Crypto fintech MoonPay announced a virtual Mastercard that will let users make purchases with USDT, something Tether’s CEO calls ‘the best idea after sliced bread.’
Crypto fintech MoonPay has teamed up with Mastercard to enable crypto users to pay for everyday purchases with Tether’s USDT stablecoin.
The MoonPay Mastercard will be usable at 150 million locations where Mastercard is accepted across more than 200 countries and territories. USDT will be automatically converted into fiat currency at the point of sale.
“With this partnership, every crypto wallet will also have access to new stablecoin-powered virtual Mastercards,” said Moonpay.
“By providing solutions that unlock stablecoin utility and ubiquity, we are redefining how money moves globally and driving a shift in payments as we know it,” said Scott Abrahams, executive vice president of global partnerships at Mastercard. “Together with MoonPay, we’re building innovative and secure connectivity between crypto and mainstream finance ecosystems.”
Paolo Ardino, CEO of Tether, called the partnership “huge”, saying, “USDT cards are the best idea after sliced bread,” in an X post.
The partnership will leverage infrastructure from Iron, a stablecoin payments firm MoonPay acquired in March.
Payments Giants Embrace Stablecoins
Mastercard isn’t alone in embracing stablecoins. In late April, Visa partnered with Baanx to launch a stablecoin payments card using Circle’s USDC. These cards are connected to self-custodial wallets. Like the Mastercard/MoonPay card, the Visa/Baanx cards also convert stablecoins to local fiat currency at the point of sale.
Tether has the largest share of the stablecoin market, with a market capitalization of $151 billion. USDC is second, with a market cap of $60 billion.
Mastercard and Baanx have also partnered on a card that lets users spend crypto directly from their MetaMask wallets.
Stablecoins are increasingly viewed as an excellent payments method, driven in part by the Trump administration’s view that stablecoins are a way to export and maintain the U.S. dollar’s market dominance across the globe.
Bipartisan legislation to pass a stablecoin regulation bill that could greatly enhance their acceptance recently hit a snag when Democrats demanding stronger consumer protections and a ban on the President profiting from cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, held it up.
Advantages of Stablecoin Payments
Stablecoins’ greatest strength as a payments tool comes from their peg to the U.S. dollar, which keeps the price stable and allows near-instantaneous settlement across borders. They are also a way to protect savings while still making payments easily in high-inflation economies.
“Whether it’s shopping at a local market in Asia Pacific or a Latin American merchant paying a European supplier online, these capabilities offer significant advantages,” Mastercard said in a release.
MoonPay is integrated with more than 500 crypto platforms, including major wallets and exchanges with a combined reach of more than 100 million active crypto users. It said some 20 million wallets globally make stablecoin transfers on a monthly basis, and 120 million hold stablecoin balances.
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