Among a broadly green day for stocks, investors in Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and MA stock are seeing rather impressive gains today. Indeed, a 2.6% rise in any stock isn’t usually worth noting for many stocks. However, for slow-and-steady growth stocks like Mastercard, this is a significant move.
While a significant portion of the move can likely be attributed to today’s significant moves across all three major indices, Mastercard has a catalyst of its own. The global payments company made a key announcement around its crypto strategy. For crypto enthusiasts, this news is big.
Therefore, let’s dive into what the company announced and why investors are jumping on MA stock today.
Crypto Pilot Program Boosting MA Stock
Today, Mastercard announced a pilot program with Circle. Circle is a global fintech company providing payments and financial infrastructure for internet businesses. This pilot program is aimed at utilizing USDC to facilitate crypto conversions to fiat, as the industry shifts toward finding ways for crypto holders to spend their cryptocurrencies.
Indeed, one of the key issues many crypto enthusiasts have with their holdings is converting these holdings to fiat or buying items directly using cryptocurrencies. Mastercard’s attempt to simplify this process is something crypto investors have long wanted. Accordingly, investors seem to like this innovative, forward-thinking move by Mastercard today.
USDC remains one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrencies in terms of demand in recent years. This is a result of rapidly rising demand from businesses, fintech companies and users looking for innovative payment methods and revenue growth. If Mastercard is able to effectively integrate Circle’s USDC token to increase payment volumes, investors could stand to benefit in a material way.
Investors need to remember that this is simply a pilot program. However, so far they seem to like what they see. Should this program be successful, investors in MA stock have a lot to gain. How quickly peers will replicate this program remains to be seen. However, Mastercard appears to have the lead in this burgeoning payments segment right now.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
