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Coinbase Issues Bitcoin-Based Debit Card (coinbase.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the bits-of-coin-in-bits-of-plastic dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Coinbase, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, introduced a "Shift Card" today, which is a Visa debit card that allows users to spend bitcoin wherever Visa is accepted within 24 U.S. states (other states are blocked by regulations for now). The card acts as a currency exchanger, debiting your Coinbase-controlled bitcoin wallet for an appropriate amount of bitcoins, based on market rates, while sending U.S. dollars to the merchant at the other end of the transaction. It represents a very simple way for bitcoin holders to spend it on real-world goods. That said, it'll be interesting to see how much adoption there is. If you prefer to keep full control of your bitcoin wallet, or prefer to keep your name from being attached to it, then the card probably won't work for you. It seems likely that most people who actually own bitcoins would fall into one or both of those categories.

1 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. Re:24 States by radiumsoup · · Score: 3, Informative

    careful, your bias is showing.

    From https://support.coinbase.com/c...

    Eligible States

    Alabama
    Arizona
    California*
    Delaware
    District of Columbia
    Georgia
    Idaho
    Iowa
    Kansas
    Maine
    Mississippi
    Nebraska
    Nevada
    New Jersey
    North Carolina
    North Dakota
    Oklahoma
    Pennsylvania
    Puerto Rico
    South Dakota
    Texas
    Vermont
    Washington
    West Virginia