New Mastercard Feature Set to Ward off Crypto Fraud

Mastercard, a global payment and technology company is set to launch a new feature that will assess the risk of crime associated with crypto merchants on its network.
The launch of Crypto Secure is set to help banks assess risks of crime associated with crypto investors on their network.

Mastercard, a global pioneer in payment innovation and technology made its debut in the crypto space just days ago with the introduction of the world’s first debit card featuring NFT avatar customization.

Mastercard to Launch Crypto Secure

The global payment and a technology guru have made their second appearance with the launch of a software that will help banks combat crypto fraud. Amplifying the new development, the new feature plans on helping banks assess risks of crime associated with crypto investors on their network.

With the rampant rate of crypto hacks, the new service powered by CipherTrace, a blockchain security startup, will be a huge milestone for banks as they cut off transactions from fraud-prone crypto exchanges.

Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence, Mastercard stated

The idea is that the kind of trust we provide for digital commerce transactions, we want to be able to provide the same kind of trust to digital asset transactions for consumers, banks and merchants.

CipherTrace being the service provider is a blockchain security startup Mastercard acquired last year. The startup has expertise in helping businesses and government agencies investigate illicit transactions involving cryptocurrencies. The firm has its base in Menlo Park, California.

The soon-to-launch system uses “sophisticated” artificial intelligence algorithms to determine the risk of crime associated with crypto exchanges citing data from the blockchain, a public record of crypto transactions, as well as other sources.

Banks and card issuers will have the mandate to make a judgment call on whether to turn away a specific crypto merchant. This is if the banks and other card issuers are shown a dashboard with color-coded ratings representing the risk of suspicious activity. The ferocity of risk ranges from red for “high” to green for “low.”

Surging Crime Rates in Digital Assets

The launch of the service comes after a rampant rise in crypto hacks. Citing data from Chainalysis, a great CipherTrace competitor states that in last year alone, $14 billion worth of crypto entered wallets with known criminal connections. The year 2022 has had a taste of high-profile hacks and scams in target of digital asset investors.