• Mastercard’s former NFT product lead Satvik Sethi resigned and made public allegations of workplace mistreatment.
• Sethi sold his resignation letter as an NFT to support himself due to pay cuts from Mastercard.
• Following his resignation, Sethi is soon to lose his British work visa and will have to fall back on India for the foreseeable future.
Mastercard’s Former NFT Product Lead Resigns
Payments tech firm Mastercard began its foray into NFTs sometime in 2021, but has faced controversy when Satvik Sethi, its former NFT product lead, made public allegations of workplace mistreatment as he resigned.
Resignation Letter Sold As An NFT
In a coup de grâce move, Sethi minted and sold his resignation letter as an NFT. Reports had previously detailed how Mastercard has partnered with other crypto firms such as Coinbase, even going forth with the acquisition of digital asset analytics firm CipherTrace.
Allegations Of Mistreatment And Pay Cuts
Sethi railed against the payments tech giant for allegedly mistreating him and downplaying his role in the company’s ambition to enter the crypto space. He claims that Mastercard cut out his salary package by 40%, this occurring during the recent bear cycle and industry-wide decline in NFTs; coinciding with his decision to move from New York City to London. He also shared how he „had to work side jobs this past year to make ends meet“ because of the pay cuts, making further claims that there were instances when he had to beg „across the hierarchy“ of Mastercard just to receive his salary. Additionally, he asserted that he was harassed by management due to „a series of mismanaged processes, miscommunication [and] internal inefficiency.“
Support Requested Through The Minting Of An NFT
After resigning, Sethi asked followers on Twitter to support him through the minting of an NTF: His own resignation letter. The NFt was minted for 0.023 ETH with all funds raised going towards survival costs.
Losing British Work Visa
Following these events, Sethi is soon set lose his British work visa; requiring him o fall back on India for any foreseeable future endeavors in regards o employment or residency status abroad