Mastercard Partners Chainlink for Direct Crypto Purchases LINK Surges 13%

Coin WorldWednesday, Jun 25, 2025 9:02 pm ET
2min read

Chainlink and

have announced a groundbreaking partnership that enables over 3 billion Mastercard cardholders to purchase cryptocurrencies directly on-chain. This collaboration marks a significant step in the integration of traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi), making the process of buying crypto more seamless and accessible. The partnership leverages Swapper Finance, a new DeFi platform powered by , which allows users to purchase crypto directly from decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like . This integration is notable as it represents the first large-scale direct-to-DEX payment solution backed by a global payment provider, effectively dissolving the barrier between traditional finance (TradFi) and DeFi.

The process involves users initiating the purchase via Swapper Finance or any site with its widget. Shift4 submits the transaction to Mastercard for approval, zerohash delivers the intermediary token to Swapper smart contracts, and Chainlink verifies the purchase request and triggers a trade on a DEX. The user then receives the final token directly in their wallet, ensuring a fast, secure, and on-chain transaction. This partnership is a historic move for crypto adoption, as it brings traditional finance and DeFi directly to the DEX level without the need for a centralized exchange (CEX) middleman or off-chain limitations. It simplifies the process of buying crypto, making it more accessible to newcomers who may have found the experience messy and confusing in the past. The backend handles KYC, fiat conversion, and smart contract interaction without user friction, ensuring total transparency and DeFi-level control.

Swapper Finance operates on XSwap, the top DEX in the Chainlink ecosystem, and integrates advanced tooling from zerohash, Shift4, and Chainlink’s data validation framework. This ensures that transactions are secure, compliant, and intuitive, delivering crypto directly into the user’s wallet. The process involves the user initiating the purchase via Swapper Finance or any site with its widget, Shift4 submitting the transaction to Mastercard for approval, zerohash delivering the intermediary token to Swapper smart contracts, and Chainlink verifying the purchase request and triggering a trade on a DEX. The user then receives the final token directly in their wallet, ensuring a fast, secure, and on-chain transaction.

This partnership is a historic move for crypto adoption, as it brings traditional finance and DeFi directly to the DEX level without the need for a centralized exchange (CEX) middleman or off-chain limitations. It simplifies the process of buying crypto, making it more accessible to newcomers who may have found the experience messy and confusing in the past. The backend handles KYC, fiat conversion, and smart contract interaction without user friction, ensuring total transparency and DeFi-level control. Swapper Finance is now live at swapper.finance, and this launch could spark a new wave of global DeFi adoption. It represents a significant step forward in the integration of traditional finance and blockchain technology, making digital assets more accessible and user-friendly. This collaboration paves the way for more seamless and integrated financial services, potentially driving wider adoption and innovation in the financial sector.

This event underscores the growing integration between traditional finance and digital assets, evidenced by a notable LINK price surge. The partnership involves Mastercard’s direct integration with Chainlink’s technology, offering users direct access to crypto markets. After the announcement, Chainlink’s LINK token saw a market surge of over 13%, indicating positive market sentiment. Financially, this enhances Mastercard’s offerings in digital payments and strengthens Chainlink’s market position. It also elevates Chainlink’s LINK token, which saw a notable price increase swiftly after the news broke.

Industry observers suggest that the partnership could propel further adoption of on-chain transactions. The ability for Mastercard users to conduct fiat-to-crypto transactions represents a significant embrace of digital currencies by a financial industry leader. Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President for Blockchain and Digital Assets, Mastercard, commented, "There’s no doubt about it – people want to be able to easily connect to the digital assets ecosystem, and vice versa. That’s why we continue to leverage our proven expertise and global payments network to bridge the gap between onchain commerce and offchain transactions."

Past partnerships of a similar nature have set precedents for this kind of integration. Mastercard’s previous programs involved exchanges but did not allow fiat-to-crypto transactions at this scale. This collaboration is a significant step in integrating mainstream finance with blockchain technology.