Crypto: 30% of Mastercard Transactions Are Already Tokenized – What’s Next?

The number strikes like a thunderclap: 30% of Mastercard transactions are now tokenized. A silent revolution, almost sneaky, that redraws the boundaries of finance. Behind this percentage lies a strategic shift, a cheeky response to skeptics. But this metamorphosis is merely a prelude. The real burning question is: what financial world emerges when a traditional giant embraces crypto to this extent?

Mastercard: From Plastic to Blockchain, a Controlled Mutation

In 2024, Mastercard swallowed a third of its transactions to transform them into tokens. Not an experiment, but a calculated plan.

In its report to the SEC, the firm reveals a two-faced strategy: taming risks while nurturing the crypto ecosystem. Collaborations with exchanges, integration of crypto payments, open doors to stablecoins… A complex ballet where each step is choreographed. The results speak: $28.2 billion in net revenues, or +12% in one year.

Yet, Mastercard makes a rare admission: “Stablecoins and cryptos are serious competitors.” A paradox? No. Strategic lucidity.

By tokenizing its flows, the giant is not fighting crypto — it is digesting it. As if, in order to survive, it must become what it claimed to regulate.

But tokenization is just a tool. The real issue? Rethinking trust. Blockchains offer transparency and speed, but Mastercard adds its network, its regulation, its security muscle. A mismatched marriage? Perhaps. But when 30% of your transactions silently switch, divorce is no longer an option.

Crypto vs. Bank: The Clash of Titans is Already Here

The elephant in the room? $27,600 billion in transactions in stablecoins in 2024, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. A seismic shift. American lawmakers are in a tizzy: French Hill and Bryan Steil are proposing a regulatory framework for stablecoins, with a clear objective — to protect the dollar, not innovation.

Yet, Mastercard envisions 2025 as the year of forced symbiosis. Regulations clarified, banks adopting blockchain, stablecoins becoming bridges between fiat and crypto worlds.

Idyllic scenario? Not quite. Because in the shadows, a battle is being fought: stablecoins threaten the margins of credit cards, nibble at transaction fees, challenge settlement times.

But here’s the twist: Mastercard bets on disruption to reinvent itself. By tokenizing its own flows, the firm transforms a threat into a lever. Imagine: cross-border payments in stablecoins settled in 3 seconds, secured by its network. A monstrous hybrid, half-traditional half-crypto, that could suffocate the pure players.

Mastercard has learned an essential lesson: crypto is not an adversary, but an DNA to integrate. Tokenizing 30% of its transactions is just a prelude. The next step? A complete overhaul where cards, stablecoins, and blockchains converge into a fluid and interconnected ecosystem. Will regulators keep up? Will banks withstand the wave? One certainty remains: in 2025, the financial landscape will be unrecognizable, despite a bitcoin whose consolidation is starting to bore.