Mumbai, Aug 26: Mastercard (MA.N) and crypto exchange Binance will end their four crypto card programmes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Bahrain as of Sept. 22, a spokesperson for Mastercard said via email on Thursday. The crypto card programmes allow users to make payments in traditional currencies, funded by their cryptocurrency holdings on the exchange. Mastercard’s website also lists partnerships with crypto exchanges including Gemini. The decision will not impact any of Mastercard’s other crypto card programmes, the spokesperson said. Binance is facing legal and regulatory challenges. U.S. regulators sued the crypto exchange and its CEO Changpeng Zhao in June for allegedly operating a “web of deception.” Binance has said it would defend itself “vigorously.” Mastercard’s head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan, told Reuters in April that the company was seeking more partnerships with crypto firms. He declined to comment on Binance specifically, but said any card programme “goes through full due diligence” and is continuously monitored. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday took aim at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC accuses Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao of operating a “web of deception”. If successful, the lawsuits could transform the crypto market by successfully asserting the SEC’s jurisdiction over the industry which for years has argued that tokens do not constitute securities and should not be regulated by the SEC.Mumbai, Aug 26: Mastercard (MA.N) and crypto exchange Binance will end their four crypto card programmes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Bahrain as of Sept. 22, a spokesperson for Mastercard said via email on Thursday. The crypto card programmes allow users to make payments in traditional currencies, funded by their cryptocurrency holdings on the exchange. Mastercard’s website also lists partnerships with crypto exchanges including Gemini. The decision will not impact any of Mastercard’s other crypto card programmes, the spokesperson said. Binance is facing legal and regulatory challenges. U.S. regulators sued the crypto exchange and its CEO Changpeng Zhao in June for allegedly operating a “web of deception.” Binance has said it would defend itself “vigorously.” Mastercard’s head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan, told Reuters in April that the company was seeking more partnerships with crypto firms. He declined to comment on Binance specifically, but said any card programme “goes through full due diligence” and is continuously monitored. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday took aim at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC accuses Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao of operating a “web of deception”. If successful, the lawsuits could transform the crypto market by successfully asserting the SEC’s jurisdiction over the industry which for years has argued that tokens do not constitute securities and should not be regulated by the SEC.