In a blog post on April 10th, Coinbase announced the release of their new product, COINBASE Card, for customers in the UK and EU. This Visa card allows users to spend their Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies available in your Coinbase wallets. For good or for bad, the end user will not be receiving the crypto because, at time of sale, the crypto is converted into the local fiat currency.
In addition to the card, they have also released the Coinbase Card app. This allows users to select which cryptocurrencies are used to fund their spending. This means that you have the option to pay your dinner’s bill in Ethereum and pay for the taxi home with Litecoin.
Because this card is a VISA card, it is accepted everywhere VISA is accepted. This means that you can choose to pay for items with cryptocurrency the exact same way you are paying for the items with your normal credit/debit card.
This is a good thing for crypto. Cashiers will want to know what Coinbase is when they see the card, thus exposing them to crypto but the stores won’t actually be receiving the crypto.
