The cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com has partnered with Visa to launch a cryptocurrency card, initially available only to United States residents, which allows users to pay with their crypto or dollar balance anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
In a ad held on October 26, Blockchain.com revealed that there would be no annual registration or transaction fees, and that users would earn 1% cashback on all cryptocurrency purchases.
In a interview with Yahoo Finance, Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith said that the card already had 50,000 registered on a waiting list, and noted:
“There is still a lot of demand for crypto products, but you are seeing the demand move away from trading and towards people who are interested in using DeFi, using their balances.”
Following the announcement, Visa head of cryptocurrency Cuy Sheffield noted that global acceptance is necessary for cryptocurrency adoption to continue to grow.
The card is powered by California-based payments company Marketeta, which helped develop swipe crypto card in September 2020.
The announcement follows the news that Visa has partnered with exchange FTX to roll out a debit card in 40 countries on October 7.
MasterCard partners with BitOasis
On October 25, Mastercard, Visa’s main competitor, signed a strategic partnership with BitOasis, the leading cryptocurrency platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), to launch a series of cryptocurrency card programs designed to facilitate the adoption of digital assets in the region.
BitOasis customers will be able to link their wallets to the new card and convert crypto to fiat to enable use of Mastercard’s global merchant network, and the card is expected to launch in early 2023.
BitOasis co-founder and CEO Ola Doudin sees huge potential for adoption within the area, noting:
“We continue to see sustained demand among our customers for crypto to be integrated into and relevant to their daily lives. Research tells us that 47% of the population in the Middle East now believe that crypto is the future of money.” .
The partnership follows a $30 million Series B funding round from BitOasis that closed in October 2021. The funding facilitated the expansion of its Dubai-based platform to MENA.
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