The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has acquired Swipe, the industry’s leading multi-asset digital wallet and Visa debit card platform that allows users to buy, sell, convert and spend cryptocurrencies.
Swipe has raised USD $1.65 billion in two seed rounds and Series A-G.
“To achieve our mission of making crypto more accessible to the masses, off-ramps are a key component as well. By giving users the ability to convert and spend crypto directly, and have merchants still seamlessly accept fiat, this will make the crypto experience much better for everyone,” said Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
“Swipe’s exceptional team has made great strides in furthering this mission and has been instrumental in the industry for bridging the gap between commerce and crypto. The Swipe Wallet alone is unique which acts as a digital bank account for its users, providing access to traditional banking services. We are thrilled to work with a team that shares the same core values and looking forward to our larger efforts ahead.”
The two companies will work together to further mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies by bridging the gap between fiat and digital assets, notably payments and purchases in cryptocurrency through traditional financial systems.
“Swipe’s goal is to further synchronize crypto with fiat currency-based transactions,” said Swipe CEO Joselito Lizarondo. “Partnering with Binance, given their world-recognized track record and user base, alongside a team that constantly executes, will place Swipe in the position to make cryptocurrencies more accessible for millions of users worldwide. We are excited to work with Binance to continue innovating in this crypto-banking space to further build towards mass adoption on our current and future product lines.”
Swipe has listed BNB on its platform, allowing users to buy and sell BNB with their linked bank accounts, through Swift wire transfers and Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), making BNB spendable with fiat at over 50 million locations worldwide through the Swipe Visa Debit Card. Additional plans from the partnership between Binance and Swipe will be announced at a later date.
The Swipe platform currently supports a wide range of digital assets that enable them to remain in their native form until a point-of-sale/transaction occurs. The selected digital asset is then converted to fiat currencies passed through the Visa payment rails, making cryptocurrencies instantly spendable in more than 50 million locations around the world with just a tap of a few buttons and a “swipe” of a card. Cardholders can also enjoy up to 4% cashback in Bitcoin on every purchase as well as discounted fees by using SXP on the Swipe platform.
Swipe is currently available in 31 countries within the European Economic Area and issued by Contis Financial who is a Visa Principal Member. Swipe supports fiat transactions in Euros, British Pounds, US Dollars, Korean Won and Philippine Pesos; and soon launching in regions throughout Asia and North America.
Also published on Medium.
Kastelein has an Honorary Ph.D. and is Chair Professor of Blockchain at China’s first blockchain University in Nanchang at the Jiangxi Ahead Institute software and Technology. He has over a half a decade experience judging and rewarding some 1000+ innovation projects as an EU expert for the European Commission’s SME Instrument programme as a startup assessor and as a startup judge for the UK government’s Innovate UK division. Kastelein has spoken (keynotes & panels) on Blockchain technology at over 50 events in 30+ cities.
