Mastercard has launched a new Crypto Partner Program that brings together more than 85 companies from across the digital asset and payments industries, an effort to link blockchain technology more directly with the infrastructure that underpins global commerce.

The program includes crypto exchanges, blockchain developers, fintech firms and banks such as Binance, Circle, Ripple, Gemini, PayPal and Paxos, the company told CoinDesk in a statement. Participants will work with Mastercard to explore how blockchain-based systems can connect with traditional payment rails used by banks, merchants and consumers around the world.

Mastercard said the initiative focuses on practical use cases where digital assets are already gaining traction, including cross-border transfers, business-to-business payments and global payouts.

Digital assets once operated largely outside the traditional financial system. In recent years, however, companies and financial institutions have begun experimenting with blockchain tools to move money faster across borders or settle transactions around the clock.

For payment companies like Mastercard, the challenge is less about replacing existing systems and more about connecting new ones to the networks that already handle global commerce.

Mastercard’s network links banks, merchants and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories. The company argues that blockchain-based payments will only scale widely if they can plug into that kind of global infrastructure.

The Crypto Partner Program is designed to create that bridge. Companies in the program will work with Mastercard teams to help shape products that combine on-chain tools — such as programmable payments or tokenized assets — with established payment rails.

The initiative also gives partners access to forums where they can collaborate with one another and with Mastercard’s broader ecosystem of financial institutions and merchants.

The move builds on several earlier efforts by Mastercard to engage with the digital asset industry. The company has supported crypto-linked payment cards, backed blockchain startups through its Start Path accelerator and developed services aimed at helping banks manage crypto compliance and risk.

Competitors have taken similar steps. Visa has worked with stablecoin issuers and blockchain firms to test settlement using digital dollars, while major banks continue to explore tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payment systems.

Still, integrating digital assets into everyday commerce remains a complex process. Payments require consistent standards, regulatory oversight and systems that work across borders — areas where traditional card networks have decades of experience.