- Mastercard, which began its foray into NFTs sometime in 2021, is in for some controversy after Satvik Sethi, its former NFT product lead, made public allegations of workplace mistreatment as he resigned and sold his resignation letter as an NFT.
- Sethi accused Mastercard of cutting his salary package by 40%, and claims of harassment by the management due to “a series of mismanaged processes, miscommunication [and] internal inefficiency.”
- After his resignation, Sethi minted and sold an NFT of his own resignation letter and announced he will soon lose his British work visa with a fallback plan to work and be based in India.
Mastercard’s Foray into NFTs
Payments tech firm Mastercard began its foray into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) sometime in 2021. However, the company is now facing some controversy after Satvik Sethi, its former NFT product lead, made public allegations of mistreatment at the workplace as he resigned. His move was further compounded when he minted and sold his resignation letter as an NFT.
Allegations Against Mastercard
Sethi railed against Mastercard for allegedly mistreating him and downplaying his role in the company’s ambition to enter the crypto space. He claimed that they cut out his salary package by 40%, coinciding with his decision to move from New York City to London during a bear cycle with industry-wide decline in NFTs. He also said that he had to beg “across the hierarchy” of Mastercard just to receive his salary. Aside from this allegation on pay cuts, Sethi also asserted that he was harassed by the management due to “a series of mismanaged processes, miscommunication [and] internal inefficiency.”
Minting Resignation Letter as an NFT
After resigning from Mastercard, Sethi asked for support from followers on Twitter through minting an NFT: His own resignation letter. The NFT was minted for 0.023 ETH with 100% proceeds going towards survival funds for the former product lead.