Fintech giant Mastercard announced the addition of five new startups to its StartPath Blockchain and Digital Assets program on May 15.
Start Path Blockchain and Digital Assets is a fintech accelerator program focused on “exploring future use cases to scale new solutions with startups around the world.”
Joining the program are cryptocurrency payment and card issuer Kulipa, blockchain software company Parafin, decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePin) company Peaq, data platform Triangle, and blockchain developer Venly.
In a press release, Mastercard highlighted that this part of the program will focus on use cases and experiments to attack specific problems:
“Each currency format – from regulated money to bank deposits, to stablecoins and central bank digital currencies – serves a specific purpose, and Mastercard is reaching out to industry and fintech experts to explore diverse use cases that can help solve real-world problems.”
According to a press release from Mastercard, it is only considering “high-potential blockchain, digital assets and Web3 startups” for the program. These selected companies receive “the opportunity to collaborate, customized training, and access to Mastercard customers and channels” during a four-month program.
Launched in 2014, Start Path claims to support over 400 startups in 54 countries. Through programs like this, Mastercard has been able to steadily make its way to the forefront of the fintech and blockchain payments community.
As Cointelegraph recently reported on May 14, MasterCard Lab has partnered with Israeli fintech company Kima to develop a “deFi credit card.” Although not explicitly stated, the big idea seems to be a marriage of DeFi protocols with the ability to apply for a line of credit.
On May 8, Mastercard announced the formation of an alliance with US banking giants including Citigroup, Visa and JP Morgan to test distributed ledger technology for bank settlements using tokenization.
In April, Mastercard and 1inch unveiled a debit card with a bridge function from cryptocurrency to fiat currency allowing cryptocurrency users to make cash withdrawals and point-of-sale payments at locations where debit cards are accepted.
Related: Vanguard is hiring the former CEO of Bitcoin-friendly BlackRock as its new CEO
