Mastercard is expanding its Crypto Credential program to self-custody wallets, enabling users to send and receive cryptocurrencies using verified, username-style aliases instead of long, complex wallet addresses.
Polygon will be the first blockchain to support the rollout, while payments provider Mercuryo will manage identity verification and issue the aliases, according to a Tuesday press release shared with Cointelegraph.
“By streamlining wallet addresses and adding meaningful verification, Mastercard Crypto Credential is building trust in digital token transfers,” said Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of blockchain and digital assets at Mastercard.
Once verified through Mercuryo, users can link a human-readable alias to their self-custody wallet or request a soulbound token on Polygon to prove ownership of a verified wallet.
Mastercard Moves to Make Self-Custody Crypto Transfers Safer
Mastercard said the expansion of its Crypto Credential program is aimed at reducing errors caused by copying long hexadecimal addresses, designing the system to work more like traditional payment rails.
“This partnership marks the moment when self-custody becomes simple,” said Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs.
Mercuryo, the first issuer for the program, noted that the rollout reflects growing demand for secure, user-friendly crypto experiences that do not require giving up wallet sovereignty.
Mastercard has been accelerating its crypto strategy through 2024 and 2025, launching debit cards with Kraken across Europe and partnering with MetaMask on a self-custody payments card.
Mastercard Partners with Chainlink for On-Chain Crypto Purchases
In June, Mastercard teamed up with Chainlink to allow its three billion cardholders to buy crypto directly on-chain, marking one of the company’s largest steps into Web3.
The rollout leverages several Web3 partners, including Shift4 Payments, Swapper Finance, XSwap, and ZeroHash, with ZeroHash providing on-chain liquidity to convert fiat into crypto. Chainlink confirmed that the version available through Swapper Finance is fully non-custodial, using account abstraction to make the process intuitive for everyday users.
