Decentralized settlement protocol Kima has integrated into Mastercard’s sandbox program, enabling stablecoin-powered top-ups for prepaid cards directly from self-custody wallets.
According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Mastercard partners can now rely on Kima’s settlement infrastructure to enable their prepaid cards to be topped up with stablecoins, including USDC (USDC) and Tether’s USDt (USDT), from self-custody wallets across more than 10 blockchains.
Kima CEO Eitan Katz said the integration shows that stablecoins can be practical for everyday use, removing friction and intermediaries from crypto-to-fiat conversions while expanding crypto usability.
“Our goal at Kima is to eliminate barriers between digital assets and traditional finance,” Katz said.
Related: Mastercard tokenized 30% of its transactions in 2024
Infrastructure designed for interoperability
Katz described Kima’s settlement system as asset-agnostic and designed to simplify cross-ecosystem payments, supporting public blockchains, private ledgers and traditional banking rails:
“Kima’s