Coinbase, a digital currency exchange, announced on Wednesday they will launch their Visa debit card in six additional European countries. The card, which debuted in the United Kingdom in April, allows card users who have Coinbase accounts to spend the cryptocurrencies they possess anywhere Visa is accepted.
Coinbase CEO Zeeshan Feroz told media sources that the company’s goal is for consumers to be able to spend their cryptocurrency with the same convenience with which they spend cash. Feroz says he can foresee a scenario where a consumer who purchased groceries for the week with bitcoin then heads over to a coffee shop to spend litecoin.
Individuals in Spain, Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, and Ireland will not be able to use the Coinbase card. Feroz will not give specific numbers but he says there are many more Coinbase card users in the UK than the 1,000 cards that were originally offered to consumers free of charge.
Mobile access is available with the card and an app can be used to sync with Coinbase accounts. A contactless card can also be used to withdraw funds from ATMs.
Users decide at the point of purchase which cryptocurrency they wish to use when using the mobile app to make a purchase.
Banks, tech companies, and business start-ups have been working hard to make it easier to use cryptocurrency to make payments. Binance, a rival of Coinbase, entered into a partnership with Fintech earlier in the year to make debit and credit payments available through crypto.
According to CNBC, fintech has startups in both the U.K. and United States, Revolt and Square respectively, that provide platforms for cryptocurrency trading. Facebook is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency in late June.
Coinbase is headquartered in California and is presently valued at $8 billion. Some insiders in Silicon Valley view Coinbase as a perfect example of the volatility present in cryptocurrency markets. Coinbase was forced to lay off a dozen workers from their offices in Chicago when the value of digital currencies dropped earlier this year.
Coinbase also plans to penetrate other markets with their card but first need to secure the banking partners needed to do so.
Feroz says his company is interested in all major markets including the United States.
