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Blockchain.com partners with Visa to offer crypto debit card

October 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BitOasis

The launch of the new crypto debit card follows the announcement of similar products from FTX and BitOasis.

Crypto exchange Blockchain.com has partnered with Visa to launch a crypto card, available to only U.S. residents initially, which allows users to pay using their crypto or cash balance wherever Visa debit cards are accepted.

In an Oct. 26 announcement, Blockchain.com revealed that there would be no sign-up or annual fees, no transaction fees, and users would earn 1% of all purchases back in crypto.

In a Yahoo Finance interview, Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith said the card already had 50,000 signed onto a waiting list, noting:

“There’s still a lot of demand for crypto products, but you’re seeing that demand shift away from trading and more towards folks that are interested in using DeFi, using their balances.”

Following the announcement, Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, pointed out that worldwide acceptance is necessary for crypto adoption to continue to grow.

The card is powered by California-based payments company Marqeta, which helped develop crypto finance firm Swipe’s crypto visa card in September 2020.

The announcement follows news that Visa has partnered with crypto exchange FTX to roll out a debit card to 40 countries on October 7.

MasterCard partners with BitOasis

On Oct. 25, Visa’s main competitor Mastercard signed onto a strategic partnership with BitOasis, the leading crypto platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), to launch a series of crypto 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 into fiat to enable the use of Mastercard’s global merchant network, with the card expected to launch in early 2023.

The co-founder and CEO of BitOasis, Ola Doudin, sees a huge potential for adoption within the area, noting:

“We continue to witness sustained demand amongst our customers for crypto to be integrated into, and relevant, for their daily lives. Research tells us that 47% of the Middle East population now believe crypto is the future of money.”

The partnership follows a $30 million Series B funding round from BitOasis which closed in October 2021. The funding facilitated the expansion of its Dubai-based platform into MENA.

Blockchain and climate action gets highlighted at MENA Climate Week

March 29, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Taking the stage at the MENA Climate Week, Kristina Cornèr, the editor-in-chief of Cointelegraph, shared insights into how the crypto community could contribute to positive climate impact.

MENA Climate Week kicked off on Tuesday with a focus on discussing the use of blockchain technology for bringing transformative climate action to the region. Kristina Cornèr, Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief, shared her insights in a panel discussion on how the climate action sector can benefit from the crypto and blockchain community.

In the session held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Cornèr discussed topics ranging from the media’s role in educating the masses about blockchain to trust and collaboration within blockchain projects and how the climate action community could use the blockchain community’s strengths such as ambition, action and diversity to promote a positive environmental impact.

*Cointelegraph editor-in-chief speaks at the MENA Climate Week panel in Dubai, UAE.*

Explaining the mindset that the crypto community has when creating blockchain projects, Cornèr highlighted that ambition and action are some of the most important driving forces within natives of the blockchain sphere.

“The people who created this community are ones who are daring and ambitious, and I think that this is what climate action needs now. Shifting discussions from "what can we do" to "let’s do it" is how the blockchain community members are building their projects.”

Apart from this, Cornèr also noted the importance of bringing diversity into the mix. She said that by being diverse, blockchain projects are able to come up with a variety of new solutions that can create various levels of change within the community.

“Collaboration is bringing as many voices as possible, similar to this panel and how you are bringing diversity here. This is what blockchain is also about because you can bring different voices and this can bring different solutions.”

Cornèr concluded her talk by reiterating that the Cointelegraph team is always open to giving a voice and a platform to those who are working within the blockchain and climate action space and that she hopes that both communities will have more collaborations in the future.

MENA

MasterCard partners with BitOasis

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