Mastercard has launched a new service designed to help banks identify fraud on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Crypto Secure uses artificial intelligence to help banks determine the likelihood that a cryptocurrency exchange on the Mastercard network is linked to fraudulent activity and allow them to act accordingly.
The new platform expands on existing technology provided to banks to combat fiat currency fraud, following Mastercard's acquisition of CipherTrace, a blockchain security startup, in September 2021.
Protect consumer crypto
Ajay Bhalla, president of Mastercard Cyber and Intelligence Business, stated that the new platform is an effort to build trust in "digital asset transactions".
“The idea is that the kind of trust that we bring to digital commerce transactions, we want to be able to bring the same kind of trust to digital asset transactions for consumers, banks and merchants,” he told CNBC (opens in a new tab ).
Until international governments enact meaningful regulations on the cryptocurrency market, this is perhaps the safest step any major financial firm has ever taken to protect those looking to adopt crypto, and it may increase consumer confidence in the technology.
Certainly, cryptocurrency seems to be gaining legitimacy with governments and financial institutions.
In September 2022, President Biden's executive branch released a framework (opens in a new tab) that hopes to see cryptocurrency transactions become easier in the United States and reduce fraud, while the same month , the Nasdaq has announced (opens in a new tab). tab) that it will begin offering custodial services to "institutions that are diving into cryptocurrency."
Meanwhile, the European Union hopes that its new legislation (opens in a new tab), announced in June, will put an end to the "wild west of crypto assets."
This “wild west” and an ongoing economic downturn mean that Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, no longer enjoys the strong value it once did, currently hovering precariously around the €19,000 per coin mark and defying price rise forecasts.
As governments ramp up, the movement of established financial institutions and services into the crypto space is welcome. These combined initiatives could, if supported, revitalize his fortunes.