Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, will once again allow its customers to purchase cryptocurrencies using Mastercard.
Binance has resumed cryptocurrency purchases via bank transfers using Mastercard debit and credit cards for “smooth transactions,” according to a June 6 X post.
On the Binance platform, the “buy crypto” options via Mastercard have been reenabled, with a maximum one-time purchase of up to 5,000 euros, worth approximately $5,440 for euro-based transactions, and up to $20,000 for United States dollar-based purchases.
The world’s largest exchange plans to add more regulated fiat payment providers in the future for more intuitive crypto purchases. A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph:
“Binance continues to invest heavily to ensure it meets the highest standards of compliance. Following an extensive review of the rigorous controls and processes that Binance put into place. Mastercard made the decision to allow Binance-related purchases on its network.”
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Were Binance’s card offerings initially shut down due to regulatory pressure?
Binance closed down Visa debit card services in the European Economic Area (EEA) on Dec. 20, 2023. The Binance Visa debit card converts crypto in users’ Binance accounts into local currencies, thus allowing them to use crypto to pay for purchases in stores and online.
The end of Binance Visa card services was announced a day after the exchange restored euro deposits and withdrawals, which had been unavailable for a month after payments processor Paysafe dropped the exchange.
Mastercard ended its partnership with Binance in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Bahrain in September.
The decision came nearly three months after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed 13 charges against Binance in June 2023, accusing the exchange of misappropriating customer funds and conducting unregistered securities offerings.
The SEC’s move against Binance came three months after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also sued Binance for failing to register with it and for breaking many of its guidelines.
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Are Binance’s regulatory troubles over?
Reenabling Mastercard-based cryptocurrency purchases could be another signal that Binance’s regulatory troubles are coming to an end following its settlement in the United States.
Despite no evidence of user fund misappropriation, Binance was charged with violating Anti-Money Laundering laws and settled to pay one of the largest criminal fines in history, $4.3 billion.
As part of the settlement, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down from his role as the company CEO.
In an April hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Zhao, also known as “CZ,” was sentenced to four months in prison by Judge Richard Jones for charges related to money laundering at his cryptocurrency exchange. He was also ordered to pay a $50-million fine.
Zhao started serving his four-month prison sentence at a low-security federal prison in Lompoc, California at the beginning of June. He is planning to continue his activity in the crypto space after he is released.
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