The leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance officially announced the acquisition of the Visa debit card platform Swipe.
Binance has also listed Swipe’s native cryptocurrency (SXP), which registered a massive price boost of 21%.
Following days of speculation, the popular exchange officially announced the acquisition earlier today for an “undisclosed amount.” Binance and Swipe plan to 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 offers a few essential features for its customers to assist in this department. It operates as a multi-asset digital wallet and Visa debit card platform, allowing users to buy, sell, convert, and spend digital assets.
Binance Director of European and Latin American Growth and Institutional Business Josh Goodbody told CryptoPotato that Swipe “holds user funds in offline wallets with a regulated custody provider, which also includes comprehensive insurance coverage.”
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that by acquiring Swipe, his company is increasing its efforts towards “making crypto more accessible to the masses.” He added that Swipe’s Wallet is a “unique” feature that “acts as a digital bank account for its users, providing access to traditional banking services,” which could accelerate adoption rates.
“Swipe’s goal is to further synchronize crypto with fiat currency-based transactions. 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.” – commented Swipe CEO Joselito Lizarondo.
Swipe has listed Binance Coin (BNB) on its platform. Consequently, users can buy and sell BNB with their linked bank accounts through Swift wire transfers and Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). According to the announcement, this makes BNB spendable with fiat at over 50 million locations through the Swipe Visa Debit Card.
Following the acquisition, the leading exchange also informed that it will list Swipe’s native cryptocurrency (SXP). SXP/BTC, SXP/BNB, and SXP/BUSD will be the initial pairs, and trading opens today at 2:00 PM (UTC).
SXP has reacted quite positively to the news with a daily spike of over 21%. The asset is now trading at $0.68 as only a week ago it was at $0,44. SXP now ranks at 119th spot in terms of total market cap according to CoinMarketCap, as its own has increased to $44.5 million.
Today’s announcement also reads that Binance has received an undisclosed portion of SXP tokens after the acquisition. Most of the coins “are locked over a multi-year period.”
