- Mastercard sees stablecoins as useful for settlements but not a replacement for its protections.
- Payments app Oobit spoke out against Rau’s comments, highlighting survey data showing strong adoption of stablecoins.
- The company is broadening its crypto services through fiat-to-crypto conversions and crypto-backed payment cards.
Mastercard is deepening its involvement in digital assets but maintains that stablecoins will serve as complementary tools rather than full replacements for existing payment systems, according to Christian Rau, the company’s head of crypto for Europe.
In an interview with The Big Whale, Rau stressed that while stablecoins are useful for settlements, they cannot replace the added protections that Mastercard and other traditional networks provide.
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Mastercard’s Crypto Services
Mastercard has already launched services enabling users to move between fiat and digital currencies, as well as cards backed by crypto accounts.
According to the company, the principle behind these cards is simple, when a payment is made, the crypto is converted into traditional currency so merchants receive fiat seamlessly.
Over the past year, the payments giant has also partnered with firms such as MetaMask to allow customers to spend crypto directly in stores.
Rau noted that integrating with non-custodial wallets presents greater challenges, requiring technical solutions such as creating “an architecture where a smart contract verifies the availability of funds in real time.”
Stablecoins as Building Blocks
Rau said stablecoins, whose transaction volumes now surpass those of Mastercard, are viewed by the company as useful infrastructure for faster settlements.
“We consider them as a settlement technology,” he told The Big Whale.
“They can improve cross-border payments or reduce exchange rate risks,” he added. “But they do not replace the services we provide, such as protection in case of disputes.”
Mastercard Pushes Network Value
Despite the rise of blockchains with high transaction speeds, Rau underscored that Mastercard’s value lies in its unique protections.
“We process about 5,000 transactions per second, but the challenge is not just speed,” Rau said.
“It’s the entire ecosystem around it (anti-fraud, compliance, recourse) that gives value to our network,” he added.
For Mastercard, this ecosystem has been built through decades of detecting suspicious activity and shaping regulatory compliance across global jurisdictions.
Stablecoin Industry Pushes Back
In response to Rau’s comments, global payments app Oobit challenged the idea that stablecoins are merely a “potential payment technology.”
“In Brazil, 85% want to use crypto for everyday purchases, and 91.8% already hold stablecoins,” the company wrote on X.
“In Europe, over 70% of crypto purchases are within retail purchases, food, and beverages,” it added. “Trust us, it’s more than a ‘potential’ payment technology.”
This data came from Oobit’s July 2025 survey of Brazilian crypto users aged 23–45, which found that 91.8% hold stablecoins, with Tether’s USDT used by 83%.
However, the survey revealed that only 54.3% had ever made a crypto payment, and just 37% had used USDT in real-world transactions, whether online or in-store.
“Brazilian users are among the most advanced crypto participants globally,” Amram Adar, Co-Founder and CEO of Oobit, said in the survey.
“They trust USDT. They’re holding stablecoins. They’re staking, trading, investing, and they’re eager to use crypto in the real world,” he added.
