The payment giant will soon announce support for cryptocurrencies on its network.

Thousands of banks working with Mastercard and millions of merchants will soon be able to launch cryptocurrency services, CNBC reported on Monday, citing an upcoming announcement from the company.

These services include bitcoin wallets, bank cards with rewards and the ability to pay in cryptocurrencies, and loyalty programs in which points can be converted into bitcoins, writes ttrcoin.

The payment network partner will be the Bakkt platform, which will act as an intermediary in the sale and storage of cryptocurrencies.

Mastercard has the potential to significantly expand American access to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to the company, about 2.8 billion payment cards are registered in its system.

Mastercard announced plans to open up the ability for merchants to accept payments in cryptocurrency back in February 2021. The May survey showed that 40% of payment network customers plan to use cryptocurrencies.

Against the backdrop of this news, Bakkt shares, which entered the stock market last week, closed the trading session with a rise of 234%.

Tesla may resume accepting cryptocurrency as a means of payment in the future. This is stated in the quarterly report of the manufacturer of electric vehicles, which was sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), writes RBC.

CoinShares draws attention to a surge in activity by organizations that poured $ 1.5 billion into crypto funds last week. 99% of the funds were raised by Bitcoin-focused products.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, said that many investors who previously doubted Bitcoin's potential have now invested in the cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, an Investing poll showed that 60% of Russian investors are still wary of acquiring digital assets.

“The growth of volatility can be expected only when we get out of the range of $ 60-65 thousand. The overall fundamental backdrop for BTC has been very positive lately due to the long-awaited ETF launch, so a drop below $ 60K can only provoke new purchases from investors who are waiting for the discount to appear, ”said the Gravity Plus analyst team.