Mastercard is Piloting Tokenized Bank Deposits in New UK Testbed

Mastercard is mounting up a testbed, dubbed the Multi-Token Network (MTN), which volition statesman by exploring tokenized slope deposits, and which volition beryllium disposable successful beta mode this summertime successful the UK.

Raj Dhamodharan, caput of crypto and blockchain astatine Mastercard, said a fig of banks and fiscal institutions are being invited to participate, and the MTN inaugural volition determination connected to clasp cardinal slope integer currencies and regulated stablecoins successful owed course.

There person been a fig of pilots and projects astir the satellite involving antithetic flavors of tokenized currency and associated applications, not to notation JPMorgan’s interior wholesale currency token, JPM Coin.

“What powers the planetary system contiguous is regulated wealth successful the banks,” Dhamodharan said successful an interrogation with CoinDesk. “So we’re starting with making tokenized slope deposits, truthful the portion of wealth successful a slope relationship is simply a integer plus connected the blockchain, bringing the aforesaid level of programmability to those arsenic you find with integer currency successful the crypto ecosystem.”

The archetypal types of applications and usage cases Mastercard intends to thrust guardant with tokenized slope wealth dovetails nicely with Mastercard Crypto Credentials, a blockchain analytics exertion announced successful April, to guarantee transactions are compliant with things similar anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

“Let’s accidental a slope successful the UK has this tokenized signifier of slope deposit; and let's accidental different slope successful Singapore besides has a tokenized signifier of deposits,” Dhamodharan said. “You tin spot this being exchanged 1 for the other, besides known arsenic transverse borderline transportation of value, which traditionally had a batch of issues successful presumption of being capable to determination successful a accelerated and flexible way.”

An MTN Innovation Sprint, which volition instrumentality spot successful London this summer, wherever selected teams volition person entree to MTN’s capabilities to make promising usage cases powered by tokenized deposits and integer assets, Dhamodharan said.