Crypto Exchange BTC Markets Partners with Mastercard for Payments

Key Insights:

• Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets forms a partnership with Mastercard to support crypto card payments.
• The partnership comes despite some jurisdictions raising concerns over card payments.
• BTC follows in the footsteps of CoinJar, who partnered with Mastercard in 2021.

BTC Markets is an online crypto exchange with more than 325,000 Australian clients and AU$19bn in traded digital assets.

Focused on the Australian market, users can deposit and withdraw Aussie dollars without fees. Twenty-five tradeable pairs are on offer, with the platform supporting retail and institutional investors. In addition to traditional crypto trading, users may also stake supported cryptos for multiple time periods.

Coin listings include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), and Algorand (ALGO), among others.

BTC Markets Partners with Mastercard to Support Card Payments

This week, BTC Markets and Mastercard formed a partnership, enabling users to make payments into the exchange.

The partnership will allow customers to make direct debit, prepaid, or credit card payments into the crypto exchange. Previously, BTC Markets users could only make payments by bank transfer.

BTC Markets CEO Caroline Bowler said,

“As the cryptocurrency landscape continues to grow and evolve, customers are increasingly looking for faster and simpler ways to access cryptocurrency securely and efficiently. We are excited to be partnering with Mastercard who share our focus on stability and innovation and customer protection, and enable us to offer our clients with new ways to engage with this emerging digital asset class.”

Mastercard See Greater Collaboration with Crypto Platforms

In 2021, Mastercard launched crypto-linked credit cards across the Asia Pacific region. Mastercard formed partnerships with Amber Group and Bitkub of Thailand; and Australia’s CoinJar.

The partnership with Mastercard enables users to instantly convert crypto into fiat to spend anywhere that Mastercard is accepted worldwide.

According to the Mastercard announcement, the three exchanges were the first Asia-Pacific-based platforms to join Mastercard’s Crypto Card Program.

In January, Mastercard struck a payments deal with Coinbase to allow users to make purchases on the Coinbase NFT marketplace.

Coinbase is to launch its NFT marketplace soon. This month, Coinbase took to Twitter, announcing the imminent launch of the highly anticipated CoinbaseNFT.

Regulatory Oversight May Limit Mastercard’s Reach

Some jurisdictions are more crypto-friendly than others, which may limit the reach of Mastercard and others in the crypto world.

Last week, FX Empire reported the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issuing an “enforcement notice ahead of an imminent crackdown on misleading and irresponsible crypto ads.”

As part of the enforcement notice, the ASA indicated that ads must not imply:

• Cryptocurrencies are suitable for purchase on credit.
• Cryptocurrencies are a good or secure way to invest savings or a pension.

In Australia, a crypto sector regulatory overhaul is imminent. Regulators may include similar measures to protect investors.