Mastercard will enable partnered banks to offer debit cards and loyalty rewards based on cryptocurrency

<p>What has just occurred? Not only Bitcoin miners and well-known figures such as Elon Musk have embraced cryptocurrencies; entire countries and global financial institutions have done the same. Mastercard announced today that it has partnered with digital wallet app Bakkt to bring "innovative" cryptocurrency-based financial services to banks and fintech companies worldwide.</p> <p>In plain English, this means that banks could allow customers to use their platform to buy, hold, and trade various cryptos through this partnership. Customers could also use their currencies to purchase bank-branded cryptocurrency debit and credit cards.</p> <p>All of this would be enabled by Bakkt's underlying wallet technology, though it's unclear how tightly integrated it will be in terms of UI/UX. Will banks direct users to download Bakkt's app, or will the technology be effectively white-labeled with their own branding and customised features? At the moment, it's difficult to say.</p> <p>In any case, in addition to cryptocurrency trading and crypto cards, Mastercard's latest partnership enables financial institutions to use crypto loyalty solutions. Simply put, loyalty points could be earned and spent in cryptocurrency, rather than through the traditional, cash-based systems used by the majority of banks.</p> <p>We cannot yet say whether this means end users will receive cryptocurrency directly into their wallets or will simply be able to spend points at locations that accept cryptocurrency (possibly exclusively).</p> <p>While this news will not benefit everyone, particularly those who do not use Mastercard, it is yet another indication of how the world is increasingly moving towards widespread cryptocurrency adoption. It's clear that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and possibly even Dogecoin (as ridiculous as that notion is) are here to stay and will only grow in popularity over time, despite regulatory efforts in countries such as China to shut them down.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href='http://paypal.me/cryptopirate