Payment giant Mastercard wants to make it possible for consumers, companies and banks to accept Bitcoin as a means of payment. According to CNBC, Mastercard has partnered with Bitcoin company Bakkt.

MasterCard

The credit card company wants to offer custodial services for customers. Mastercard manages the customer’s Bitcoin. This makes it easier for many people to use the digital currency.

Although having your bitcoin managed by a third party brings convenience, it does not give you the independence of a wallet under your own management. Not needing a trusted third party is what Bitcoin stands for. Read our article about the differences between custodial, non-custodial and self-custodial wallets here.

Currently, thousands of banks and millions of businesses use the Mastercard payment network. The company’s embrace of bitcoin as a means of payment could be a big step for global bitcoin adoption. In addition to being able to receive, store and send Bitcoin via the Mastercard app, the company also wants to let customers earn bitcoin. For example, by making it possible to exchange Air Miles or other bonus points for bitcoin.

?ǣWe want to enable the customers of all our partners, whether banks, fintechs or entrepreneurs, to buy, sell and hold bitcoin through an integration with the Bakkt platform ,?ǥ said Sherri Haymond, the executive vice president of Bitcoin. Mastercard’s president of digital partnerships, in an interview with the CNBC.

The integration of bitcoin services on the Mastercard payment network could make it easy for billions of people to use bitcoin as a means of payment or savings. For now, the partnership with Bakkt will only be noticeable to customers in the United States.

?ǣThe global demand for Bitcoin products and services is the reason Mastercard customers have asked for such a Bitcoin integration,?ǥ explains Haymond.

Earlier this year, Mastercard announced that it had entered into a partnership with Circle for the integration of such stablecoins.

Bakkt

Bakkt is a bitcoin company with a trading platform based on futures, and launched its own wallet earlier this year. Bakkt is a subsidiary of the Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange.

bakkt’s futures trading platform is mainly aimed at institutional investors. Bakkt’s wallet, on the other hand, should make it easier for consumers to receive and send Bitcoin.

The partnership with Mastercard was reflected in the company’s share price. In a short period of time, a share of Bakkt rose from $10 to $50 dollars.

The integration of Bitcoin into the Mastercard payment network comes just after the announcement of the first Bitcoin ETF.