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- MetaMask and Mastercard are launching a metal payment card in Q2 2025 that lets users spend directly from their self-custody crypto wallets.
- MetaMask’s cards leverage the Linea network, a layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution, to process real-world purchases through smart contracts in under five seconds.
Mastercard, one of the payments industry leaders with more than 150 million merchant locations across the world, is at the forefront of stablecoin innovation by striking strategic partnerships with leading crypto players.
As part of the initiative, Mastercard has partnered with Nuvei, a Canadian fintech company that offers advanced payment solutions, and Circle, the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC). They are partnering to enable merchants to accept payments in stablecoins like USDC, regardless of the payment method a customer uses. This gives businesses greater flexibility while maintaining payment efficiency and security.
In addition, Mastercard is working with Paxos, the issuer of USDP and PayPal USD (PYUSD), to support stablecoin transactions using Paxos-issued digital assets, further expanding the usability of stablecoins in everyday commerce.
“When it comes to blockchain and digital assets, the benefits for mainstream use cases are clear. To realize this potential, we need to make it as easy for merchants to receive stablecoin payments as it is for consumers to use them.” Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard, commented.
Partnerships Driving Innovation
According to its report, Mastercard partnered with MetaMask, a leading self-custody crypto wallet and browser extension, as well as CompoSecure and Baanx, to roll out a new product: the MetaMask Metal Payment Card. This self-custody-based card will allow customers to spend cryptocurrency directly from their MetaMask wallets, giving users an alternative to centralized exchanges. It only takes less than five seconds for transactions, notwithstanding lengthy delays and intermediaries. The card is expected to become globally available in Q2 2025.
In another development, Mastercard is teaming up with OKX, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017, to launch the OKX Card. The collaboration leverages OKX’s strength in crypto trading and its expanding Web3 ecosystem. According to the report, “Mastercard and OKX will explore new opportunities to help people meaningfully engage with digital assets and connect with their passions.”
Over the years, Mastercard has forged other alliances with several crypto exchanges, including Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins, Crypto.com, and Binance. As indicated in our earlier discussion, Kraken partnered with Mastercard to launch crypto debit cards for users across the UK and EU that will be directly tied to the Kraken Accounts.
Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Consumer at Kraken, highlighted the importance of these partnerships: “Crypto is rapidly becoming the future of everyday payments. At Kraken, we’re focused on accelerating that shift, and collaborating with partners like Mastercard is key to unlocking crypto’s real-world utility at global scale.”
Partnerships beyond exchanges further underscore Mastercard’s momentum. Since 2020, the company has worked with Monavate, and most recently, on April 16, teamed up with Bleap, a cryptocurrency platform that focuses on crypto payments based on Arbitrum.
