- Satvik Sethi, NFT Product Lead at MasterCard, has resigned from his position in full web3 fashion by minting his resignation letter as an NFT
- Sethi attributed his departure to the harassment and emotional distress he says he faced while working at the company
- He plans to focus on joincircle, his web3-based social networking platform as well as his NFT art
Mastercard’s NFT Product Lead, Satvik Sethi, resigned from the global payments company, citing emotional distress and harassment. Moreover, he chose to do it in style by minting his resignation letter as an NFT.
Satvik had worked as the NFT product lead for two years, holding two other positions at Mastercard. He took to Twitter to explain his decision on a thread, saying:
“At Mastercard, I was a victim of harassment & emotional distress caused by mismanaged processes, miscommunication, and internal inefficiency. There were months when I wouldn’t receive my salary until I begged across the hierarchy for it, among many other issues.”
On expressing his grievances to the human resource manager, Sethi says that he was informed that he would have to serve a three-month notice before resigning, a move he says was a way to prevent him from leaving. He also added that he was locked out of his accounts which denied him access to his ideas and a chance to bid his colleagues and friends goodbye.
“They might try to discredit me or downplay my contributions. But the fact is – globally, our partners, clients, and regional teams associate Mastercard x NFTs with me,” he said, adding, “When anyone across our portfolio has a question on Web3, it would be redirected to me, from the CMO to an analyst.”
In addition to the thread, Sethi minted his letter of resignation as an open-edition NFT on Manifold, an NFT minting platform, affirming that “100% of this goes to survival. This isn’t gambling money.” He named the project “New beginnings,” pricing it at 0.023 ETH, around $38, each with 110 mints at the time of writing.
In his resignation letter, he wrote:
“I have long been fascinated by the potential of Web3 to change the world for the better, and I believe that now more than ever is the right time for me to fully immerse myself in this space – through my ventures, my art, and my industry knowledge.”
Resultantly, Sethi resigns to focus on Joincircle, his web3 social networking and community platform, and his art, which he plans to release as an NFT collection. He will also relocate back to India, as quitting his role at MasterCard has led to losing his work visa.
In response to Sethi’s resignation, MasterCard, through a spokesperson, told The Block that:
“We are aware of the concerns raised by Mr. Sethi. We take them seriously, and they will be looked into. We will do so with continued respect for his privacy and will not have further comment at this time.”
MasterCard’s growth in the crypto industry
Mastercard has taken significant strides in the blockchain domain in the last year, having accepted cryptocurrency payments and NFT transactions. In June 2022, the firm partnered with major NFT markets to make NFT payments accessible and safer across its network. Candy Digital, Immutable X, Mintable, Spring, The Sandbox, and Nifty Gateway were among the startups that worked with Mastercard. The collaboration allowed consumers to acquire NFTs without first purchasing cryptocurrencies.
More recently, during the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas in January, MasterCard announced that it would launch its MasterCard Artist Accelerator on the PolyGon Blockchain. The program aims to teach musicians how to develop their businesses by minting NFTs, creating an online presence, and cultivating a community.
