Mastercard and Chainlink Unite to Let 3 Billion Users Buy Crypto On-Chain via Decentralized Networks

New Fiat-to-Crypto Onboarding Breakthrough Taps Mastercard's Network and Chainlink's Blockchain Rail

Mastercard’s latest move into the digital asset space marks a milestone in bridging fiat payments with decentralized finance, as it partners with Chainlink to let over 3 billion Mastercard cardholders purchase cryptocurrencies directly on-chain. Announced on June 24, 2025, the integration merges the scale of traditional financial networks with the technical capabilities of decentralized protocols, enabling seamless, compliant crypto access across global markets. The solution leverages Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to transmit transaction data between Mastercard’s infrastructure and blockchain networks, making crypto purchases possible using familiar payment methods while maintaining on-chain execution.

The infrastructure supporting this integration weaves together a range of players from both Web2 and Web3 ecosystems. Shift4 Payments handles fiat card processing, while ZeroHash provides backend support for crypto liquidity and fiat custody. Execution of token swaps is decentralized, powered by protocols such as Uniswap, Swapper Finance, and XSwap. The entire process is designed to operate through a non-custodial framework, particularly via Swapper Finance’s interface, which preserves user ownership of digital assets and incorporates account abstraction to deliver a smooth and simplified experience for both crypto veterans and newcomers. This design aims to eliminate the onboarding friction that has historically deterred traditional users from engaging with decentralized applications.

Mastercard executive vice president Raj Dhamodharan underscored the strategic goal behind the partnership: to collapse the boundaries between onchain commerce and offchain transactions. “There’s no doubt about it — people want to be able to easily connect to the digital assets ecosystem, and vice versa,” he said. The initiative builds on Mastercard’s broader crypto expansion throughout 2024 and 2025, including the launch of crypto debit cards with Kraken in the UK and Europe in April, a stablecoin integration with MoonPay in May to support spending across 150 million merchants, and a self-custody crypto card launched with MetaMask earlier this year. Mastercard also disclosed that 30% of its 2024 transactions were tokenized, signaling a deeper internal shift toward blockchain integration.

Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov described the new system as a “critical connection between the traditional payments world and the over three billion cardholders in the Mastercard user base.” The solution prioritizes scalability, compliance, and accessibility to support future mainstream adoption, echoing Chainlink Labs’ assertion that it was “built for everyone, not just for crypto-natives or enthusiasts.” The approach reflects a growing emphasis on user-centered design in crypto, while embedding core infrastructure that allows large-scale financial institutions to interface securely with decentralized networks.

As the crypto price index expands and mainstream access to digital assets becomes more seamless, the line between traditional finance and blockchain-based systems continues to blur. The integration not only adds a new route for on-chain crypto purchases but also alters the broader coin market cap dynamic by tying decentralized liquidity protocols directly to the habits of billions of global consumers. This effort also sharpens the competitive race with Visa, which has pursued its own innovations—like a digital asset platform and its partnership with Coinbase for instant crypto withdrawals—though Mastercard’s latest initiative may shift the balance with a more deeply embedded fiat-to-crypto solution.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.