This week at Africa Crypto News, payment processing giant MasterCard announced it will use USDC to expand its Global Digital Settlements partnership with Circle. Like the Tether USDT, USDC is one of the most popular, allowing for inexpensive and instant global value transfer.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, Invastor has launched an education program aimed at political stakeholders and leaders. Over the past few years, Kenya has taken steps to create clarity in regulations with crypto. The Virtual Asset Service Provider Bill (VASP) is being considered in Congress and could ultimately be enacted by law.

Meanwhile, international law enforcement agency Interpol has implemented a major operation to seize fraudulent Bitcoin and crypto mining operations across the continent. Crypto-mining is energy-intensive and farms can be difficult to run in areas with priorities that enhance critical services, such as healthcare.

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Explore the story that will make headlines for the continent this week:

Africa Crypto News: MasterCard expands its partnership with Circle

MasterCard, an international credit and debit card service provider, has it Expansion Partnerships with circles to promote payments in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.

This agreement will allow MasterCard users in these regions to resolve transactions using USDC and to purchase in some cases. Top Solanamime Coin. Payment processors and card issuers are leveraging trustworthy global infrastructure for this initiative.

Stablecoins provide a relatively secure way to handle crypto as their value is fixed on stable assets such as USD and Euro. MasterCard benefits crypto users by linking blockchain native assets with traditional Fiat systems. Sol ▲2.15% Owner.

(Source: TradingView Sol USDT)

Dimitrido Tosis, president of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, explained the benefits of the partnership as follows:

“This is a key move for Mastercard, and our strategic goal is to integrate stubcoin into the financial mainstream by investing in infrastructure, governance and partnerships.

The news is a major milestone for the blockchain sector and is moving away from its early reputation as a hub of fringe assets towards mainstream adoption.

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Kenya Crypto News: Invastor is investing in education programs

Available at Digital Finance Platform Infastor announcement An education initiative aimed at Kenyan lawmakers. The program provides lawmakers at various government levels with small amounts of crypto to manage as part of their portfolio and provides guidance on the handling of digital assets. The best cipher to buyLike Bitcoin ETH ▲2.94%.

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Invastor is making this effort to help lawmakers better understand crypto assets and enact appropriate laws for the sector. Kenya’s Parliament is currently considering the Virtual Asset Service Provider Bill (VASP).

Kenya’s approach to digital assets is evolving. From attention to leadership, support blockchain innovation, stable development, exploring Bitcoin reserves.

With national policies regarding the Virtual Asset and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) draft bill, we have… pic.twitter.com/xqfphmvqq7

– Hon. William Cabogo (@honkabogo) July 10, 2025

Invastor CEO Chris Esukumo highlighted the importance of Kenya’s digital payments and the potential for crypto growth. Esukumo pointed out that Kenya has shown the world how to jump legacy systems with mobile money. He now expects they will do the same thing in cryptography.

Binance has also participated in stakeholder engagement in the VASP bill, strengthening the importance of Kenya as a crypto hub.

Discover: 20+ Next Cryptocurrency to Explode in 2025

Zambia and Angola Crypto News: Interpol cracks down on Zambia and Angola scams

It’s located at Interpol carried out A major seizure targeting crypto fraudsters and illegal operators across the continent, focusing on Zambia and Angola to arrest cybercriminals.

Zambian authorities have shut down a massive crypto investment scam that has scamned an estimated $300 million victim. The surgery led to 15 people being arrested. Additionally, there was domain and bank account seizure to prevent further fraud.

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In Angola, authorities have shut down around 45 illegal crypto mining operations using electricity designated in vulnerable areas. Crypto miners face challenges in electricity consumption as they are unable to meet their needs in some regions.

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A top Mastercard executive says that the payments giant is gearing up for stablecoins to make a big impact on the global financial system.

In a new blog post, Mastercard’s executive vice president and head of global policy, Jesse McWaters, says that the company welcomes the recently passed stablecoin regulation, not only in the US with the GENIUS Act, but also in Europe with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

While many view stablecoins as a threat to payments giants like Mastercard, McWaters says the company has been “preparing for this moment for years.”

