On June 29, Mastercard, the global payments giant, announced its plans to launch a “Multi Token Network” (MTN) in beta in the United Kingdom over the coming months.
This move signifies Mastercard’s deeper exploration into the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. The MTN will serve as an app store, leveraging blockchain technology to facilitate the creation of regulated financial applications, expanding the scope of payment solutions.
Mastercard’s executive vice president and head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan, explained that the MTN is essentially an app store empowered by blockchain technologies, opening avenues for developers to build a new generation of financial applications.
The company believes that the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies holds significant potential and utility, beyond just the regulatory and investment aspects often discussed.
Mastercard will offer developers access to tools and a private version of the Ethereum blockchain for building applications.
Through this platform, developers can experiment with tokenized commercial bank deposits and blockchain data representing bank account balances.
The applications and programs developed on the MTN will be written in Solidity, the programming language used in Ethereum smart contracts.
Mastercard sees the MTN as a natural evolution in its commitment to the wider digital asset industry. By providing this platform for regulated financial applications, the company aims to build confidence and trust in the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
This initiative complements Mastercard’s existing ventures in the digital asset sector, which include NFTs, crypto-linked credit and debit cards, crypto infrastructure, and developer tools.
