**Mastercard's $1.8 Billion Bet on Stablecoins: Reshaping Payment Rails** (Author: Ada, Deep Tide TechFlow) Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK for up to $1.8 billion is essentially a response to the impact stablecoins are having on its core profit source—cross-border payments. On-chain settlements, with lower costs and higher efficiency, are disrupting the traditional card network fee model. Mastercard has chosen to integrate stablecoins into its own network, creating a model where the 'front-end remains cards, while the back-end switches to blockchain,' ensuring it retains control over the user gateway in the new settlement system. Read more: https://www.(wublock123.com)/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=47&id=58467