Perhaps even more importantly though, the principal membership makes Coinbase the first cryptocurrency company with the power to issue debit cards for others, including other cryptocurrency companies and more traditional firms alike. Visa confirmed it granted Coinbase the principal membership, clarifying that the company itself won’t actually accept cryptocurrency when the project goes live later this year.
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By simplifying the process of spending cryptocurrency anywhere Visa is accepted, the membership also lays the foundation for a potential explosion of cryptocurrency being used to buy everyday items, regardless of whether the merchant itself accepts cryptocurrency.
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“Your Bitcoin holdings have never been liquid because you have to sell them, you have to go through a process, withdraw the money, and then spend it. It's never been an instant, "Oh, I'll buy this cup of coffee with bitcoin," says Zeeshan Feroz, CEO of Coinbase UK, which received the membership. “What the card is trying to change is the mindset that crypto is tucked away, takes two days to access, and can actually now be spent in real time.”
<...> the card that automates the conversion of cryptocurrency into whatever currency the merchant accepts will be available in 29 countries when it is first issued later this year, including Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K. The Coinbase Visa debit card will not be available to U.S. residents.
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