Financial services company Mastercard Inc. has launched Crypto Secure, a technology solution designed to help banks identify fraud-prone crypto exchanges, the company announced in a press release.

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Fast facts

  • The service uses artificial intelligence algorithms and blockchain data to assess the criminal risk associated with crypto exchanges on the Mastercard payment network. 
  • A digital dashboard on the platform will display color-coded ratings representing levels of suspicious activity, which users can use when making judgments on which crypto merchants to use. 
  • Similar technology is used by Mastercard to prevent fraud in traditional finance transactions but has been extended to cryptocurrencies amid increased usage and risk.
  • The number of illicit cryptocurrency funds was at a record high of US$14 billion last year, with some forms of cryptocurrency-based crime increasing in 2022, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
  • The new service is supported by CipherTrace, a California-based blockchain security firm acquired by Mastercard last year, which investigates illicit activity on the blockchain. 

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