Ankr is partnering with a new large brand via Mastercard’s scaling accelerator program, offering lucrative growth and expansion opportunities. This is designed to establish and prove fintech and crypto startups scale their business to reach a global userbase reports GlobeNewswire.
Ankr, the distributed provider offering easy node deployment and effortless access to Web3 for stakers, enterprises, and developers, is the latest company to join Mastercard’s “Start Path Crypto” accelerator program.
The synthesis of Mastercard and Ankr is extremely significant for the continued growth of the blockchain industry. Mastercard is the largest credit card issuer in the world. Ankr, meanwhile, is one of the biggest and fastest-growing names in distributed infrastructure, as Binance’s main infrastructure partner.
Through Ankr, developers can access over 11 blockchains with 24/7 support, at a price that is unparalleled as compared to legacy hosting. Ankr is also heavily involved in the DeFi space and has provided cutting-edge solutions including cross-chain liquid staking as well as higher, more stable yields for those looking to earn rewards for their coins.
Mastercard, through the Start Path Crypto accelerator, helps startups to scale. It allows free access to channels and customers, subject matter experts, brand endorsement, and technology collaboration. It provides opportunities to integrate with proprietary Mastercard technology including APIs and card issuance programs.
This is important as, despite all the expectations of cryptocurrency replacing fiat, a lot of technical details relating to card issuance and payment processing need to be worked out. Working alongside big-name card providers is a step in the right direction and can provide invaluable feedback for new startups.
The accelerator also provides significant media exposure and bespoke access to Mastercards products, customers, and partners. Speaking on the upcoming project, Ankr Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer Greg Gopman stated that:
“We are very happy to have been accepted into the Start Path Crypto accelerator and recognize the expertise of Mastercard in terms of card issuance and payment processing. Ankr will learn a lot from Mastercard in the three months and always welcome advice and collaboration with big names – in both Web2 and Web3.”
But Ankr may also have some innovations to offer Mastercard. Ankr, the first company to introduce multi-chain liquid staking to the world of crypto, could conceivably allow this innovation to be brought to the credit card industry. Ankr could potentially assist Mastercard in entering Web3 by offering easy payment solutions based on tokenization through distributed ledgers, which are proven to be hyper-efficient as compared to legacy models.
The technology offered by modern blockchains is far more efficient as compared to that through legacy finance. While Mastercard undoubtedly has the expertise and the experience, the very architecture that the network runs on is deprecated, and Ankr could be the perfect solution to make the migration happen.
The accelerator looks for startups that are early stage (Seed, Series A, Series B), blockchain-focused, and culturally inclusive. Ankr is not the only provider going through the startup accelerator. Other notable blockchain-based companies include Spenn, Belo, Bitscrunch, Fonbnk, and Bitfy. The accelerator lasts for a total of three months.
For Ankr, this is yet another milestone. The multichain Web3 firm offers a huge number of products and is already partnered with some impressive names in the blockchain industry. The Mastercard accelerator will doubtless provide further opportunities for networking and media exposure for the rapidly advancing Web3 infrastructure provider.
About Ankr Network
Ankr is building the future of decentralized infrastructure and multi-chain solutions, servicing over 50 proof-of-stake chains with an industry-leading global node delivery system and developer toolkit. Ankr serves over 1T transactions a year across Web3 and is the main infrastructure provider for BSC, Fantom, and Polygon chains as of 2022.
