Cryptocurrency fans in the United States will soon have their own debit card for holiday shopping.
Coinbase on Wednesday (Oct. 28) announced it is opening up a waitlist for U.S. consumers interested in applying for its new Coinbase Card, a Visa debit card that enables users to use their Bitcoin or other crypto holdings to shop online and in stores, in addition to converting their cryptocurrencies to cash at the ATM.
The good news is that the new Coinbase Card handles all the conversions itself, exchanging whatever cryptocurrency that users have in their accounts to U.S. dollars before completing purchases or ATM withdrawals, the company said.
The new Coinbase Card also features “crypto rewards” of as much as 4 percent back in Stellar Lumens (XLM) or 1 percent back in Bitcoin (BTC), with the rewards program initially limited to the U.S.
The pending arrival of the Coinbase Card in the U.S. market comes after a global push that has seen Coinbase launch the crypto card in just under 30 countries, including the United Kingdom and across Europe.
U.S. customers can apply for the new crypto debit cards through the Coinbase app or on its website, with the first customers to be approved over the winter, the company noted in a blog post.
A virtual card will be the first to arrive — and can be used right away — followed by a physical card in roughly two weeks.
The launch of the new Coinbase Cards comes amid growing signs that cryptocurrencies are moving more into the mainstream.
“The introduction of Coinbase Card was a significant milestone in our efforts to create mainstream adoption of crypto as a genuine utility,” Coinbase noted in a blog post announcing the pending U.S. launch of its crypto card. “Today’s announcement is another step forward in the real-world applications of cryptocurrency as it enables more options for Coinbase customers in the US to utilize their holdings. We will continue to build upon our offerings to create the most seamless and useful ways to manage crypto investing and spending for our customers.”
