Global payment services provider MasterCard has been granted a US patent for a method of speeding up cryptocurrency transactions.
A document published on Tuesday by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes MasterCard’s latest patent as a “method and system for linkage of blockchain-based assets to fiat currency accounts”.
Essentially, the company will be offering a new type of user account by which they will be able to transact in cryptocurrencies but pegged to a fiat currency. This account would link a series of profiles able to identify a user's "fiat currency amount, a blockchain currency amount, an account identifier and an address.” The system will practically cut down on the time it takes for blockchain-based payments to go through between two accounts.
“Existing payment systems are often configured to perform complex calculations, risk assessments, and fraud algorithm applications extremely fast, as to ensure quick processing of fiat currency transactions. Accordingly, the use of traditional payment networks and payment systems technologies in combination with blockchain currencies may provide consumers and merchants the benefits of the decentralized blockchain while still maintaining security of account information and provide a strong defense against fraud and theft,” the USPTO document read.
MasterCard has been stocking up on blockchain patents in recent months. In October last year, the company rolled out an API for fiat payment processing that uses a proprietary blockchain. The company was awarded a patent for a “method and system for integration of market exchange and issuer processing for blockchain-based transactions” in January as well as one for a “method and system for blockchain variant using digital signatures” in April.
Most recently, MasterCard was granted two blockchain-related patents, titled “method and system for providing validated, auditable, and immutable inputs to a smart contract,” and “method and system for anonymous directed blockchain transaction.”
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