Michael Miebach, CEO of US payments giant Mastercard Inc, is the latest financial industry veteran to share his optimism about the future of the nascent crypto ecosystem.

In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, Miebach said he believes in the potential of emerging assets, however there are many complexities that need to be worked out before the industry can go mainstream. When asked if he thinks cryptocurrencies can get to the point where everyone can use them as payment for transactions, Miebach responded by saying;

“Entirely possible, but I think there is a long way to go before crypto becomes mainstream.”

Among the things he pointed out that will need to be worked out include the ease of buying crypto and its associated products such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The compliance and security aspects of these emerging protocols have also remained a fragile part that has created significant gaps that need to be filled in an attempt to truly map out mainstream acceptance in the industry.

“I think this question about regulatory compliance, about scalable technology, about making sure it’s a predictable user experience: why is buying an NFT such a clunky experience? It shouldn’t be like this,” Miebach said in the interview.

Mastercard has played a central role in helping bring crypto products to users around the world. Many cryptocurrency exchanges and service providers have partnered with Mastercard to issue co-branded payment cards to their users to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions.

In particular, Miebach said that Mastercard’s involvement in the crypto ecosystem encompasses and also goes beyond direct payment and in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). For Miebach, the cryptocurrency industry may have many hurdles right now, but the chance that they will become a dominant aspect of the financial ecosystem in the long run is high.

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