Mastercard’s New AI to Fight Crypto Fraud

CNBC: Mastercard Pushes Deeper into Crypto with New Tool for Combating Fraud

Mastercard will debut a new piece of software that helps banks identify and cut off transactions from fraud-prone crypto exchanges. Called Crypto Secure, the system uses “sophisticated” artificial intelligence algorithms to determine the risk of crime associated with crypto exchanges on the Mastercard payment network. The system relies on data from the blockchain, a public record of crypto transactions, as well as other sources. The service is powered by CipherTrace, a blockchain security startup Mastercard acquired last year. CipherTrace helps businesses and government agencies investigate illicit transactions involving cryptocurrencies. Mastercard is launching the service against a backdrop of growing crime in the nascent digital asset market. The amount of crypto entering wallets with known criminal connections surged to a record $14 billion last year. [CNBC]