Mastercard. BNY Mellon. Crypto Mom.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $48,024.32, up over 8% but marginally off the fresh all-time high of $48, 297.35 it hit earlier today. Likely triggers were crypto-positive announcements by Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK), and a hint by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce (a.k.a. “Crypto Mom”) that the U.S. capital markets are ready for a bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP).

Mastercard to support cryptos on its network

Mastercard announced that it would soon allow its users, which number over a billion, to use cryptocurrencies at its network of 30 million merchants. (Coin Telegraph)

Merchants would thus get access to a new set of crypto wielding customers. Mastercard also observed that more and more of its customers were using their Mastercards to purchase cryptocurrencies.

“Digital assets are becoming a more important part of the payments world,” MasterCard said.

BNY Mellon offers custody of crypto assets

Crypto News quoted a WSJ report that said BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in America, will hold, transfer and issue bitcoin and other unspecified crypto assets on behalf of its asset-management clients later this year.

BNY Mellon has reportedly assembled a team to evaluate the procedure for the incorporation of digital assets into various businesses.

Roman Regelman, chief executive of BNY Mellon’s asset-servicing and digital businesses, told the Journal that institutional players want the bank to treat digital assets on par with other holdings.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce

Speaking to CoinDesk TV on Thursday, Comm. Peirce said that U.S. capital markets are ready for a bitcoin ETP.

Referring to investors already eager to trade bitcoin, Peirce said “if we don’t give them the natural way, which I think would be an ETP, they are going to look for other (less optimal) ways to do it.”

P.S. – Is crypto adoption breaking out? Following Mastercard and BNY Mellon, came the news that Uber (NYSE: UBER) will consider accepting cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, as a form of payment.

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