Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and Mastercard have launched a prepaid crypto card in Brazil as part of its efforts to evolve the bridge between existing financial services and the growing crypto ecosystem.
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Binance said in a blog post that the so-called Binance Card is currently in beta and will be widely available in the coming weeks. The card will allow Binance's clients in Brazil with a valid national ID to make purchases and pay bills with crypto in addition to up to 8% cashback in crypto on "eligible purchases."
Binance Card supports 14 different currencies, including the Brazilian real (R$), bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin), tether (USDT), ether (ETH) and others.
In December last year, Brazil's central bank announced plans to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2024, with a closed pilot program scheduled for 2023 with a group of banks.
The bank's president, Roberto Campos Neto, said that the government-backed digital currency should not disturb monetary policy or hurt banks' balance sheets, adding that if the digital currency is actually a tokenized deposit, it "inherits all the regulation that already applies to deposits."
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