CBDC is the future! Mastercard CEO harshly criticizes Bitcoin: Completely unhelpful for inclusive finance, causing fear among the public

The CEO of payment giant Mastercard, Ajay Banga, recently criticized Bitcoin once again in a public speech, giving extremely negative comments on its high volatility and anonymity, while also praising central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as far superior to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Does Not Contribute to Financial Inclusion

During an online global forum hosted by Fortune on Tuesday (10/27), Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga once again criticized Bitcoin harshly. He believes that central bank digital currencies are more likely to improve global financial inclusion compared to highly volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. According to Banga, the extreme volatility of such cryptocurrencies actually instills fear in the public.

During the interview, Fortune senior writer Jen Wieczner mentioned that PayPal recently launched cryptocurrency trading services, payment company Square invested 1% of its assets into Bitcoin, and Mastercard authorized cryptocurrency debit card company Wirex back in July, making it the first crypto-native principal member to be granted Mastercard's principal membership. Can we see the potential for achieving financial inclusion in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin from these moves?

Banga countered, stating that the positive impact of central bank digital currencies far outweighs that of Bitcoin. He expressed:

The transformation to digital fiat currency would certainly help facilitate international trade and improve efficiency, but financial inclusion is an entirely different matter for the public. Imagine a currency that can buy 2 bottles of Coca-Cola today, but 21 bottles tomorrow. This is not a way to make the public embrace the financial system; instead, it will push them away.

Banga also mentioned the anonymity of cryptocurrencies, emphasizing the importance of knowing who owns the asset and who is involved in the transactions.

Not the First Time Criticizing Bitcoin

Back in October 2017, Banga had similarly criticized Bitcoin, stating:

All "non-government authorized" digital currencies are "junk."

He also expressed dissatisfaction with the anonymity and high volatility of Bitcoin.

Transparency seems to be a key concern for Banga, as he mentioned the reason for Mastercard's withdrawal from Facebook's Libra stablecoin project during an interview with the UK's Financial Times in February this year. He believed that Libra was on the edge of anti-money laundering regulations, KYC, and called the project "very stupid."

In line with Banga's admiration for central bank digital currencies, Mastercard also launched its proprietary virtual testing environment in September this year. This custom testing platform allows various central banks and financial service providers to simulate a CBDC ecosystem to evaluate the practical use cases of CBDC and its applicability in specific countries or regions.

With the high volatility mentioned by Banga, Bitcoin has experienced significant fluctuations this year, showing a strong performance with a year-to-date return rate of around 90%, far exceeding that of gold and the S&P 500 index, and even outperforming the S&P 500 by 16 times.

Related Reads

• CBDC | Mastercard Launches Simulation Platform to Assist Countries in Testing and Issuing Central Bank Digital Currencies
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• Another Robinhood? PayPal's Compliance and Security Card: Wallets Can Buy Cryptocurrencies but Cannot Transfer Between Them, Let Alone Withdraw

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