Avalanche Launches Visa Card for Crypto Payments

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Hassan Shittu

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Hassan Shittu

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Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in...

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October 21, 2024

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Avalanche has taken a significant step toward integrating cryptocurrency into everyday financial transactions by launching the Avalanche Card. This card enables users to make payments using their crypto assets at any Visa-accepting location.

The card currently supports WAVAX, USDC, sAVAX, and other supported cryptocurrencies, allowing users to spend their digital assets as easily as cash.

Avalanche Visa Card: Is This Bringing Crypto Mainstream?

The Avalanche Card is available in physical and virtual formats. It was initially rolled out in Latin America and the Caribbean, and plans are to expand to other regions in the future.

Users can now make purchases with their crypto at millions of merchants worldwide, wherever Visa is accepted.

Upon signing up, users receive a self-custody wallet with a unique address for each crypto asset. This feature ensures that funds are secure while offering instant access to spending.

To enhance security, the Avalanche Card includes several safeguards: users can set up spending alerts, freeze the card in case of loss, and change the PIN anytime.

This level of control provides peace of mind, ensuring that assets are protected while offering convenience for users to manage their finances.

One of the main distinctions of the Avalanche Card is that it is not a bank card, meaning it isn’t tied to traditional financial institutions. As such, there is no reporting to credit bureaus, and usage won’t affect credit scores.

While this grants users greater freedom in using their funds, it also requires individuals to manage their spending more responsibly.

The Path to Crypto Adoption

Allowing users to spend crypto as easily as fiat money is a big milestone with the Avalanche Card. Avalanche is helping bridge the gap between digital currencies and traditional financial systems.

This tool is expected to play a key role in promoting the everyday use of cryptocurrencies and driving greater adoption globally.

The card is initially offered in select regions, including Latin America and the Caribbean, where financial inclusion and access to banking services can be challenging.

Avalanche’s focus on these markets could provide millions easier access to digital financial services.

However, there are geographical restrictions, and residents or citizens of countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Russia are excluded from accessing the card.

Furthermore, as more people adopt digital currencies, the Avalanche Card could help solidify crypto’s role as a viable medium of exchange, bringing it closer to mainstream use.

In addition to this consumer-focused initiative, Avalanche is deepening its blockchain infrastructure through partnerships, such as its recent collaboration with Chainlink.

Chainlink is piloting an AI-powered on-chain database that integrates decentralized Oracle technology. This database will allow real-time, standardized data handling across blockchain networks.

This partnership enhances Avalanche’s blockchain ecosystem, offering more efficient and transparent data processes, particularly for corporate actions like mergers and dividends.

Notably, The Avalanche Foundation recently announced that it is repurchasing 1.97 million AVAX tokens from the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) for $45.5 million, despite their current market value of $57.4 million.

This buyback stems from a settlement filed in a Delaware Bankruptcy Court and is designed to prevent complications that could arise if the tokens were liquidated during LFG’s bankruptcy proceedings.

The tokens were originally sold to LFG in April 2022 to build reserves for TerraClassicUSD (USTC). Still, following the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, this settlement aims to reduce litigation costs and protect creditors’ assets.

At the time of writing, AVAX is trading at approximately $27.80, down by 1.8% in the last 24 hours.