This year, the Mastercard Newsroom’s most-read stories didn’t just chronicle breakthroughs. They captured the tension between innovation and uncertainty, as new payment models, fast-moving technology and regulatory shifts reshape how we think about trust, security and the future of money, considering not just what’s changing, but why it matters.

No more a mere crypto side quest, these digital assets had a big year, largely due to clearer regulatory guidelines rolled out in the EU and the U.S. Total market capitalization passed $300 billion for the first time, and more traditional financial institutions launched their own crypto products and capabilities. Our most-read stablecoin story of 2025? Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert’s June blog about how Mastercard is supporting multiple stablecoins on our network, scaling transformative use cases and embedding deep layers of security and compliance. When the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act in July, Jesse McWaters, Mastercard’s head of global policy, outlined how frameworks like these protect users, resolve disputes and work seamlessly across borders and platforms — and how the solutions like the Mastercard Multi-Token Network and Mastercard Crypto Credential are embedding the trust needed for stablecoins to succeed. (Still getting up to speed? Check out our stablecoins 101, which was one of our most-read explainers of 2025.) 

Forward-thinking trend pieces on banking, cybersecurity and digital commerce struck a chord with readers, who showed up for the big ideas but stayed for the practical implications of laying the groundwork of the future of payments. That includes a January blog about the possibilities afforded by crypto in 2025 by Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive vice president for blockchain and digital assets, and a December look at the impact of AI on cybersecurity and commerce, the growth of digital identity to fortify trust, and the quieter but essential work of building the infrastructure that will move money faster, more  securely and more seamlessly around the globe in 2026. 

AI agents are transforming online shopping, helping people lock in their options, find the best deals, and even complete purchases and act  autonomously on their behalf. But agentic commerce brings new challenges, outlined by Mastercard Chief Digital Officer Pablo Fourez, including ensuring how merchants can verify agent identity, confirm consumer intent and ensure every transaction is secure. That’s where Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework comes into play, giving merchants a scalable, trust-driven way to work with AI agents while setting the standards for a future where agentic commerce is seamless, reliable and ubiquitous. (Our agentic commerce explainer also rang up a ton of reads.) 

This largest generation on earth is coming of age, but with different kinds of jobs, spending behaviors and digital expectations than those who came before. They’re not just redefining their own relationship with money, banks and commerce — they’re changing it for everyone else as well. From hyperpersonalization to more responsible credit building to greater control over their subscriptions, Gen Z wants digital-first experiences on their own terms, and the industry must continue innovating to keep up. “The future of finance belongs to those who listen, evolve and build with this generation, not just for them,” says Bunita Sawhney, Mastercard’s chief consumer product officer.  

At Mastercard’s St. Louis Tech Hub, engineers, cybersecurity teams and monitoring crews work around the clock to make the sure the company’s network that powers of hundreds of millions transactions every day runs smoothly. We toured the guts of the campus, from the Energy Center’s rainbow-colored wiring to Mission Control’s global alert dashboards to the peaceful lake that is but one backup to the hub’s many backups, getting a glimpse at the hidden infrastructure that powers modern payments. Says Ed McLaughlin, the company’s chief technology officer: “We have a dual charter. Run the business while we build the future.”

Tokyo was tops on the Mastercard Economics Institute’s  annual list of hottest summer destinations — in fact, six of the top ten destinations were Asian cities: Osaka, Shanghai, Seoul, Beijing and Singapore. Rounding out the list were Paris, Palma de Mallorca, Madrid and the Americas’ sole entrant, Rio de Janeiro. 

Step inside Recorded Future’s Boston-area headquarters, where teams comb the web in real time, turning massive amounts of data into actionable threat intelligence to protect businesses, governments and financial institutions worldwide. 

From businesses that need faster cash flow to consumers who expect real-time clarity, payments must keep pace with life itself. Mastercard’s Lambert and McLaughlin teamed up for an exploration of how Mastercard Transaction Stream technology is turning milliseconds into money that moves, reshaping how capital flows and enabling faster growth.

Behind every scam is a story — and inside every story is a lesson. Mastercard’s six-part documentary series takes you inside the scams so pervasive in today’s online landscape, from the AI tools harnessed to mimic loved ones in trouble to the psychological techniques used to drain wallets and destroy trust. 

We’ve already highlighted a few explainers that resonated with readers, but the top 101 of 2025 was about tokenization, the technology that protects your information when you tap your contactless card or your phone in store, or make payments in-app or online. Readers were also curious about contactless payments, real-time payments and threat intelligence.