As the crypto space continues to grow into the mainstream, bridging the gap between digital currencies and fiat currencies is a priority for many legacy financial institutions.
Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi announced a partnership with Solaris, a European financial services provider, to issue a crypto-to-fiat debit card.
The program, which has been approved by Visa, allows Huobi users to use their digital assets at the point of sale globally. Users living in the European Economic Area (EEA) will have access to the card starting in the second quarter of 2023.
The EEA includes all 27 member states of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Andrea Ramoino, chief strategy officer at Solaris hinted at future developments in the partnership with Huobi in his comments.
“This is just the first step in our partnership as we look forward to delivering more payment options to users in the EEA and beyond.”
This is not the first crypto-to-fiat card available to EU citizens In 2020, Binance launched its own Visa-accredited crypto-to-fiat card, which allows Europeans to withdraw funds directly from their Binance account.
related: Dominica is working with Huobi for its digital identity program
Outside the EU Visa has been an active supporter of bridging the crypto-fiat gap. In October 2022, Blockchain.com announced a partnership with Visa to offer crypto debit, which is only available to residents of the United States.
Before the FTX scandal, it had also partnered with Visa to offer debit cards in 40 countries.
Most recently, the financial services provider partnered with fintech company ZELF, to launch an anonymous debit card with crypto top-up. It allows users to open a US dollar-based checking account with their name, email, and phone number.
Before the start of 2023, Visa also hinted at a feature that would allow users to automatically pay bills from their crypto wallet.