Yigit Taha OZTURK 
As cryptocurrency becomes increasingly relevant in daily financial life, the boundaries between digital assets and traditional banking are rapidly disappearing. The latest development from Kima and Mastercard marks another milestone in this evolution — enabling stablecoin top-ups for prepaid cards.
Kima Joins Mastercard’s Sandbox Program
Kima, a decentralized settlement protocol, has integrated into Mastercard’s sandbox initiative. This integration allows prepaid cards to be topped up with USDC and Tether’s USDt stablecoins directly from self-custody wallets. The solution supports over 10 different blockchain networks.
Kima CEO Eitan Katz emphasized the practicality of stablecoins for everyday use, noting the system removes intermediaries and simplifies crypto-to-fiat conversion. “Our goal at Kima is to eliminate barriers between digital assets and traditional finance,” Katz stated.
Interoperable and Asset-Agnostic Infrastructure
Katz described Kima’s infrastructure as asset-agnostic and built for interoperability. The protocol supports public blockchains, private ledgers, and traditional banking systems — simplifying cross-ecosystem value transfer.
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This initiative aligns with Mastercard’s broader mission to mainstream stablecoins. Katz added that crypto and fiat shouldn’t be seen as opposites, but rather as complementary tools in the modern financial ecosystem.
Supporting ECB’s Digital Euro Initiative
Earlier this month, the European Central Bank (ECB) selected Kima as one of 70 private-sector firms to collaborate on the digital euro initiative. ECB board member Piero Cipollone praised the range of proposals, calling them a “catalyst for financial innovation” in Europe.
Despite its institutional integrations, Kima ensures that users maintain full control over their private keys. Compliance checks, including AML and KYC, are managed externally, and every transaction is cryptographically validated at the protocol level.
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