Coinbase Expands Its Cryptocurrency Debit Card To 6 More European Markets

Coinbase, a California-based digital currency exchange platform, has reached out to six more European countries with its cryptocurrency debit card. The debit card can now be availed by customers in Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and France. It's actually a Visa debit card that allows users to make purchases with bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum.

Reports said Coinbase, valued at $8 billion, also offers the card through a mobile app that syncs directly with the exchange’s accounts. “It is also available as a physical contactless card that can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs,” reports said. Users have the option of utilizing whichever cryptocurrency they like to use and make payment through the mobile app. Customers can also take advantage of Coinbase’s service of converting fiat money, like a dollar or a euro, into any digital currency.

The exchange’s U.K. CEO Zeeshan Feroz told CNBC that their goal is to make payments with digital currencies as seamless as paying with cash. “You can buy groceries on bitcoin and then coffee on litecoin right after,” he said.

Since its launch in the U.K. in mid-April, Feroz said the card has seen "extremely strong take-up." He said the company blew past the initial 1,000 cards it offered users for free. Coinbase wants to further expand the card into other markets and is looking for the right banking partners.

With a growing number of people interested in cryptocurrency, banks, start-ups and tech companies are also trying to make crypto payments and trading accessible to users.