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This Wednesday, Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that the long-awaited Binance Card is launching in Brazil. The card, already available in most of Europe and some Caribbean countries, offers enables its holders to transcend the barrier between cryptocurrencies and TradFi by using tokens like Bitcoin, BNB, and many others in any store that supports Visa.

Binance Card Now Available in Brazil

As a part of its ongoing effort to expand its offering in Brazil, Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao announced this Wednesday that the Binance Card is now available in the South American nation. Binance Card is a Visa debit card enabling its holders to use their cryptocurrencies to make payments in numerous stores all around the world. 

The card, which is already available in most European countries and several Caribbean nations is also a part of the exchange’s effort to bridge the gap between digital assets and traditional finance, as well as to boost global crypto adoption. According to reports from late January, Brazil is also set to receive a Binance prepaid card—less than a year after Argentina.

Recent months also saw Binance open new offices in Brazil. In early October 2022, it was reported that the cryptocurrency exchange aimed to expand its operations in Latin America with the opening of new offices in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. At the time, the press release also highlighted that all of Binance’s operations in the country are fully compliant with Brazil’s regulations.

Visa and Mastercard Continue Expanding Crypto Offering

The two payment giants, Visa and Mastercard, have maintained a keen interest in digital assets for several years now. Already in early 2021, Mastercard announced its plans to start supporting the cryptocurrency sector. Later that same year, both companies chose to disregard the regulatory issues their partner exchange—Binance—was facing at the time.

Throughout the “crypto winter” of 2022, both companies continued working on bridging the gap between digital assets and TradFi by working with both cryptocurrency companies and traditional banks. The autumn of the last year in particular saw Mastercard actively working with banks on crypto adoption.

At the very beginning of October, the payment giant launched a new AI tool intended to help banks detect suspicious cryptocurrency-related transactions. Later that same month, Mastercard announced a pilot project meant to enable banks to offer cryptocurrency trading to their clients.

Visa was particularly active with regard to digital assets around the New Year. In early January, it was reported that the firm is exploring the future of stablecoin settlements. Furthermore, the company announced the results of a hackathon it held and offered a solution for setting up automatic payments from self-custody wallets of Ethereum’s StarkNet.

Do you think the increased regulatory crackdown will prevent Binance from ever offering its debit card in the US? Let us know in the comments below.

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