Mastercard has selected five startups to participate in its Start Path blockchain and digital assets program, aiming to drive innovation in blockchain technology and digital asset utilization. The program will focus on exploring new ways to use money to address real-world challenges, enhance user experiences, and broaden the utility of blockchain technology. The startups will work with Mastercard to develop new solutions that improve digital commerce user experiences through the program, which offers special training, mentorship, and access to Mastercard’s network of customers and channels over four months.
Among the selected startups is Kulipa, a French-based company that facilitates crypto payment card issuance for digital wallets, and UK-based Parfin, which focuses on developing enterprise-grade software products to assist financial institutions in adopting blockchain technology. Singapore’s Peaq, known for providing permissionless and borderless digital infrastructure for real-world applications, was also chosen for the program, along with U.S.-based Triangle, which integrates climate data with finance to prioritize sustainability, and Belgium-based Venly, which simplifies blockchain integration for developers and businesses.
Axel Cateland, founder of Kulipa, expressed optimism about unlocking mass crypto adoption and promoting wider financial inclusion through convenient global stablecoin payments as part of the Mastercard program. In a separate announcement, Mastercard and Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong (SCBHK) successfully completed the first live test of Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network (MTN). The pilot involved tokenizing carbon credits within the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Fintech Supervisory Sandbox, demonstrating a novel blockchain application in financial services. The MTN was launched in 2023 using Mastercard’s private blockchain infrastructure and has undergone previous trial runs with other central banks.
The live test of MTN with SCBHK showcased the potential for tokenizing real-world assets through blockchain technology and executing atomic swaps across different blockchains. The test involved a client of SCBHK’s virtual bank, Mox Bank, depositing funds and requesting a carbon credit, which was then tokenized through Libeara, a tokenization service provider developed by SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s venture arm. The successful completion of the pilot demonstrates the possibilities of using blockchain technology to modernize financial transactions and develop innovative solutions in the financial services industry.
Mastercard’s Start Path program for blockchain and digital assets aims to leverage the company’s global payments expertise and network to drive the development of new solutions that improve user experiences in digital commerce. The program, which has supported over 400 startups from 54 countries since its inception in 2014, offers startups access to training, mentorship, and connections within the industry. The collaboration between Mastercard and the selected startups in the program will lead to the exploration of innovative use cases for blockchain technology and digital assets, fostering further growth and development in the industry.
