Mastercard is enhancing its digital asset capabilities by acquiring cryptocurrency intelligence firm CipherTrace, with financial terms undisclosed.
CipherTrace specializes in analyzing large volumes of blockchain transaction data, providing insights on over 900 cryptocurrencies. Its intelligence is utilized by clients, including major banks and exchanges, for security and fraud monitoring.
By integrating CipherTrace’s insights with its own cybersecurity technology, Mastercard aims to offer businesses improved transparency in the cryptocurrency market, enabling them to understand risks and better manage regulatory and compliance requirements related to digital assets.
Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard, stated, “With the rapid growth of the digital asset ecosystem comes the need to ensure it is trusted and safe. Our aim is to build upon the complementary capabilities of Mastercard and CipherTrace to do just this.”
This acquisition aligns with Mastercard’s proactive strategy in the digital asset space, which includes partnerships with Uphold, Gemini, and BitPay to develop crypto cards, create platforms for testing and supporting Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and promote the broader use of blockchain technology and NFTs.