Discover Financial Planning a 'Roadmap' for Crypto, Blockchain Products

Discover Financial is planning to break into the crypto space with a suite of yet-to-be-developed digital currency products, according to a new job posting.

The third-largest credit card brand in the U.S. on Tuesday began searching for a Blockchain & Digital Currency Product Manager to sketch out its crypto roadmap. This new strategist positionhttps://jobs.discover.com/job/12373696/product-manager-blockchain-digital-currency-remote/ will be tasked with identifying opportunities in crypto, educating C-suite suits on the tech and managing rollout, the listing said.

It is unclear how Discover might try to leverage its 57 million cards for crypto. Indeed, the Tuesday posting for an early-stage blockchain strategist makes clear that any corporate plans are still in the works. The position’s exceptionally broad mission only serves to underline that Discover could take its roadmap in any number of ways.

"We are closely monitoring this rapidly evolving market and any regulatory developments as we want to ensure they provide strong consumer protections and allow us to best serve our customers," Discover spokesman Robert Weiss told CoinDesk.

He said Discover does not currently allowed brand cards to be used for cryptocurrency purchases.

At the very least, the position signals Discover does not want to be left behind in the traditional financial services industry’s race toward cryptocurrencies. Its financial services competitors have already jumped well ahead, with Visa and Mastercard both planning to integrate cryptos directly on their far-larger card networks.