Mastercard executive: Stablecoin "zero-cost transfers" are just the surface, "payment freedom" still requires a multi-layered system collaboration

ChainCatcher live report, at the OKX NOW conference roundtable "Next Generation Financial System: Who Will Build It?", Mastercard's Executive Vice President of Blockchain and Digital Assets Raj Dhamodharan looked ahead to the payment landscape ten years from now: the underlying rails will change, new technologies such as stablecoins will be applied more behind the scenes, but the simplicity and trust of user experience will not change. He pointed out that stablecoins' "almost zero-cost transfers" are just the surface; cross-border payments still require a multi-layered combination of local liquidity and compliance systems, "payment rails are just one of the raw materials."

Also present, OKX Global Managing Partner and CMO Haider Rafique revealed two sets of industry data: the global stablecoin market size is approximately $250 billion, and there are over 700 million crypto users; he also confirmed that the OKX Card exclusively uses the Mastercard network in markets such as Europe, and both parties are exploring cooperation in payment and AI-driven e-commerce.