Customers of the United States-based branch of major crypto exchange Binance, Binance.US, can now purchase cryptocurrencies using their debit cards.
In a blog post on Nov. 1, Binance.US announced that the exchange will now offer its customers the possibility to purchase cryptocurrencies with a debit card, joining existing U.S. dollar on-ramp and off-ramps, including the automated clearinghouse (ACH) and bank wire.
Binance.US also announced that in its first 30 days since launching, the exchange jumped to $15 million in daily trading volume, while increasing its token listings from seven to twenty-four tokens, bringing a total of 40 trading pairs to U.S. users. The exchange went live on Sept. 24 of this year and broke the $10 million volume mark on Oct. 23.
In October, the exchange announced that customers’ deposit funds are also eligible for FDIC insurance coverage, meaning that the exchange holds its U.S. dollar deposits in pooled custodial accounts at different banks that are insured by the FDIC — the United States government agency designed to protect deposits and the U.S. financial system.
Regulators and banks push back against card crypto purchases
Some banks and jurisdictions have actively opposed cryptocurrency purchases with credit and debit cards. Last year, a slew of banks including Lloyds, Wells Fargo and Virgin Money banned their users from purchasing cryptocurrencies with cards that they issued.
Earlier today, Cointelegraph reported that the Central Bank of Argentina (BCA) prohibited citizens of the country from purchasing cryptocurrencies using their credit cards. The prohibition on crypto purchases was included in a communication covering different industries in which credit card use was limited or prohibited. BCA stated:
“Acquisition of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies: It is prohibited to purchase BTC with this payment method. The only remaining alternative for this investment is to do so with funds transferred from a bank account.”
