Mastercard to Allow NFT Purchases With Its Cards in Several Marketplaces

You can now buy NFTs with a Mastercard. Will this move boost the popularity of NFTs or crush crypto?

Mastercard has announced its new plan to partner with a number of well-known non-fungible token marketplaces, to enable purchases with fiat currency using its cards. The company plans to enable this functionality on several platforms, including Immutable X, Mintable, the Nifty Gateway, MoonPay, and a few others. This development will allow Mastercard holders to purchase NFTs on these platforms with fiat currency instead of having to trade for crypto to pay with beforehand.

Mastercard’s NFT payment system

Mastercard holders will be able to enjoy NFTs easier than ever before with this new payment option. With nearly 3 billion Mastercard holders already established, the metaverse is being blown wide open to a slew of users who may not be willing to invest in cryptocurrency just to purchase an NFT. Some who are hesitant to invest in cryptocurrency are locked off from NFTs, as you need to have traded your fiat for crypto just to buy them. By removing one of the largest barriers to NFT purchasing, the popularity of NFTs is likely to rise as the community is given the opportunity to acquire them with familiar payment processes. As these coveted digital collectibles become more accessible, the metaverse becomes increasingly mainstream.

Effects on the crypto market

In the past, cryptocurrency and NFTs have been heavily connected as crypto is typically required to purchase NFTs on major marketplaces like Mintable or Immutable X. With Mastercard’s new initiative, users can purchase NFTs without needing to bother with cryptocurrency. This could end up greatly affecting the popularity of certain digital currencies, as users who may have sought them out specifically to use them for NFT purchases may no longer be interested. If this happens, the values of some major cryptocurrencies that are used for NFT purchases may fall. By going all-in on NFTs, Mastercard may end up reducing the values of certain cryptocurrencies, but as only a handful of NFT marketplaces are involved in this partnership, crypto and NFTs will not be completely separated as of yet.

The bottom line

Mastercard is partnering with a selection of NFT marketplaces to enable NFT purchases with its cards instead of with crypto. Because of this partnership, the accessibility of NFT will increase for everyone, potentially raising the popularity of NFTs. By disconnecting crypto from NFT purchases, Mastercard has the potential to greatly affect the desirability of certain cryptocurrencies that are used for NFT purchases. Mastercard’s new NFT marketplace partnerships have the potential to push Mastercard ahead of its competitors, as it enters the new age of technology. With Mastercard entering the metaverse, this brave new world just became much more accessible for card holders.

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