace would build on the payment giant existing capabilities to ensure the ecosystem’s security and protect the blooming industry from exploitation by nefarious actors.
The payment giant would be able to monitor fraudulent activity across over 7000+ cryptocurrencies due to the intelligence company’s blockchain data analysis. Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, says his business “helps keep the crypto economy safe” and that he is “thrilled to join Mastercard,” which will doubtlessly help scale his company’s reach.
MasterCard has gotten itself in the crypto industry for a while now with notable crypto primitives in the crypto credit and debit card arena, such as Gemini and BitPay.
In July, the payment giant CEO revealed that they need to establish a significant presence in the crypto space. Their acquisition of CipherTrace is not much of a surprise. Acquiring the analytical firm may be geared towards more significant interaction with central banks and stablecoin issuers on digital currency matters.
