One of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide, Coinbase, is launching a debit card for their UK users, cooperating with VISA.
The debit card will rely on users’ Coinbase accounts. For now, the debit card can be charged with Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum, as well as all of the cryptocurrencies, listed on Coinbase’s exchange.
The partnership between Coinbase and VISA gives UK users the chance to spend their cryptocurrencies just like fiat. The card is accepted worldwide, and payments can be made via contactless, PIN or chip. Users can also withdraw fiat straight from an ATM, thanks to an in-house conversion to GBP.
Coinbase also launched the Coinbase Card app for iOS and Android. The application will serve as a bridge between customer accounts and the debit card, enabling instant recharging and expenses monitoring.
In the Coinbase card app, users will also have lots of safety features like two-step transaction verification and freezing a lost/stolen card.
The exchange is also making a gift for the first 1 000 card users – no issuance fee.
Coinbase users will have an upper limit of 10,000 GBP per day in total spending, as well as 500 GBP in direct cash withdrawals.
The partnership is the first of its kind in the UK and the European Union.
Coinbase makes a bold move with the card issuance after the company has been in the crosshairs in February with the #DeleteCoinbase hashtag from the crypto community. The #DeleteCoinbase uproar in February started when Coinbase acquired Neutrino – an Italian company owned by former members of Hacking Team, a party renowned for selling sensitive personal data to oppressors.
Amid the boycott, Coinbase fired the individuals, related to Hacking Team, but some damage to Coinbase’s reputation has already been done.