Bitcoin comment from Mastercard CEO

In the past few months, many critics have begun to embrace Bitcoin (BTC) as an alternative asset class. But Ajay Banga, Mastercard's chief executive, doesn't seem to be joining these people anytime soon.

'Bitcoin is not interesting at all’

In a March 26 Fortune interview, Banga said when asked what he thought of cryptocurrencies:

"CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES ARE REALLY INTERESTING. STABLECOINS AREN'T THAT INTERESTING. BITCOIN, IT'S REALLY NOT INTERESTING AT ALL.”

Banga's views are not unusual or unexpected, but the executive has long been critical of the world's largest cryptocurrency. For example, Kriptokoin.com as we reported, he mocked Bitcoin's volatility during the virtual Fortune Forum in October:

“IF I PAY WITH BITCOIN FOR A BOTTLE OF WATER, IT'S TWO BOTTLES THE NEXT DAY, THEN ONE 9,000 BOTTLES. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. ANY CURRENCY NEEDS STABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY, OTHERWISE ALL ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES IN THE WORLD WILL COME TO YOU.”

He even called cryptocurrencies beyond the control of governments “junk” because of their volatile qualities.

February's Facebook-based venture is worth noting here that Mastercard cut its relationship with the Libra Association in February because of regulatory pressures placed on the Facebook-based venture.

Stablecoin and CBDCs

While his antipathy towards Bitcoin is well known, the Mastercard CEO has also not been shy about laying out his views on CBDCs and stablecoins. According to Banga, CBDCs may be better suited to improve financial participation around the world. In fact, Mastercard recently offered a platform for testing CBDCs in a virtual environment that helps various banks evaluate and explore national digital currencies.

Banga and Mastercard's views on stablecoins also maintained their consistency. A blog post by the payment service leader said::

“TO BE COMPLETELY CLEAR, NOT ALL OF TODAY'S CRYPTOCURRENCIES WILL BE SUPPORTED ON OUR NETWORK. WHILE STABLECOINS ARE MORE REGULATED AND RELIABLE THAN IN THE RECENT PAST, FOR MOST OF THE HUNDREDS OF DIGITAL ASSETS IN CIRCULATION, THEY NEED TO TIGHTEN COMPLIANCE MEASURES TO ENSURE THEY DO NOT MEET OUR REQUIREMENTS.”

Surprisingly, Mastercard's arch-rival Visa followed a completely opposite path to Bitcoin. CEO Al Kelly recently described BTC as “digital gold.”