Mastercard was awarded a new patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that details how anonymous transactions can be exchanged over a blockchain network.
The patent titled, "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANONYMOUS DIRECTED BLOCKCHAIN TRANSACTION", was first applied for in December of 2016.
The patent reads in part:
"Thus, there is a need for a technical solution whereby an entity may participate in a transaction where transaction details may be posted publicly to ensure accountability and trust in the data, while still providing anonymity and inability of others to track individual transactions or volume information by transaction party identifying information of both parties of a transaction to satisfy the confidentiality needs of each entity involved in the transaction."
What sets apart Mastercard's privacy patent on the blockchain from cryptocurrency is the lack of cryptocurrency all together. While there are some great cryptocurrencies out there such as Verge coin, Monero or ZCash that offer anonymity, Mastercard is remaining firm on distancing itself from it all together.