#MastercardStablecoinCards The growing interest of giants like Mastercard and Visa in integrating stablecoins into their global payment networks reflects a profound change in the way we conceive of finance. In this context, Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, recently highlighted that these solutions are not intended for countries with access to platforms like PayPal or Venmo, but for the hundreds of millions of people in emerging economies, where monetary stability is little more than an illusion.

What Ardoino suggests is key, as this expansion responds to an increasingly visible reality: in many regions, particularly in Latin America, distrust in traditional banking systems has led millions of people to seek alternatives. According to data from Bitfinex, in 2024 Latin America was the second region with the highest growth in cryptocurrency usage, with a year-on-year increase of 42.5%. However, it is worth asking to what extent these new cards are really as accessible and secure as they seem. Although the possibility of making quick and frictionless payments is appealing, that convenience does not come without costs.