Security and Fraud Detection Provide Additional
Transparency and Support for Digital Assets Ecosystem
Latest Investment Helps Company Accelerate and
Expand Crypto-Related Strategy
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) will extend its capabilities deep into the
field of digital assets with an agreement to acquire CipherTrace, a
leading cryptocurrency intelligence company with insight into more
than 900 cryptocurrencies.
As digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and non-fungible
tokens (NFTs), become more intertwined with everyday activities —
from the way people pay and get paid to how they invest — trust and
security will be critical enablers to ensure broad adoption and
scale. These new technologies will require new solutions and more
powerful intelligence to ensure that the crypto economy is
instilled with the same trust and peace of mind that consumers
currently experience with more traditional payment methods.
The integrated offering will build on CipherTrace’s suite of
digital assets and Mastercard’s cyber security solutions to provide
businesses with greater transparency to help identify and
understand their risks and to help manage their digital asset
regulatory and compliance obligations.
“Digital assets have the potential to reimagine commerce, from
everyday acts like paying and getting paid to transforming
economies, making them more inclusive and efficient,” said Ajay
Bhalla, president, Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard. “With
the rapid growth of the digital asset ecosystem comes the need to
ensure it is trusted and safe. Our aim is to build upon the
complementary capabilities of Mastercard and CipherTrace to do just
this.”
Bringing Trust & Transparency to Digital Assets
CipherTrace’s innovative platform helps customers enhance their
security and fraud monitoring activities for crypto-related
programs. They provide solutions for some of the largest banks,
exchanges, and other financial institutions in the world due to
their industry leading data analytics and algorithms to help
customers convert on their opportunities across 7,000+
cryptocurrency entities.
“We help companies – whether they are banks or cryptocurrency
exchanges, government regulators or law enforcement to keep the
crypto economy safe,” said Dave Jevans, CEO, CipherTrace. “Our two
companies share this vision to provide security and trust
throughout the ecosystem. We are thrilled to join the Mastercard
family to scale CipherTrace’s reach across the globe.”
The deal enables Mastercard to combine the technology, AI and
cyber capabilities of both companies to differentiate its card and
real-time payments infrastructure, allowing customers and
stakeholders globally to build upon and benefit from the solutions
to protect their consumers and comply with regulations, as they
build their own virtual asset offerings.
CipherTrace will also help drive continued innovation with a
diverse range of partners, like fintechs, crypto-wallet providers,
governments, etc., while also allowing the company to deliver on
the principles it has established for all blockchain-related
programs.
The acquisition is part of Mastercard’s strategy in the digital
assets space to help provide customers, merchants and businesses
with more choice in how they move digital value. It follows a
number of investments the company has made, including partnerships
with Uphold, Gemini and BitPay to create crypto cards, the creation
of new platforms to test and support Central Bank Digital
Currencies, programs to support the broader use of blockchain
technology and NFTs, and the potential to support select
stablecoins directly on its network.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and the transaction
is anticipated to close before the end of the year, pending certain
conditions.
About Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments
industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital
economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions
safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks,
partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help
individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses
realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ,
drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our
company. With connections across more than 210 countries and
territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks
priceless possibilities for all. www.mastercard.com
About CipherTrace
CipherTrace, a leading cryptocurrency intelligence company,
bridges virtual currencies and financial services together with
fraud protection, anti-money laundering and financial investigation
solutions. CipherTrace derives superior cryptocurrency intelligence
from analyzing massive amounts of validated blockchain transaction
attribution. CipherTrace founders are dedicated to protecting
consumer privacy and growing the blockchain economy, while
defending against illicit finance. Deep expertise in cybersecurity,
eCrime, payments, banking, encryption and virtual currencies form
the foundation for CipherTrace’s commercial offerings. For more
information, visit CipherTrace.com, subscribe to the CipherTrace
Newsletters and follow us on Twitter @CipherTrace.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant
to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of
historical facts may be forward-looking statements. When used in
this press release, the words “believe,” “expect,” “could,” “may,”
“would,” “will,” “trend” and similar words are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to
Mastercard’s future prospects, developments and business
strategies, as well as Mastercard’s acquisition and operation of
CipherTrace. We caution you to not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date they
are made. Except for the company’s ongoing obligations under the
U.S. federal securities laws, the company does not intend to update
or otherwise revise the forward-looking information to reflect
actual results of operations, changes in financial condition,
changes in estimates, expectations or assumptions, changes in
general economic or industry conditions or other circumstances
arising and/or existing since the preparation of this press release
or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events.
Many factors and uncertainties relating to the proposed
transaction, our operations and our business environment, all of
which are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our
control, influence whether any forward-looking statements can or
will be achieved. Any one of these factors could cause our actual
results or the impact of the acquisition to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in writing in any forward-looking
statements made by Mastercard or on its behalf. Such factors
related to the completion and impact of the acquisition include,
but are not limited to, whether all necessary conditions will be
met, and whether the transaction will close on agreed terms and in
a timely manner.
For additional information on other factors related to
Mastercard’s overall business that could cause Mastercard’s actual
results to differ materially from expected results, please see the
company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2020, and any subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q
and 8-K.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210909005577/en/
Investor Relations: Jud Staniar,
investor.relations@mastercard.com, 914-249-4565 Communications:
Seth Eisen, seth.eisen@mastercard.com, 914-249-3153
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