“We’ve worked across the crypto and traditional finance ecosystems to explore and understand how stablecoins and other digital assets can complement and enhance existing payment systems. We’ve invested in the tools, partnerships and standards that can help stablecoins scale responsibly.”

McWaters also hints that the company is coordinating its network of partners, which includes “governments, crypto natives, financial institutions and technology partners,” to prepare for stablecoin adoption.

Says the executive,

“The GENIUS Act, MiCA and other emerging frameworks open the door to a future filled with more innovation. And Mastercard is walking through it – by building the infrastructure, setting the standards and enabling the partnerships that will help define the next era of digital money.

We’ve made meaningful progress. We’re excited to take stablecoins to the next level.”

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Payment giants Visa and Mastercard are reportedly gearing up to fend off a quarter-trillion-dollar threat against their business models.

Bloomberg reports that executives at the two companies – which are a combined $1.1 trillion in market capitalization – are preparing for the continued rise of stablecoins, which drastically lower the cost of everyday transactions for both giants’ customers.

Jack Forestell, chief product and strategy officer at Visa, says that in prior disruptions, such as mobile wallets and buy-now-pay-later apps, corporate adaptation ultimately prevailed.

“We’ve been tokenizing access to value for a very long time now… Now the value that underlies that token, by and large, is either bank accounts or credit lines, debit and credit cards, but there’s absolutely no reason that can’t be a stablecoin or another cryptocurrency…

When you’re crypto natives, you can send money back and forth, but if you want to use that in a broad scale manner for your everyday purposes, you need that hyperscale connectivity, and we provide the best onramp to that.”

And Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard, says that the rise of stablecoins more so represents new “opportunities” rather than a threat of replacement.

“We shouldn’t assume that overnight, stablecoins will replace existing card payments or fiat… We think this is much more about new use cases and new opportunities than about replacing the existing system, especially in remittances, disbursements and business-to-business payments.”

According to data from CoinGecko, the current market cap of all stablecoins in circulation is over $255 billion.

According to last month’s report from The Wall Street Journal, anonymous people familiar with the matter said that some of the world’s largest retailers are considering issuing their very own dollar-pegged crypto assets in the US in an effort to save billions of dollars in transaction fees.

Walmart, Amazon, Expedia and unnamed airline companies were among those listed in the WSJ report.

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Payments giant Mastercard has tapped Chainlink (LINK) to connect off-chain payments to on-chain decentralized finance (DeFi).

According to a new press release, the partnership will use top decentralized exchange Uniswap and work closely with crypto firms Zero Hash, Swapper Finance, Shift4Payments, and XSwap.

Swapper Finance uses XSwap – a decentralized exchange built on Chainlink – for on-chain crypto swaps. Through integrations with Zero Hash and Shift4, users can convert fiat to crypto safely and process card payments. ZeroHash handles compliance and custody, while XSwap taps into platforms like Uniswap to complete trades with available liquidity.

The partnership will allow Mastercard holders to purchase crypto directly via a “secure fiat-to-crypto conversion.”

Says Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov of the new partnership,

“This is the type of traditional finance and decentralized finance convergence that Chainlink was built to make possible.

I’m excited about Chainlink’s ability to enable this critical connection between the traditional payments world and the over three billion cardholders in the Mastercard user base, directly into the next-generation trading environments of onchain decentralized exchanges.

It has been great collaborating closely with the Mastercard team on this innovative implementation, as well as the teams at Swapper Finance, XSwap, Shift4, and zerohash, this was a complex and multilayered collaboration, which I was thrilled to see the Chainlink community help make possible.”

Added Mastercard Blockchain & Digital Assets executive vice president Raj Dhamodharan,

“There’s no doubt about it – people want to be able to easily connect to the digital assets ecosystem, and vice versa. That’s why we continue to leverage our proven expertise and global payments network to bridge the gap between onchain commerce and offchain transactions.

