MasterCard CEO is all in for CBDC and stablecoins, but Bitcoin is still not in his good books.
It has been quite a ride for Bitcoin. From gaining notoriety for being the most volatile asset of recent times to the mainstream embrace, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has seen it all. Trading a little over a decade, Bitcoin has not only gained a massive fanbase but has also managed to flipped previous critics into its staunch supporters.
But this executive of a payment giant does not feel the same. In a recent interview with Fortune, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga expressed his views on CBDCs, stablecoin as well as Bitcoin. His exact words were:
“Central bank digital currencies are really interesting. Stablecoins a little less so. Bitcoin, not really.”
Seems like not much has changed in the last couple of years. Banga has never been a fan of Bitcoin, the MasterCard exec has previously questioned its volatility. Despite his efforts to connect 1 billion people worldwide to the banking system, he had previously revealed that he does not see much usecase for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in that push for greater financial inclusion.
MasterCard CEO Bullish On CBDC But Not Bitcoin
Citing Bitcoin’s volatility as the reason, MasterCard’s Banga had earlier questioned Bitcoin’s role in the world. While he is may not be a big fan of cryptocurrencies, the exec is, however, bullish on the growth of more stable cryptocurrencies especially by central banks which he believes could be an important milestone since it would be backed by each country’s existing currencies.
MasterCard CEO had opined,
“Fiat currencies, if they were to go digital, would they be helpful in cross-border trade flows and improving the efficiency of those – yes for sure.”
Back in 2018, the exec had termed cryptocurrencies as “junk”. But as Bitcoin and by extension the cryptocurrency slowly started becoming an important part of the payments world, MasterCard announced the supporting selected cryptocurrencies directly on its network.