Mastercard (NYSE: MA) appears to be continuing its advancements in the cryptocurrency sector despite suspending its activities earlier this year due to fears stemming from the multiple collapses of crypto businesses and increased regulatory examinations.
Mastercard and Crypto Current State
According to information shared by trademark attorney Michael Kondoudis on June 19, the payment processor recently applied for a trademark to provide software for cryptocurrency and blockchain transactions and establish connections among crypto asset service providers for crypto transactions.
Specifically, the application submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on June 12 under serial number 98038563 comprises three international classes (IC) that refer to different identification categories of goods and services covered by the application. These are 009, 036, and 042.
Mastercard’s Impact on Crypto
Meanwhile, the above filing is just another in the recent steps taken by Mastercard to return to its crypto path following the management’s decision to pause its crypto move due to weak market and regulatory conditions, much like Visa (NYSE: V).
According to research conducted at the beginning of March, it was reported that one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, Bybit, announced the launch of a bank card issued by Moorwand and supported by the Mastercard network, allowing users to easily transition between the crypto and fiat worlds and shop or withdraw cash from ATMs.
More recently, in late April, Mastercard announced the expansion of its crypto payment card program and stated its plans to partner with more crypto companies after having already done so with numerous major crypto trading networks such as Binance, Gemini, and Nexo, thereby allowing these companies to offer crypto payment cards in a number of countries.
It’s also worth noting that the global payment facilitator filed fifteen new trademark applications in April 2022 to register Mastercard, the ‘Circles’ logo, and the ‘Priceless’ slogan, which may point to plans for non-fungible token (NFT) supported media, payment processing in the metaverse, e-commerce, and more.
