In 2021, the Mastercard payment system will start working with several cryptocurrencies - as Raj Damodaran, vice president of the company for digital assets, emphasized, Mastercard will only work with the crypto that meets its requirements.

This is primarily about supporting stablecoins - cryptocurrencies backed by real assets. People will be able to use such currency in everyday life, Damodaran believes.

“Mastercard does not aim to encourage you to start using cryptocurrencies. Our goal is to allow buyers, sellers and businesses to transfer funds, traditional or crypto, the way they want. It should be your choice, it's your money," the company said in a statement.

Prior to this, Mastercard management expressed concern that untrained people could access cryptocurrency transactions. “Can you imagine that people without access to the financial system will work with an asset that is worth 2 cans of Coca-Cola today and 21 tomorrow? The volatility of cryptocurrencies is not a way to include people in the financial system, but a way to scare them away,” said Ajay Banga, CEO of the Mastercard payment system.
In October 2020, PayPal allowed customers to sell, buy and store cryptocurrencies, as well as use virtual money for purchases in 26 million partners of the service. On this news, Bitcoin broke the $13,000 mark for the first time since July 2019.
And in early February, the Visa payment system announced software that allows customers of credit institutions to interact with cryptocurrencies.

MasterCard will allow transactions with cryptocurrencies for the first time in 2021