Credit card giant MasterCard has teamed up with the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance to launch another prepaid crypto card in Latin America. On Jan. 30, Binance announced the launch of the Binance Card in Brazil. The new card is issued by Dock, a payment institution regulated by the Brazilian Central Bank. It will allow new and existing Binance users in the country with valid national IDs to make purchases and pay bills with crypto assets. The card is in a beta testing phase and will be “widely available in the coming weeks,” according to Binance. Brazil is the second …

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced Thursday that it will acquire the remaining outstanding shares of Swipe, a prominent crypto Visa card provider. Users of Binance will be able to spend their coins at over 70 million locations worldwide as a result of the acquisition. On July 6, 2020, Binance initially announced the purchase of a majority stake in Swipe, stating that the new collaboration would help to further advance cryptocurrency adoption by bridging fiat and digital assets. Binance's acquisition of Swipe will allow it to compete with other retail crypto providers like PayPal and Mastercard that provide similar …

Payments giants Visa is launching new consulting and advisory services in a move to help its clients navigate the world of cryptocurrencies. The firm said on Dec. 8 that its crypto advisory practice, housed within its consulting and analytics division, will offer advice to financial institutions, retailers and other firms on everything from rolling out crypto features and exploring nonfungible tokens, to developing wallets for central bank digital currencies. According to Visa, part of banks' interest in cryptocurrencies is in remaining competitive. Citing a recent in-house study, Visa said that “40% of crypto owners surveyed report they would be likely …

Paypal-owned payments firm Venmo has launched a new crypto "cash back" feature that includes zero transactions on crypto purchases. According to the Tuesday announcement, Venmo’s “Cash Back to Crypto” service went live yesterday that enables credit card customers to spend their cash back rewards on digital assets hosted on the platform. Say hello to Cash Back to Crypto with the Venmo Credit Card, rolling out to eligible cardholders over the coming weeks. Learn more → https://t.co/zvQfMxIZl5 pic.twitter.com/wcroWuaapW — Venmo (@Venmo) August 10, 2021 Venmo offers its credit card holders between 1% and 3% cash back on select purchases, and the …

The cryptocurrency market has shown a new level of resilience on Aug. 9 as a majority of tokens have managed to maintain recent gains and Bitcoin price hit a new 3 month high at $46,293. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were IoTeX (IOTX), CyberVein (CVT) and Swipe (SXP). IOTX/USDT IoTeX (IOTX), a platform focused on the decentralized internet of things, has been the best performer over the past 24-hours with a gain of 27%. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of IOTX rallied 53% …

Traditional card networks are vying to ensure their services remain at the center of new developments in digital assets, whether they be central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) or private sector stablecoins. In an earnings call on Thursday, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach discussed recent developments in crypto and CBDCs, making the pitch that the company was well-positioned to remain a linchpin of intra- and international value flows: "What we believe we do is bring a perspective to the market as a multi-rail payment provider. We have to be in this space because people are looking for answers." Mastercard has been highly …

This year has seen unprecedented growth in the crypto markets, with lucrative knock-on effects for third parties like Visa. This, however, may already be beginning to dwindle, according to the company’s senior executives. The payments giant’s newly released financial results for fiscal Q3 2021 show bullish figures for cross-border and overseas transactions — a key metric for analysts on the lookout for early signals of pandemic recovery. Earlier this month, Visa revealed that its crypto-enabled cards had processed more than $1 billion in total spending for H1 2021, registering an impact on overseas volume as crypto users deposited funds into …

Out of the many routes available to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, which includes decentralized finance (DeFi), layer-one protocols, nonfungible tokens and stablecoins, perhaps the simplest and most applicable path for the public at large is the ability to utilize cryptocurrency for everyday purchases with an integrated debit or credit card. 2021 has seen a growing number of companies offer cryptocurrency-based credit cards that give holders the chance to tap into the value of their cryptocurrencies for daily purchases, but is this just the latest gimmick being used by businesses to earn a buck or a real sign of mass …

As blockchain technology and the public's awareness of cryptocurrency continues to grow, a range of new use cases a coming to market and enhancing the efficacy of legacy financial systems. Despite its many applications, the original use case for Bitcoin (BTC) as a medium of exchange remains one of the most fundamental applications of blockchain technology and while BTC might not be the best asset to use for payments, there are service providers who have eased the process of settling transactions in other cryptocurrencies. For now, the most widely accepted way to use cryptocurrencies for direct payments in everyday life …

A new credit card has been directly linked to a DeFi farming project for the first time — all while delivering instant crypto-to-fiat conversions and no need for pre-funding. The ZCore Finance Card is initially being released in Brazil, and is set to be rolled out globally in the third quarter of 2021. Users can farm or purchase ZEFI tokens and transfer them over to the card at zero cost, and several trading pairs on Binance Smart Chain are supported for those who are interested in staking. As an alternative, cards can also be recharged with a selection of third-party …

Crypto.com is now the latest cryptocurrency exchange and payment service to join the Visa network. According to a press statement issued on Wednesday, Crypto.com has inked a global partnership with the credit/debit card payment giant which includes becoming a principal member of Visa’s network in Australia. As part of the press release, Crypto.com revealed that the collaboration with Visa was in line with the company’s efforts to expand the reach of its crypto Visa card. Crypto.com’s Visa card is already used in more than 30 countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, as well as nations in Europe …

Users of the Gemini exchange can now sign up for a cryptocurrency rewards credit card that lets them earn up to 3% back in Bitcoin (BTC). The Winklevoss-led exchange and custodian announced Thursday that the waitlist for the Gemini Credit Card is now open. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the new card will be launched later this year. Gemini disclosed that it has acquired Blockrize, a crypto payments startup headed by product developers formerly of American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Google and BitMEX. Blockrize has a waitlist of 10,000 people and they too will receive early access to the …