Mastercard announced plans to acquire Menlo Park, California-based blockchain analytics startup CipherTrace for undisclosed terms.

Why should we care?
CipherTrace’s toolset aims to address concerns about the security of cryptocurrency transactions. Its technology helps law enforcement and businesses identify “illicit” digital currency transactions, thereby enhancing security and fraud monitoring capabilities for crypto-related programs. According to Mastercard, CipherTrace’s technology will allow it to improve its AI tools and cybersecurity framework, which, in turn, will help the company differentiate its card and real-time payments infrastructure. The planned acquisition is the latest in a series of moves to grow Mastercard’s digital assets strategy, which include efforts to partner with Uphold, Gemini, and BitPay to create crypto cards. The company is also engaged in work to support the evolution of central bank-backed digital currencies and non-fungible tokens. “With the rapid growth of the digital asset ecosystem comes the need to ensure it is trusted and safe,” Ajay Bhalla, president, cyber and intelligence at Mastercard said in a statement.