(March 12): Mastercard Inc is recruiting more than 85 digital asset firms, payments providers and financial institutions including Circle Internet Group Inc, Binance and Gemini Space Station Inc, into a new global partnership programme designed to keep crypto payments connected to its network as stablecoins are pitched as an alternative to traditional payment rails. 

The programme’s aim is to help scale digital assets and integrate them into existing payment systems, the company said in a release on Wednesday. 

Card networks including Mastercard and Visa Inc are positioning themselves as bridges between digital assets and the existing payments systems by offering card programmes, global merchant acceptance and cross-border…