Mastercard sponsors XRP Ledger hackathon in New York

Mastercard has joined as a sponsor for the upcoming XRP Ledger (XRPL) hackathon, scheduled to take place in New York on October 24–25. Hosted by XRPL Commons, the 36-hour event occurs just before Ripple’s Swell conference.

The hackathon is organized into four primary development tracks: Protocol Innovation, Agentic Finance, Lending & Borrowing, and an Open Track. The Protocol Innovation track includes a core developer bootcamp from October 20–22. Developers will focus on areas such as autonomous AI agents for machine-to-machine payments, on-chain credit infrastructure, and core technology amendments.

Mastercard’s involvement highlights the intersection between traditional payment giants and blockchain-based settlement infrastructure. The company has previously explored stablecoin settlement options, including Ripple USD (RLUSD), and participated in CBDC partner programs. This sponsorship emphasizes the industry's shift toward testing decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities, such as lending and automated settlement, within established payment frameworks.