Peer-to-peer crypto marketplace Paxful today announced a partnership with crypto exchange Binance. Binance will integrate Paxful’s web-based “Virtual Bitcoin Kiosk,” meaning Binance’s customers will be able to buy crypto from Paxful’s marketplace using over 167 fiat currencies.

Binance’s integration will also let its customers make payments from Paxful. On Paxful, crypto can be bought using hundreds of different payment methods, including gift cards for the music streaming service, Spotify, and vouchers for the American restaurant chain, Applebees. This introduces new ways that people will be able to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on Binance.



"Paxful was built for the unbanked and underbanked. This integration with Binance is fulfilling that mission as users that don't have access to traditional financial services can finally have access to a leading cryptocurrency exchange to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies," Ray Youssef, CEO and co-founder of Paxful told Decrypt.

The integration will provide customers from regions relatively inaccessible to crypto, like Nigeria, to Binance. More than 45 percent of Paxful’s user base is from Africa, and it’s growing rapidly. Paxful reached over 15 million trades in the USA, Nigeria, and Ghana over the past year, a 65 percent increase from last year.

“[Today’s announcement] marks a significant partnership between a crypto exchange and peer-to-peer platform where a new pool of users will have access to alternative fiat payment methods available on Paxful, including local currency bank transfers and some of the world’s most popular digital wallets,” said Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, in a press release.

The cooperation between giants is a major step for the cryptocurrency industry. Paxful traded nearly $30 million in peer-to-peer bitcoin trades in November, and Binance’s daily trading volume for Bitcoin futures peaked at $2.2 billion. And this time, let’s hope the partnership is real.