In coming together with Chainlink, we’re unlocking a secure and innovative way to revolutionize onchain commerce and drive the broader adoption of crypto assets.”

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Mastercard is expanding its involvement in cryptocurrency infrastructure through a new partnership with MoonPay, introducing payment cards that allow users to transact using stablecoins.

The underlying infrastructure will be provided by Iron—a stablecoin payments company acquired by MoonPay in March—and is expected to launch later this year, though no specific timeline or countries have been confirmed.

The service is intended for both individuals and businesses and will automatically convert stablecoins into fiat at the point of sale.

What can we expect from the stablecoin payment cards?

The new card service will allow users to make purchases and receive payments in stablecoins, with transactions automatically converted into fiat currency. This approach is designed to allow merchants and cardholders to interact with stablecoins without dealing with the complexity of managing crypto wallets or dealing with market volatility directly.

Iron, the infrastructure provider now owned by MoonPay, will handle the technical backend of the service. Whilst the specific stablecoins to be supported have not been disclosed, such products typically use well-known assets like USDC or USDT, both of which are pegged to the US dollar.

The rollout is planned to be global, though both companies have not detailed which regions will be prioritised.

Ongoing Regulatory Developments

In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance in April stating that some stablecoins do not qualify as securities. However, it did not offer clarity on yield-bearing or algorithmic stablecoins, leaving parts of the market in a legal grey area.

The SEC also recently closed an investigation into PayPal’s stablecoin without taking enforcement action, signalling a possible shift toward more defined regulatory boundaries. Even so, the broader legal framework for stablecoins—particularly those used in financial products or payment systems—is still under development in many countries.

Despite this, large payment networks are continuing to experiment. Visa recently launched a stablecoin pilot programme across six Latin American countries, with plans to expand to other continents. Mastercard’s own series of partnerships, including the latest with MoonPay, indicates that the firm views stablecoins as a viable component of future payment infrastructure.

Mastercard has introduced a suite of services to support stablecoin use across its global payments network, backed by partnerships with firms such as OKX, Nuvei, Circle, MetaMask, Kraken, and others.

The initiative includes wallet integration, card issuance, merchant acceptance, and settlement tools—designed to support both consumers and businesses in sending, receiving, and spending stablecoins.

Consumers will be able to spend stablecoins at traditional merchants using Mastercard-linked cards, whilst participating businesses can opt to receive settlements in $USDC or other supported stablecoins.

How is this being implemented?

To support stablecoin transactions at scale, Mastercard is deploying its Crypto Credential system—a verification layer that enables blockchain addresses to be linked to verified user identities. This system allows users in supported regions to send and receive digital assets using usernames rather than long wallet addresses, improving usability and reducing error risk.

The company is also developing its Multi-Token Network (MTN), a platform designed to support real-time settlement of tokenised assets. Financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered are participating in MTN pilots, which aim to bridge conventional bank accounts with on-chain payment flows.

These infrastructure efforts suggest Mastercard is looking beyond card-based payments to broader digital asset integration across banking and settlement systems.

Why is this significant?

Mastercard’s entry into stablecoin infrastructure signals a notable step in the integration of digital assets into everyday financial systems. Whilst stablecoins have been widely used in cryptocurrency markets for trading and hedging, their uptake in retail or commercial payments has remained limited due to technical, regulatory, and usability barriers.

By enabling direct settlement in stablecoins and providing infrastructure for both issuance and acceptance, Mastercard is addressing some of these gaps. Notably, the company is offering stablecoin payout options to merchants through a partnership with payment platform Nuvei and USDC issuer Circle. This gives businesses more flexibility in how they receive funds, regardless of the customer’s original payment method.

Additionally, Mastercard is expanding access to stablecoins for everyday spending. Through collaborations with wallet providers like MetaMask and exchanges like OKX and Kraken, customers will be able to use their digital asset balances via Mastercard-branded cards at over 150 million global merchant locations.

