Spending cryptocurrency may become a lot easier. FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, partnered with payments giant Visa to roll out debit cards in 40 countries worldwide. The move would allow FTX users to pay for goods and services using debit cards that boast “Zero fees.” Plus, card ownership is free according to the company website. Sam Bankman-Fried, the most influential person in crypto according to Cointelegraph’s Top 100, has long touted his desire to unveil an FTX debit card. His company's decision to partner with legacy payment rails — as opposed to crypto payment rails such as …

Colorado is accepting crypto as payment for any taxes owed to the state as of Sept. 1. It was the result of a promise made earlier in the year by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who has proven his commitment to establishing the state as pro-cryptocurrency. Colorado isn’t the only U.S. state trying to incentivize cryptocurrency investment within its borders, as legislatures in Arizona, Wyoming and Utah have all previously introduced bills to accept tax payments in the form of digital currencies in varying degrees. There is much to gain economically for states who embrace blockchain technology and the crypto sector. …

The real economic utility of Web3 — a broad term that refers to some future iteration of the internet — can only be realized by utilizing existing payment onramps and offramps, according to Max Rothman, vice president of crypto and digital assets at Checkout.com. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Rothman explained that companies operating in Web2 and Web3 are largely sioled from one another, which means they cannot access each other’s benefits. “Web2 companies have mastered seamless online payments and the user experience,” he said, referring to businesses that operate in the current state of the internet. “For Web3 companies …

In a statement released on Oct. 6, the European Union introduced another set of sanctions against Russia due to the prolonged and recently escalated conflict in Ukraine. The new sanctions include a complete ban on cross-border crypto payments between Russians and E.U. This statement includes the prohibition of, “all crypto-asset wallets, accounts, or custody services, irrespective of the amount of the wallet." New sanctions were installed as a response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory as the result of what the EU calls a “sham” referendum, along with troop mobilization and threats of nuclear escalation. The previous sanctions capped …

SWIFT is a payments colossus. It operates across more than 200 countries, has 11,000-plus financial institution clients and transmits some 8.4 billion financial messages every year. It is the global leader in cross-border bank-to-bank payments and recently played a key role in the West’s economic sanctions on Russia. That doesn’t mean the Belgium-based cooperative is immune to disruption tremors, however. Critics have long maintained the interbank messaging system, founded in the 1970s, is “old, inflexible, slow, and increasingly prone to cyberattacks.” In May, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach cast doubt upon SWIFT’s ability to survive the next five years. Meanwhile, it …

Decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch has partnered with Unstoppable Domains to help users simplify cryptocurrency payments — a move the company says could strengthen wider adoption of DeFi products and services. Under the partnership, 1inch wallet users can enter “human-readable domain names” when sending crypto payments using Unstoppable’s naming service. This allows users to use customizable domain names instead of lengthy alphameric crypto wallet addresses. Like all Unstoppable Domains addresses, the wallet address will be minted on the blockchain as a nonfungible token (NFT), with no additional minting or renewal fees. Sergej Kunz, 1inch Network’s co-founder, said the Unstoppable Domains partnership …

Despite Russia pushing the idea of using cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments, it still remains unclear what digital asset exactly the government plans to adopt for such transactions. Russian authorities are quite unlikely to approve the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) for cross-border transactions, according to local lawyers and fintech executives. Bank of Russia needs to control cross-border transactions It’s “highly questionable” that Russia would allow usage of Bitcoin or any other similar cryptocurrency for cross-border payments because such assets are “hard to control,” according to Elena Klyuchareva, the senior associate at the local law firm KKMP. Klyuchareva emphasized that …

Interbank messaging system SWIFT has partnered with price oracle provider Chainlink (LINK) to work on a proof-of-concept (POC) project which would allow traditional finance firms the ability to transact across blockchain networks. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov announced the project at its SmartCon 2022 Conference in New York on Sept. 28 alongside SWIFT strategy director Jonathan Ehrenfeld Solé. SWIFT is using the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) in an initial proof of concept. CCIP will enable SWIFT messages to instruct on-chain token transfers, helping the SWIFT network become interoperable across all blockchain environments.https://t.co/8GOBNhzwCk pic.twitter.com/Pvm0Cex45e — Chainlink (@chainlink) September 28, 2022 At the …

The Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, has reported it will be partnering with the central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden to explore international retail and remittance payments use cases for central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. In a Sept. 28 announcement, the BIS said the collaboration — named Project Icebreaker — will involve the bank’s Innovation Hub Nordic Centre testing key functions and the technological feasibility of interlinking domestic CBDC systems. The central banks will develop a new hub in which the Central Bank of Norway, Bank of Israel, and Sveriges Riksbank can connect their proof-of-concept CBDC systems. …

Mastercard has launched customizable nonfungible token (NFT) debit cards, allowing some cardholders who own avatars from select NFT collections to add the artwork onto the payment's card. The debit cards are made available through a Sept. 26 partnership with European cryptocurrency exchange platform, “hi” allowing its “Gold” members to personalize their debit cards with an NFT they verifiably own Gold membership with the platform is obtained by staking a minimum of 100,000 hi Dollar’s (HI), the platform's native token, a sum worth around $4,600 according to data from CoinGecko. NEWS! Today @hi_com_official launches the world’s first debit card featuring NFT …

If you’ve spent any time reading about blockchain and Web3, you know that this industry is filled with big buzzwords and half-baked concepts. But, concepts such as decentralized identity services, or DIDs, bring real meaning and utility to Web3. If you haven’t yet wrapped your mind around DID, it refers to a self-owned, independent identity that enables trusted data exchange. In other words, it puts digital identity management and administration directly in your hands instead of some third party’s. In this week’s Crypto Biz, we take a look at a Web3 partnership designed to bring DID-powered payment solutions to Africa. …

The Bank of Russia and the country’s Ministry of Finance have reportedly reached an agreement allowing cross-border settlements in cryptocurrencies. According to a Thursday report from the Russia-based publication Kommersant, Russia’s deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseev said the government department has agreed “on the whole” with the central bank over a rule that would let residents send cross-border payments using cryptocurrencies. The proposed policy change was reportedly aimed at allowing Russian nationals access to digital wallets. “[The policy] generally describes how to acquire cryptocurrency, what can be done with it, and how it can or cannot be settled with it …