Now, major bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has teamed up with global payments processor Visa to try to change that, launching the Coinbase Card which allows users to “spend crypto as effortlessly as the money in their bank.”
This is the first debit card to link directly with a major cryptocurrency exchange, allowing people to spend their crypto balances direct from their Coinbase account,” Coinbase said in a statement, announcing the launch of the card. “Previously available crypto cards required users to pre-load a specified amount of crypto onto their card, adding a point of friction to the process.”
The Coinbase Card is currently only available in the U.K. but the San Francisco-based exchange, which was valued at $8 billion in October, plans to roll out support in other European countries in the “oncoming months.” There are no plans yet for support outside of Europe.
Apto Payments, previously known as Shift Payments, is providing the technology for Coinbase after discontinuing its own Shift Card, allowing U.S. Coinbase users to spend crypto from their accounts, in February.
PaySafe, a U.K. payment processor, is issuing the cards.