Mastercard is expanding its blockchain infrastructure to support a digital asset payment network that mirrors the convenience of Venmo and Zelle, according to a report published by Business Insider on April 1, 2025.

The company’s Multi-Token Network, launched in 2023, is designed to process transactions across digital assets while meeting regulatory requirements.

Mastercard Expands Crypto Card Programs

Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president of blockchain and digital assets, described the goal as connecting traditional and decentralized finance under a shared infrastructure.

“What is missing in this is a fully compliant framework and consumer experience offered on chain, like how you do Venmo and Zelle today in the US domestically,” he said.

Mastercard is focusing on partnerships with major financial institutions to pilot use cases.

Collaborations with JPMorgan and Standard Chartered include testing tokenized deposits, carbon credits, and cross-border payments.

A February 2025 partnership with Ondo Finance also introduced support for on-chain versions of money market funds and Treasuries.

To reach consumers, Mastercard has rolled out more than 100 crypto card programs globally, ranging from prepaid and credit cards to products that convert rewards into crypto.

Dhamodharan emphasized the importance of this channel, saying, “This flow of capital and spending power from the consumer side is essential to the success of this entire sector.”

Traditional Finance Embraces Digital Rails

Internally, Mastercard’s investment spans legal, product, and engineering teams.

According to the report, since 2015, the company has filed more than 250 blockchain-related patents and backed over 40 blockchain startups through its accelerator program.

After years of infrastructure disconnect and unclear regulations, Dhamodharan said the environment is finally shifting.

“Some of the players in the traditional financial world are interested in moving into this base because of the benefits the technology offers and the new business models it can create,” he said.

Traditional institutions are no longer sitting on the sidelines when it comes to blockchain adoption.

Mastercard’s strategy reflects a broader shift in how incumbents are co-opting once-disruptive technologies to reinforce their position, not dismantle it.

What’s unfolding is not a replacement of the financial system but a rewiring of its plumbing.

If Mastercard succeeds, the future of digital assets may be less about decentralization and more about who controls the rails between new protocols and old power structures.

Though consumers may not immediately notice Mastercard’s shift toward blockchain, this quiet evolution in financial infrastructure raises questions about the future of digital finance.

As major institutions integrate decentralized technologies into traditional frameworks, the boundaries between innovation and established power structures blur.

Ultimately, it may not be decentralization itself but the control of digital pathways—once considered disruptive—that reshapes how value moves around the globe.

This shift compels reflection: As blockchain merges with mainstream finance, will it fulfill its original promise of democratized access, or reinforce existing hierarchies under a new technological guise?

The post Mastercard Targets Venmo-Style Network for Blockchain Transactions appeared first on Cryptonews.

Mastercard is announcing a new partnership with Ondo Finance (ONDO) that will see the project join the credit card giant’s Multi-Token Network (MTN), a blockchain that links commercial banks and digital assets.

In a new press release, Mastercard says it is joining forces with the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization protocol because the firm believes blockchains are the future of business-to-business transactions due to their efficiency.

“Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the way businesses pay one another. Even in 2025, the complex work of settling the world’s business transactions sometimes requires waiting several days as banks communicate and sync their accounts with each other. Blockchains, on the other hand, can quickly process and settle transactions any time of day, any day of the week.”

Ondo’s chief strategy officer, Ian De Bode, told Mastercard in an interview that tokenizing traditional assets such as gold and securities and allowing them to be traded over blockchains will allow investors to escape the limited framework of traditional finance.

“When you put a traditional asset, such as an investment security, on the blockchain, you enable transactions around the clock, and you can integrate it into smart contracts.

You can do that without centralized counterparties. You’re not reliant on the infrastructure of traditional financial services, which do not work 24/7 and tend to be pretty siloed.”

De Bode goes on to predict that “we will see tokenized stocks, ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and the ability to borrow against them on-chain” faster than most people believe.

ONDO is trading for $0.967 at time of writing, a 1.8% decrease during the last 24 hours.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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