Mastercard is making a bold push into digital assets with a new global partnership program that brings together more than 85 companies across payments and finance — from Circle, Binance and Ripple to PayPal, Crypto.com, Gemini and BitGo. Announced Wednesday, the initiative is designed to “scale digital assets” by linking crypto payments directly into Mastercard’s existing rails, giving early-stage crypto firms access to services like card programs, global merchant acceptance and cross-border settlement. Mastercard frames the program as a bridge between crypto and traditional payments, emphasizing fast-growing enterprise and institutional use cases — payments, settlement and cross-border flows — that could reshape how money moves globally. The move builds on prior collaborations. In November last year, Mastercard worked with Ripple, Gemini and WebBank to test settling Gemini credit card transactions using Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a pilot aimed at exploring crypto-native settlement options for mainstream card products. Ripple itself had news on Wednesday: the company said it will seek an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) to expand its payment services Down Under. Ripple plans to obtain the AFSL through a proposed acquisition of BC Payments Australia Pty Ltd — a deal currently going through completion steps. With the license in hand, Ripple says it can offer Australian banks, fintechs and enterprises an end-to-end platform for cross-border value transfer, handling compliance, funding, foreign exchange and liquidity management. Meanwhile, crypto exchange Binance has taken legal action against The Wall Street Journal, filing a complaint over a February 23, 2026 article it calls misleading and defamatory. Dugan Bliss, Binance’s global head of litigation, framed the lawsuit as a necessary step to defend the company from misinformation that has damaged its reputation and business. “This type of reporting erodes trust in the broader industry and undermines the efforts of those who are committed to protecting users and advancing positive innovation,” Bliss said. Market snapshot: XRP was trading at $1.38 at the time of reporting, down about 3% over 24 hours — the largest drop among the top ten tokens except for Dogecoin, which fell roughly 7%. Image credit: OpenArt. Chart: TradingView. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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