Mastercard’s Ciphetrace VP discusses decade-long maturation of cryptocurrency

Melissa Wisner, vice president of crypto risk at Ciphertrace, Mastercard’s crypto intelligence firm, highlighted the maturation of the cryptocurrency sector in the past decade.

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Fast Facts

• “The links between the traditional financial system and the crypto ecosphere are still very close,” said Wisner at a panel discussion at the D3 conference in the Bahamas. 

• She added that the crypto space doesn’t seem to be moving away from the traditional financial system, despite the notion that cryptocurrencies will replace banking institutions.
• An increasing number of major financial institutions are exploring blockchain technology. The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has tokenized its money market fund shares for the first time on Wednesday using JPMorgan’s Ethereum-based Onyx blockchain.
• The third largest banking institution in the U.S., Citigroup, launched Citi Token Services in September, a blockchain-based cross-border payment solution for institutions.

• According to Wisner, many of Mastercard’s banking partners aren’t interested in crypto due to their low-risk appetite for the asset class.

• Founded in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Defense, Ciphertrace was acquired by Mastercard in September 2021.

• Wisner said the acquisition underscores Mastercard’s belief that virtual assets and crypto are a lasting part of the financial future. 

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