Blockchain.com is launching a Visa debit card in partnership with Marqeta today.The fee-free card enables users to spend their crypto balance or cash within their Blockchain.com wallet.Blockchain.com counts 50,000 sign-ups for the card from users on its waitlist.
Cryptocurrency platform Blockchain.com is making it easier for users to transact using crypto from their Blockchain.com wallet. The company has released the Blockchain.com Visa debit card today, allowing U.S. users to spend their crypto balance or cash within their Blockchain.com wallet to pay for goods and services online or in person.
The new card does not charge fees and pays a reward of 1% back in crypto for all card purchases. Facilitating the launch are Visa, which provides the payment network, and Marqeta, which powers the card issuing process. Marqeta’s Just-in-Time Funding feature is key to Blockchain.com’s card launch. It enables users to spend from their available crypto balance while settling the transaction in fiat currency in the back end.
“As one of the crypto industry’s oldest and most trusted platforms, we’re excited to roll out the natural next step to make crypto easy to use in the real world and accessible to as many people as possible,” said Blockchain.com CEO and Co-Founder Peter Smith. “This is a prime example of digital assets making their mark on the existing financial services industry, as we shape the future of (mainstream) finance.”
At launch, Blockchain.com already has 50,000 sign-ups for the card from users on its waitlist. Once the rollout of the card in the U.S. is complete, Blockchain.com will make the card available to customers in more countries starting next year.
In launching a payment card tied to its crypto wallet, Blockchain.com joins its competitor Coinbase in this effort. The company initially launched a payment card in partnership with The Shift Card in 2015. However, after the debit card company closed up shop in 2019, Coinbase unveiled its own white-labeled Visa debit card issued by Pathward in 2020.
Blockchain.com was founded in 2011 and serves as a platform for users to buy, sell, hold, and trade cryptocurrencies. With 82 million crypto wallets, the company’s 37 million users have made transactions worth over $1 trillion to-date.
Blockchain.com has raised a total of $490 million in funding, including its most recent Series D round earlier this year that valued the company at $14 billion at the time.
Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash
