Buying crypto with a card just got a serious upgrade. Mastercard has announced a new partnership with Chainlink, aiming to make direct onchain fiat-to-crypto conversions possible for its global user base.
The initiative is built on Chainlink’s interoperability infrastructure and will rely on a network of partners to power the backend, including zerohash for liquidity and compliance, Shift4 for card processing, and Uniswap-powered XSwap for the actual swap execution.
This setup essentially means cardholders could use their Mastercard to purchase digital assets like Bitcoin and stablecoins right onchain, in a regulated and streamlined manner.
While crypto card programs aren't new, this collaboration marks a step closer to bridging traditional finance rails with the decentralized exchange (DEX) ecosystem in a compliant, scalable way.
Chainlink’s infrastructure powers fiat-to-crypto onchain conversions
According to Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov, this partnership is a showcase of what Chainlink was built to do: create secure bridges between traditional finance and decentralized applications.
By working alongside Mastercard, Swapper Finance, Shift4, zerohash, and XSwap, the team says they’ve managed to unlock a fully onchain, compliant conversion experience directly through familiar payment rails.
Swapper Finance will provide the frontend interface for users, leveraging the Chainlink-standard-powered DEX XSwap under the hood.
XSwap taps into the Uniswap protocol for liquidity, while zerohash ensures transactions are custody-compliant and meet regulatory requirements.
Shift4 enables seamless card processing behind the scenes, tying the fiat world to the onchain trading environment.
Mastercard aims to lower barriers for onchain commerce
Mastercard executive Raj Dhamodharan said this move aligns with the company’s broader goal of linking the onchain asset economy with traditional consumer finance.
While Mastercard isn’t handling the swaps directly, its network will be a core piece of the architecture that allows compliant access to digital assets for billions of cardholders.
The integration arrives as interest grows in making crypto spending and trading more accessible to everyday users without going through centralized exchanges.
Uniswap Labs also weighed in, noting that this kind of integration highlights the Uniswap protocol’s role as core infrastructure for the evolving onchain financial stack.
