The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has just published the patent document detailing plans by Mastercard to launch a new method aimed at cutting down the processing time of blockchain based currency transactions, which currently take around ten minutes.

When compared to fiat payment transactions, which can be completed in a matter of nanoseconds, it is a lengthy wait.

Mastercard details the method as a “description of systems and method for managing fractional reserves of blockchain currency”.

According to the document, lengthy wait times are one of the various reasons many industry bodies are reluctant to accept such payment methods: “many entities, particularly merchants, retailers, service providers, and other purveyors of goods and services, may be wary of accepting blockchain currency for products and participating in blockchain transactions.”

Method to Build Confidence in Cryptocurrency

The company said: “Consumers and merchants that are accustomed to fast transaction times are often either forced to wait a significant amount of time for a blockchain transaction to be conducted, or the payee must rely on the payer’s good faith that their transfer will be valid.

“In such latter instances, the anonymity of the blockchain may leave the payee at a disadvantage, because the inability for the payee to identify the payer may prohibit the payee from utilising various risk or fraud detection methods.”

To tackle this barrier, Mastercard would be offering a new type of user account able to transact in cryptocurrencies through existing fiat currencies. The method would allow cardholders to instantly pay for things on their credit card with a fraction of their digital currency.

This development has been welcomed by cryptocurrency evangelists who feel that it validates the concept blockchain-based money as a valid form of transaction.

This win comes at what could be a turn of the tide for bitcoin, which has just surpassed $7,000 this week – an increase of 13% over the period of a month – in June it dipped below$6,000.

While it has recovered somewhat it is nowhere near its peak in December 2017, when it was priced around $19,500.

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