Mastercard President Michael Miebach has opined that his company’s massive acquisition of crypto patents will become beneficial when the central bank digital currencies (CBDC) fully kick-off.
He said the intellectual property the payment giant has acquired would help put the company in a good position, as the world anticipates the rise of CBDCs in the financial sector.
Miebach said a CBDC requires a link for an acceptance network or framework, and
Mastercard is well-positioned to provide such a link.
Mastercard has intellectual property on some crypto assets and products that link crypto-based transactions right into its network where they can be used. According to Miebach, Mastercard brings value through this means.
He also claimed that the payment processor giant is the “leading payments player” for crypto IP. Although his claim may be right for now, a tougher challenger is coming up to take off that position from Mastercard. Alibaba is gearing up to become the highest holder of blockchain patents before the end of the year, with many deals currently taking place.
When Mastercard’s company spokesperson was contacted to reveal details about the number of the company’s crypto patent, he declined to reveal any details.
Miebach also revealed that Mastercard has been approaching the world governments with its plans to launch a CBDC. By next year, Miebach will become Mastercard’s chief executive officer.
Developing Sandbox for CBDCs
Mastercard has already launched a sandbox for CBDC testing. This shows the payment giant’s seriousness to partake fully once digital currencies become widely accepted.
CBDC is a digital version of cash, which will be used for peer- to peer payments. Apart from building the solution, the private sector also wants to control it. This will be a new turn of events, considering that the government controls the distribution and availability of cash.
Mastercard has been talking to advisory firms, tech companies, commercial banks, central banks, and other relevant institutions regarding the suitability of a CBDC in their region.
However, the sandbox platform will be used for preliminary testing of the CBDC framework. It will incorporate blockchain technology like other CBDC proof of concepts.
However, there is no clarity regarding the choice of the underlying technology. One thing is certain, though; the testing platform will carry out only basic issuance and distribution and exchange of CBDC between consumers, commercial banks, and central banks. It will offer interactive features with existing payment networks.
Mastercard hopes its recent urge to get more crypto patents will become very profitable, as many central banks are looking to roll out their CBDC. A recent survey shows that about 80% of central banks are preparing to issue a CBDC. However, there is no information yet on how the various participants will forego before joining the platform.
The testing will help Mastercard have a better understanding of the market to improve its CDBC offerings. According to the company, valuable market intelligence will help a great deal when developing products or services within the industry.
