In turn, it’s finding a new role as financial infrastructure.

The latest sign of that shift came from Mastercard Wednesday (March 11) with the announcement of a new Crypto Partner Program designed to bring together more than 85 crypto companies, payment providers and financial institutions to foster collaboration on practical applications of digital assets within global payments.

The program’s focus is not on token trading or consumer speculation. Instead, it centers on solving real-world problems in how money moves across the global financial system. In practical terms, it…