Despite regulatory uncertainty and recent turmoil in the crypto markets, Visa and Mastercard are doubling down on efforts to prepare for blockchains to become mainstream payments infrastructure.

Visa and Mastercard have both indicated their commitment to crypto in recent days through job descriptions and product updates. Their investments are a form of futureproofing: If blockchain technology does ultimately transform payments, the stakes are high for them to be on the forefront of that transition.  

For example, Visa posted new job openings for software engineers to aid its “ambitious crypto product roadmap” and help drive “mainstream adoption of the public blockchain networks and stablecoin payments.”  

Insights Distilled has previously reported on the firm’s “DeFi mullet” strategy, which revolves on the assumption that the blockchain will eventually become a standard backend technology that users don’t need to understand to use. In other words, fintech in the front, DeFi in the back.   

Visa’s head of crypto also called out on Twitter that the firm is looking for candidates who have used AI-powered engineering tools like GitHub Copilot to write and debug smart contracts.   

Mastercard, meanwhile, is teaming up with Web3 players for an on-chain identity verification framework. The firm’s so-called Crypto Credential initiative aims to boost trust for blockchain transactions.  

“Providing access to crypto in a safe way is also part of our value proposition and we’re continuing to do that,” an executive told Reuters, adding that Mastercard currently has dozens of partners around the world and is continuing to expand its reach.