Binance Connect, the payment service of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, closed its doors yesterday. After a period of almost 1.5 years, Binance is compelled to disable its fiat-to-crypto payment service.
A message on X (formerly Twitter) from the decentralized trading platform (DEX) Biswap indicates that Binance had to make a difficult decision. The DEX platform, operating on the BNB Smart Chain, states that Binance had to make this choice because the supporting card payment service has been discontinued.
Fiat-to-crypto payment service Binance Connect, also known as Bifinity, was established to facilitate transactions between fiat money and cryptocurrencies. The initial goal of this on-ramp payment service was to act as a bridge between Binance and other blockchain-based platforms.
Through an on-ramp payment platform, users can purchase cryptocurrencies with their local currencies and directly transfer them to their own digital wallets. Upon the launch of Binance Connect in March 2022, the platform accepted 50 different cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the payment platform enabled the purchase of cryptocurrencies through payment cards, including Visa and Mastercard. A spokesperson from Binance stated:
“We periodically review our products and services at Binance to ensure that our resources remain focused on core efforts that align with our long-term strategy. In the past six years, Binance has evolved from an exchange to a global blockchain ecosystem with multiple business lines. We consistently adapt our business approach in response to changing market and user needs.”
