- Bitcoin hit a new record high price overnight after Mastercard and the Bank of New York Mellon said they would be making it easier for customers to use cryptocurrencies
- Mastercard plans to offer some cryptocurrencies to its cardholders by the end of the year to give consumers more choice when it comes to payment options
- Meanwhile, Bank of New York Mellon has revealed plans to hold, transfer, and issue cryptocurrencies to institutional customers
- The news sent the price of Bitcoin to over $62,000 per coin
- Of course, other cryptocurrencies have also enjoyed a recent boom: Ethereum hit its own all-time high overnight of around $2300, while Dogecoin passed 10 cents for the first time this week
Bitcoin’s surge has continued with yet another record-high price overnight, with the cryptocurrency currently worth upwards of $62,000 per coin.
This time, Mastercard and the Bank of New York Mellon drove the price increase as they announced they would be making it easier for customers to access and use cryptocurrencies.
Mastercard said it plans to offer some cryptocurrencies to its cardholders by the end of the year, while Bank of New York Mellon revealed plans to hold, transfer, and issue cryptocurrencies to its institutional customers.
The news comes in the same week Elon Musk’s tech giant Tesla announced it would hold US$1.5 billion (around A$1.94 billion) of Bitcoin on its balance sheet.
The inevitable future or just another option?
Mastercard said in a blog post it has seen a major upwards trend in people using cards to buy crypto assets like Bitcoin.
“Whatever your opinions on cryptocurrencies — from a dyed-in-wool fanatic to utter skeptic — the fact remains that these digital assets are becoming a more important part of the payments world,” the finance giant said.
The company said its philosophy on cryptocurrencies is all about choice.
“Mastercard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want. It should be your choice; it’s your money.”
Mastercard will begin to implement consumer protections in line with its credit and debit card protections and create a framework for effective Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance for cryptocurrencies.
It seems the financial service company’s shift to crypto is not necessarily born out of a belief that cryptocurrencies will explode in coming years, but rather to simply keep customers’ options open.
However, while Mastercard was careful not to spruik crypto too much, Bank of New York Mellon was far bolder in its assertions about digital currencies.
The bank, which has around US$2 trillion (around A$2.6 trillion) in assets, said there is a growing overall sentiment shift in respect to digital assets, according to Forbes.
“Digital assets are the future,” an executive from the bank said.
As such, the bank is adding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to its list of transferable assets.
And Bitcoin isn’t the only beneficiary of the major announcements this week. Ethereum also surged to an all-time high of around $2300 this week and Dogecoin — which was initially viewed as a “meme” cryptocurrency — struck over 10 cents per coin for the first time.
Despite being so cheap, Dogecoin’s market cap still sits at just under $11 billion.