Key takeaways
Why did Mastercard choose Polygon?
Mastercard tapped Polygon to power verified usernames for self-custodial wallets through its Crypto Credential system.
What is the price outlook for POL despite the partnership?
POL remains under bearish pressure and could fall to $0.13 unless fresh demand takes it back towards $0.16.
With institutional acceptance of crypto and Web 3 on the rise, Mastercard has joined the bandwagon, extending its crypto credentials to self-custodial wallets.
A month ago, Mastercard announced the creation of a self-custodial Web3 card that allows users around the world to retain custody, in collaboration with Polygon Labs and Mercuryo.
Mastercard moves to self-service wallets
According to official reports, Mastercard has chosen Polygon (POL) to power its system that allows users to send crypto to verified usernames.
So users will use usernames instead of commonly used long wallet addresses.
Mercuryo will be the initial issuer, onboarding verified users and enabling the creation of Mastercard Crypto Credential aliases.
According to Polygon, with Mastercard Crypto Credentials, users can register once, receive a verified username, link a wallet, and access their assets.
The introduction of this feature aims to reduce transfer errors and make crypto tools and their use easier for all users.
Will this increase Polygon usage?
These developments come at the right time, as Polygon’s networking business recovers from a recent decline.
The chain’s active addresses have rebounded, regaining the million mark, reaching 1.19 million at the time of writing. At the same time, Transactions also recovered 5 million, reaching a high of 5.39 at press time.
Source: Defillama
With the partnership with Mastercard, the chain’s network business is expected to grow further. Indeed, integrating Polygon into Mastercard’s stack exposes the chain to millions of potential users.
Therefore, we could see the chain seeing more transactions supported by an increased number of active addresses.
And the POL?
Surprisingly, the recent announcement has yet to have a positive impact on POL’s price action. In fact, at press time, POL was trading at $0.145, down 3.24% on the daily charts.
Amid this decline, the token has held below its moving averages (MA) since breaking a death cross three weeks ago, reflecting intense bearish pressure.
Source: TradingView
Along with this, the positive Directional Movement Index (DMI) reading has declined steadily, reaching a low of 9 at press time.
These market conditions suggest complete bear dominance, positioning POL for further losses. If the trend continues, the token will drop to $0.13.
However, if Mastercard brings new demand, it will increase the POL until it recovers $0.16.
