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Mastercard Acquires CipherTrace to Improve Crypto Capabilities

Financial services company Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA) has acquired crypto intelligence company CipherTrace to monitor crypto payments. Mastercard announced its latest acquisition via a press release published on the 9th of September. In the press release, Mastercard said CipherTrace would help to enhance its crypto capabilities. 

Mastercard Buys CipherTrace

Mastercard stated the growing adoption of crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and how they intertwine with our daily activities. As the world evolves, many people now pay in cryptocurrencies, with more companies accepting crypto payments. Also, more people shift to crypto investment rather than other traditional methods. 

Furthermore, the financial services company believes that “trust and security” are two essential needs to facilitate broader crypto adoption. The president of Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard, Ajay Bhalla, stated:

“Digital assets have the potential to reimagine commerce, from everyday acts like paying and getting paid to transforming economics, making them more inclusive and efficient. 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 this.”

With the purchase, Mastercard will commit its cyber security solutions and CipherTrace’s suite of digital assets to offer transparency. This will enable businesses to identify and understand associated risks and manage regulations and compliance obligations governing their digital assets. Also, Mastercard will easily enhance its fraud monitoring for its crypto services after acquiring CipherTrace.

Mastercard to Leverage CipherTrace’s Analytics Capabilities

CipherTrace is one of the top on-chain analytics firms and has a lot of regulators as clients. The firm develops tools that allow businesses and law enforcement to identify illegal transactions online. CipherTrace has worked with banks, law enforcement agencies, crypto exchanges, and government regulators to track illegal crypto transactions. CEO Dave Jevans noted:

“We help companies – whether they are banks or cryptocurrency exchanges, government regulators or law enforcement to keep the crypto economy safe. Our two companies share this vision to provide security and trust throughout the ecosystem. We are thrilled to join the Mastercard family to scale CipherTrace’s reach across the globe.”

Furthermore, the deal will allow Mastercard to combine both companies’ cyber capabilities, AI, and technology to differentiate between its card and real-time payments structure. Customers and stakeholders can leverage this to protect their clients and ensure regulatory compliance as they develop their virtual asset offerings. 

The deal with CipherTrace will also help Mastercard in its crypto innovation with its partners. The financial services company has also been venturing into several crypto-related investments. The company has partnered with Gemini, Uphold, and BitPay to create crypto cards. 

At press time, Mastercard stock was down 0.09% to $351.10 at after-hours trading. MA has declined 1.55% since the year began and nearly 4% in the last three months. Also, the payments company has lost more than 3% over the past month. 

On the other hand, Mastercard has gains 6.44% in the last twelve months and over 3% in the last five days. 

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Mastercard Acquires CipherTrace to Improve Crypto Capabilities