In brief

  • Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted an image of the Binance Card in use.
  • The upcoming debit card will let customers spend crypto for fiat transactions.
  • Binance acquired digital wallet and Visa debit card platform Swipe this week.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s plans to launch its upcoming debit card got a big boost this week with the company’s acquisition of Swipe. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (a.k.a. CZ) is now showing Twitter how he’s been using a pre-release version of the card.

Zhao shared a screenshot of his Binance Card transaction history to Twitter on Friday, noting that all of the shown transactions were legitimate, with each instantly converting Binance’s BNB token to Euros to complete his purchase.

“I am so excited. I love beta testing products,” he wrote. “Binance Card—I think I can finally go from 99% to 100% crypto.”

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The transactions were for services from Amazon’s Audible audiobooks platform and a pair of Singapore-based companies: Uber-like ride-sharing service Grab and e-commerce platform Lazada. Another transaction appears to be a fee attributed to Swipe.

Along with the Swipe acquisition announcement, Zhao’s tweet seemingly points the way towards an impending release for the card, which was announced back in March.

That’s key, because Binance seemed to be having trouble executing on its vision not long after the initial reveal of the debit card. In April, Zhao admitted that it would be a difficult path to launch the card widely, given varying requirements in different countries, plus official images of the Binance Card were curiously updated to scrub a Visa logo without explanation.

Swipe is a multi-currency digital wallet and Visa debit card platform that lets customers pay with cryptocurrency at Visa terminals worldwide, and it’s already up and running. That should effectively help Binance overcome any implementation issues it has faced, all while bringing the functionality to the sizable Binance customer base.

There is still no official release target for the Binance Card, which is planned to launch first in Malaysia and Vietnam, although curious parties can register interest at the Binance website.

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