The payments giant is set to integrate stablecoins into wallets, cards, and merchant payments to tap into a $2 trillion market opportunity
Mastercard announced a major expansion of its digital assets strategy on Monday, unveiling new capabilities that allow over 150 million merchants worldwide to send, receive, and settle payments in stablecoins.
The move comes amid growing regulatory clarity around digital assets and aims to make stablecoin transactions as seamless as traditional payments.
“We’re ensuring payments can be made or received using stablecoins—anytime, anywhere,” Mastercard posted on X.
Mastercard’s expansion covers wallet services, card payments, and merchant settlement
According to an official press release, Mastercard’s stablecoin initiative covers the full payment flow, starting with wallet enablement to allow users to spend and withdraw stablecoins with traditional cards.
The company has partnered with crypto-native platforms such as MetaMask, Kraken, Crypto.com, Binance, Gemini, Bybit, Monavate, and Bleap to support stablecoin usage across consumer wallets.
Mastercard is also working with acquirers and payment processors to enable merchant settlement in stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC).
Merchants will have the option to accept payments in stablecoins, regardless of how customers choose to pay. Payments processor Nuvei and stablecoin issuers Circle and Paxos are among Mastercard’s partners helping to integrate these services.
The initiative also includes on-chain remittances, facilitated by Mastercard Crypto Credential, a system that allows users to send and receive digital assets using simple, verified usernames.
Companies such as Wirex, Bit2Me, Lirium, Notabene, Coins.ph, and Mercado Bitcoin have already joined the credential ecosystem to enhance the security of crypto transfers.
Industry leaders back Mastercard’s stablecoin push as market eyes $2 trillion growth
Several companies involved in Mastercard’s initiative have highlighted the broader significance of the move.
Ale Machado, product lead at wallet provider MetaMask, emphasized that “enabling seamless access to the Web3 economy, without compromising on self-custody” would unlock greater real-world utility.
Mark Greenberg, global head of consumer at Kraken crypto exchange, said collaborations like this are “key to unlocking crypto’s real-world utility at global scale”.
Meanwhile, Phil Fayer, CEO of payments processor Nuvei, praised the effort to “offer innovative solutions that bridge traditional and digital finance, helping our merchants grow” in today’s evolving global market.
Their optimism comes as the stablecoin sector is projected to experience explosive growth. Standard Chartered recently forecasted that the market could surge tenfold to $2 trillion within the next three years, driven by institutional adoption and regulatory frameworks like the U.S. GENIUS Act gaining traction.
