Global payment giants Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe are reportedly exploring the creation of a unified stablecoin platform. The largest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase, is expected to play a key role in the initiative, according to sources cited by CoinDesk.

The world’s largest payment companies continue to actively enter the crypto industry. This time, Mastercard has taken an important step — the company has officially received a BitLicense in the state of New York. For the crypto market, this event is much more important than it may seem at first glance.

Chainlink announced a partnership with Mastercard. It will allow payment cardholders around the world to buy crypto assets directly on-chain by converting fiat funds into cryptocurrencies.

Today, OKX launched a cryptocurrency payment card that will be accepted across Europe. The Malta-based exchange positions its offering as a self-custody solution, allowing users to retain control over their assets until the moment of payment

Mastercard has launched a new development phase of Crypto Credential — a system that allows users to send digital assets to verified usernames rather than long wallet addresses. To support the service, the company selected the Polygon blockchain for its high throughput and low fees.

Other

As highlighted in the companies’ joint statement, this will be one of the first instances where a regulated U.S. bank uses a regulated stablecoin on an open blockchain for fiat settlements.

Payment giant Mastercard and Circle have entered into a partnership agreement to enable settlements in USDC and EURC stablecoins for acquirers in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins, has overtaken Coinbase in the AppStore after launching a credit card with XRP cashback in partnership with Ripple Labs and Mastercard.

Gemini has released a new version of the Gemini Credit Card® under the XRP brand, issued by WebBank and operating within the Mastercard World Elite program.

Bitget has introduced a new withdrawal feature that allows users to instantly convert crypto into fiat and have the funds directly credited to Visa and MasterCard cards.