Mastercard's director of startup engagement, Grace Berkery, believes that the recent bankruptcy of FTX will not deter institutions from entering the crypto industry. Speaking at Benzinga’s Future of Crypto event, she revealed that “once you get the momentum for an institution up and running, it’s hard to get them to turn their head and pivot [...] so if they’re going to enter, they’re going to stay in the space.”
Mastercard has supported the crypto industry for several years through investments and initiatives, and has partnered with firms like Binance, Nexo, and Gemini to launch Mastercard-affiliated crypto cards. Berkery said that over the next 12 months that topics that will be top of mind for traditional financial institutions include value-added services, such as cybersecurity, fraud analytics, identity management and others, that can "really help stabilize the market".
Berkery also believes that utility NFTs and metaverse-based use cases will continue to be an important area for investors and institutional involvement. "Nothing is off the table," Berkery said. "It really comes down to how you’re going to bring value to these traditional companies and institutions."
The pace of financial institutions entering the crypto industry has increased significantly over the past two years. In July, TechCrunch was told by several industry players that there is significant institutional interest in DeFi, and even before FTX's collapse, institutional interest had not wavered even though many/most cryptoassets are currently trading below their all-time highs.
