Mastercard has issued a license to Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, allowing the company to offer its prepaid payment card services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The partnership will begin in Bahrain in January 2025.

Crypto.com cardholders will be able to fund their accounts using the Crypto.com appas well as through e-money wallets or third-party credit and debit cards. The card will be available on all five Crypto.com card tiers, including the premium “Black Obsidian” card, which offers rewards of up to 8% and card payments in US dollars.

The announcement received positive reactions from the crypto community, although some confusion emerged over the impact on Crypto.com’s existing Visa card offerings. According to a Crypto.com community account on X.com, the new Mastercard-backed cards will replace Visa-backed cards in the GCC region, where Visa-backed Crypto.com cards are currently not available. However, the partnership is not expected to affect markets where Visa-backed cards are already in use.

The partnership will not be limited to Bahrain; MasterCard plans to expand Crypto.com’s services to the rest of the GCC region, which includes Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The GCC region is increasingly receptive to cryptocurrencies, blockchain and Web3 technologies, positioning itself as a growing hub for digital assets.

Amnah Ajmal, Mastercard’s Executive Vice President of Market Development, commented on the deal, saying: “Crypto.com will now have access to our global network, enabling transactions wherever Mastercard is accepted, to our innovative payment solutions powered by through cutting-edge technology, and our comprehensive tools to improve transaction security and fraud protection.

In November, the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority (KNF) issued a public warning regarding Foris DAX MT, the Maltese company operating under the Crypto.com brand, citing concerns about unauthorized financial activities in Poland.

Although this alert does not constitute an outright ban, it serves to warn Polish investors about the potential risks associated with the platform.

According to the KNF, brokerage or brokerage companies investment services in Poland must hold appropriate licenses under Polish law, in particular under Article 178 of the Law on Trading in Financial Instruments. The KNF has informed the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office of potential violations by Crypto.com’s operational entity, Foris DAX MT.

Tomek Kolodziejczuk, a Bitcoin advocate in Poland, clarified that while the alert is noteworthy, Crypto.com has not been blacklisted. A spokesperson for Crypto.com said the company was working with legal counsel to address any regulatory concerns raised by the KNF.