Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network Testbed to Begin with Tokenized Bank Deposits

UK Banks and Financial Institutions Invited to Participate in Beta Release.

Mastercard is set to launch a testbed for its Multi-Token Network (MTN) in the UK this summer, starting with tokenized bank deposits.

Raj Dhamodharan, head of crypto and blockchain at Mastercard, told CoinDesk that numerous banks and financial institutions have been invited to participate. “What powers the global economy today is regulated money in the banks,” said Dhamodharan. “So we’re starting with making tokenized bank deposits, so the unit of money in a bank account is a digital asset on the blockchain, bringing the same level of programmability to those as you find with digital currency in the crypto ecosystem.” The MTN initiative will eventually expand to include central bank digital currencies and regulated stablecoins.

One of the first use cases for the tokenized bank money will be integration with Mastercard Crypto Credentials, a blockchain analytics program that ensures transactions comply with anti-money laundering (AML) standards. The MTN Innovation Sprint will take place in London this summer, where selected teams will have access to MTN resources to develop innovative use cases using tokenized deposits and digital assets.

According to Dhamodharan, tokenized bank deposits could enable fast and flexible cross-border value transfers. “Let’s say a bank in the UK has this tokenized form of bank deposit; and let's say another bank in Singapore also has a tokenized form of deposits,” he said. “You can see this being exchanged one for the other, also known as cross border transfer of value, which traditionally had a lot of issues in terms of being able to move in a fast and flexible way.”