Mastercard Expands Stablecoin Adoption by Partnering with Nuvei and OKX to Release a New Crypto Debit Card

Mastercard has extended its stablecoin adoption by offering crypto payments through a new partnership with Nuvei and centralized exchange OKX.

Mastercard has extended its stablecoin adoption by offering crypto payments through a new partnership with Nuvei and centralized exchange OKX. The partnership will see a new card released by OKX and Mastercard that allows holders to spend their stablecoins in the real world.

Nuvei and Circle will work with Mastercard to provide the necessary infrastructure enabling merchants to accept these stablecoin payments.

This comes just three days after Citi predicted that crypto and stablecoin adoption could create a breakout “ChatGPT moment” for blockchain technology this year. While holding stablecoins directly may not allow investors to profit from the growing interest among banks, there are still several options to ride this narrative.

With that in mind, let’s explore the best crypto to buy now:

Ethena

Ethena is one project at the forefront of the stablecoin sector. It provides a yield-bearing stablecoin, USDe, that uses delta-neutral strategies to generate revenue.

The project is governed by the $ENA token, which allows holders to vote on important ecosystem decisions. They can also stake their tokens to generate passive rewards.

Ethena plans to launch a real-world assets (RWA)-focused blockchain in Q2 2025, which will provide additional utility to $ENA.

The $ENA price is down 78% from its April 2024 all-time high (ATH), but it has gained 15% this week and begun to create a bottom formation on its price chart. This could indicate that a reversal will soon commence.

And considering it has multiple utilities and exposure to the swelling stablecoin and RWA sector, the project appears well-positioned for growth this year.

Solaxy

Stablecoins are just one piece of the larger RWA sector, which has recently generated substantial interest from the world’s largest asset managers.

One chain that is seeing an influx of RWA activity – alongside the growth of other sectors such as AI, DeFi, and meme coins – is Solana. Multi-trillion-dollar asset managers Franklin Templeton and BlackRock recently migrated their tokenized money markets to the blockchain, and retail users are also moving there at a rapid pace.

But the best way to capitalize on Solana’s growth might just be via Solaxy, the first-ever Solana layer 2 blockchain.

It’s currently undergoing a presale and has raised $32 million so far, making it the biggest Solana ICO ever.

Solaxy will cut transaction fees and lift speeds, eradicating Solana’s congestion issue and priming it for long-term adoption.

This could create billions of dollars in new value for Solana, which would significantly benefit the Solaxy price.

Ondo

Ondo is another prominent crypto project operating within the stablecoin and RWA sectors. It’s an Ethereum-based project that allows users to buy tokenized RWAs, including stocks, bonds, and commodities.

But two of its cornerstone products are a yield-bearing stablecoin, backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, and tokenized US treasuries.

RWAs offer benefits including transparency, security, and borderlessness, which make projects like Ondo favorable alternatives to the traditional financial system.

$ONDO currently serves as a governance token for the ecosystem, allowing users to vote on the project’s future direction. Given the potential value that could flow into the Ondo ecosystem, voting on changes to the project could prove a utility, creating strong and lasting token demand.

Currently, Ondo trades at $0.96, gaining 13% this week and 20% this month. However, as the leading RWA project by market cap, it has the potential to continue generating serious gains as the sector advances.

Stellar

Stellar is another payments-focused cryptocurrency, but it approaches things differently. It focuses on banking the world’s 1.4 billion unbanked adults.

The project is a smart contract-enabled layer 1 blockchain that claims to be “faster, cheaper, and far more energy-efficient than most blockchain-based systems.” Its core goal is to be suitable for real-world, high-volume transactions.

Stellar has countless high-profile partnerships that enable real-world crypto transactions. A main one is with MoneyGram to facilitate real-world settlements in USDC.

It also has partnerships with companies such as Visa, Mastercard, and Franklin Templeton.

And reflected by Mastercard’s recent OKX partnership, institutions continue to deepen their blockchain footprint. Stellar has already attracted world-leading TradFi players, so it’s well-positioned for further adoption as the sector advances.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.