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The first cryptocurrency card that runs on Cardano (ADA) has just been launched in South Korea. Emurgo, Cardano’s commercial development branch, has partnered with Metaps to form Metaps Plus, the platform that powers the new card.

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The card will be accepted by over 33,000 retail Korean merchants including popular Korean convenience stores like GS25 and Emart24. Emurgo CEO Ken Kodama says his company’s goal is to reach over 30 million people with the new card, available in denominations of 100 and 1,000 ADA.

Metaps Plus CEO Seungyeon Kim says,

“It’s very meaningful for us to work with ADA, with the entire team, because they were the strategically ready one…

Emurgo was the only partner ready with deep understanding into offline payment integration and strategic focus to provide a practical application for cryptocurrencies. We plan to develop this product further to ensure we have solid use cases for broader offline adoption with Korean online and offline merchants.”

Kodama says mainstream products like the card are a step towards mass adoption.

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“People will be able to make purchases via mobile app, but there is even more than that. Now with the ability to charge ADA onto a crypto card, people in Korea will be able to take their ADA and physically hold it in their hands and use it in their daily life. My hope is to see this develop into the widespread adoption of this new method of payment.”

The team at Emurgo has been trying to spread adoption across the world, teaming up with several other blockchain companies to form Blockchain for Europe, an association designed to “create smart regulation to shape the global agenda on blockchain.”