Crypto Exchange Binance Invests In Payments Startup TravelbyBit

Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world in terms of its profits and by trading volume, invested $2.5 million in TravelbyBit, an Australia-based cryptocurrency payments provider for the travel industry, Business Insider Australia reported Wednesday.

Zhao Changpeng, founder and CEO of Binance, said there was no better fit than being able to use cryptocurrency when traveling, just after landing in a foreign country. “Look for TravelbyBit and put your coins (hopefully the Binance Coin or BNB) to use. Let’s start with airports and go from there,” Changpeng said.

TravelbyBit is a multi-currency payment platform and currently supports payments in bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin. Travellers would soon have the option to also use BNB for payment at TravelbyBit merchants.

Caleb Yeoh, CEO of TravelbyBit, said blockchain payments remove much of the resistance of multiple exchange rates.

“Imagine traveling with multiple stopovers and only needing a single currency. We’re working with the most innovative airports and retailers who want to offer their consumers non-traditional payment options and a chance to experience cutting-edge technology," Yeoh said, Business Insider reported.

The state government of Queensland, Australia, supported TravelbyBit with a $100,000 grant to grow the business, under its Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas Fund that supports startups and small- to medium-sized businesses in the state.

“It is great to see a local company partnering with one of the most established multinational companies in the blockchain ecosystem,” said Queensland Minister for Innovation and Tourism Kate Jones. The investment of $2.5 million would help TravelbyBit scale up its operations and create more job opportunities.

In 2018, Binance was the fastest cryptocurrency exchange to hit a valuation of $1 billion, which it did in the first six months of the year. The CEO attributed this swift rise to China’s regulatory decision of cracking down on domestic cryptocurrency trading. One of the strategies that helped the platform was, "expand anywhere, but China," Changpeng said in a recent interview with South China Morning Post.

Binance has around 10 million users, but there are few places where their cryptocurrency could be spent. For over a year now, TravelbyBit has been bringing in businesses to the cryptocurrency ecosystem for transacting and accepting payments in cryptos. The two companies have come together with an intent to push the adoption of blockchain technology around the world.

Separately, Binance is expanding on a large scale. Its CEO recently said he wanted to launch five to 10 cryptocurrency exchanges around the world by 2019, "with ideally two per continent." These exchange would support fiat-to-crypto trading services (where users can buy digital tokens with their local currencies). At present, Binance’s platform only supports trades between different cryptocurrencies.

For now, Changpeng has targeted Uganda, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Malta, and Singapore for its new trading platforms. In September, Binance and Malta Stock Exchange announced a partnership to start a new security token trading platform. This new security token trading platform would be built to offer trading of traditional equity and security tokens side-by-side on a single interface.