AVAX’s Ava Labs Among Startups Chosen for Mastercard’s Crypto Accelerator

The payments giant has chosen five new companies to be a part of its “Start Path Crypto” program.

By Michael Bellusci

Dec 9, 2021 at 9:48 p.m. UTC

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Secure Your Seat

Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.

Follow @mikeybellusci on Twitter

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin, Texas, April 26-28.

Secure Your Seat

Mastercard is teaming up with five startups to solve global blockchain challenges as part of the payment giant’s “Start Path Crypto” program, the company announced Thursday.

Mastercard launched the Start Path program in 2014 as a way to help later-stage startups scale their businesses. Now the company’s Start Path Crypto unit will be working with smart-contract builder Ava Labs, AI-focused mobile banking app Envel, peer-to-peer savings platform Kash, bitcoin banking app LVL and crypto rewards platform NiftyKey.

Ava Labs is best known for building the Avalanche blockchain, an Ethereum competitor that facilitates decentralized applications (dapps) and the creation of custom blockchains on its ecosystem. The total value locked (TVL) in Avalanche’s DeFi ecosystem is around $12.6 billion, according to DeFi Llama. TVL represents the dollar value of all tokens locked in the smart contracts of a decentralized lending project.

“Whether it’s enhancing financial freedom or a new value-added service using stablecoins, we believe our new cohorts of Start Path crypto and digital assets companies combined with Mastercard’s expertise in the space will accelerate access to new ways to pay and prioritize choice for consumers and businesses,” Jess Turner, Mastercard’s executive vice president of new digital infrastructure and fintech, said in a statement.

Competitor Visa launched a similar accelerator program called “Fast Track” in 2019 and has been adding to its list of partners, which include crypto lending platform Cred and bitcoin lightning startup LastBit.

“Mastercard is setting an example for leaders across all industries on how to embrace, rather than combat innovation,” John Wu, Ava Labs’ president told CoinDesk. “We look forward to working with projects and partners in the Start Path program to accelerate the positive impacts blockchain technology will have for individuals and institutions across the world.”

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.

Follow @mikeybellusci on Twitter

Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.

Michael Bellusci

Michael Bellusci is CoinDesk's crypto reporter focused on public companies and digital asset firms.

Follow @mikeybellusci on Twitter