Mastercard backs stablecoins post-GENIUS Act, but not as decentralized money

Mastercard publicy embraced stablecoins following the passage of the Genius act, but sees itself at the core of the system.

The Genius Act is already having a tangible impact on the discourse around stablecoins. Following its passage, the payments giant Mastercard publicly embraced stablecoins, signalling that the legislation cleared a major roadblock to expansion. Still, Mastercard’s vision is not one of decentralized money.

“Stablecoins are at a turning point. The passage of the GENIUS Act by the U.S. Congress signals a new era of regulatory clarity and confidence in digital assets,” Jesse McWaters, Executive Vice President at Mastercard stated.

Stablecoins are already finding real-world uses, McWaters underlined, especially in cross-border payments. Whether its international B2B payments or remittances, stablecoins offer a low cost and fast alernative to traditional banking transfers and other payment methods.

Mastercard’s bid to dominate stablecoins

Still, McWaters believes that stablecoins are missing a key factor, which is an intermediary, like the one that Mastercard is. Calling Mastercard “one of the world’s most trusted payments networks,” Mastercard hopes to become a key centralized intermediary in a stablecoin ecosystem.

“But to move from niche to mainstream, stablecoins need more than speed and programmability. They need to be embedded in systems that people trust — systems that protect users, resolve disputes and work seamlessly across borders and platforms,” McWaters stated. “That’s where Mastercard comes in,” he added.

The payments giant has already launched several stablecoin focused initiatives. These include Mastercard Multi-Token Network and Mastercard Crypto Credential, which add compliance and user protection features.

Mastercard’s vision is a move away from the trustless systems of peer to peer payments. Instead, the firm is applying the approach that already works for credit card payments. Still, the firm’s legacy business model is not without criticism. Notably, the credit card company faced numerous legal challenges over unfair treatment of merchants and credit card users.