Mastercard, the leading fintech company, made an announcement on May 15 regarding the addition of five new startups to its Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets program. This program serves as an accelerator for fintech startups and focuses on exploring future use cases to scale new solutions globally.
The startups that have joined the program include Kulipa, a crypto payment and card issuer, Parfin, a blockchain software firm, peaq, a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePin) firm, Triangle, a data platform, and Venly, a blockchain developer.
Mastercard emphasized that this leg of the program will concentrate on use cases and trials aimed at addressing specific issues. The company only considers high-potential blockchain, digital assets, and Web3 startups for this program. Selected firms will have the opportunity to collaborate, receive bespoke training, and gain access to Mastercard’s customers and channels throughout the four-month program.
Start Path, which was launched in 2014, has already supported over 400 startups in 54 countries. Through initiatives like this, Mastercard has established itself as a leader in the fintech and blockchain payments sector.
In a recent development, Mastercard Lab partnered with Israeli fintech firm Kima to develop a “DeFi credit card” that combines decentralized finance protocols with the ability to apply for a line of credit.
Furthermore, Mastercard formed an alliance with major U.S. banking giants, including Citigroup, Visa, and JP Morgan, to test distributed ledger technology for banking settlements using tokenization.
In April, Mastercard and 1inch unveiled a debit card with cryptocurrency-to-fiat bridge functionality, enabling cryptocurrency users to make cash withdrawals and point-of-sale payments at locations that accept debit cards.
Vanguard, a well-known investment management company, recently appointed a former BlackRock executive with a favorable stance on Bitcoin as its new CEO.