Coinbase Just Debuted the First Bitcoin Debit Card in the ...

Coinbase Just Debuted the First Bitcoin Debit Card in the US | WIRED - http://www.wired.com/2015/11/coinbase-unveils-countrys-first-bitcoin-debit-card/

That's good news for this decidedly democratic money system, a system controlled not by big governments and big banks and big credit card companies but by a vast network of computers set up by users around the world.
The rub is that relatively few people and businesses are using bitcoin to actually buy and sell stuff--or send money to friends and family or transfer money across international borders or handle any of the other financial tasks that bitcoin promises to streamline in the years to come.
According to Coinbase, the Silicon Valley startup that operates digital bitcoin wallets for over 2.8 million people across the globe, about 20 percent of the transactions on its network involve payments or other tasks where bitcoin is used as a currency.
That 20 percent figure is actually much higher than in previous years, but Coinbase hopes to push it higher still.
A mainstream debit card based on bitcoin is a key element."
According to Coinbase, the card has been approved for use by anyone living in one of 25 US states, including Texas, Washington, and New Jersey.
For bitcoin companies like Coinbase, regulatory approval is often a complicated undertaking.
The new debit card is available to anyone with a Coinbase account.
"It only helps bitcoin adoption," Gibson Dunn lawyer Steiner says of the card.
The knock-on effect is potentially even more powerful.
Buy Shift spokesperson Meg Nakamura says that VISA backs the project.
As it stands, relatively few consumers have adopted bitcoin because few merchants accept it.
As Steiner says: "What this does is cut merchant adoption from the technology."
Still, why would new users adopt this bitcoin card rather than just stick with standard debit and credit cards?
For most people, that's still a ways away.
Plus, bitcoin provides a far easier means of moving money across borders, from one country to another.
Some fear that bitcoin makes the movement of money too easy--especially because people can move the digital currency anonymously.
The new Coinbase card alleviates the concern over anonymity.
Update: This story originally stated that Coinbase said it has received explicitly approval from 25 states to offer its bitcoin debit card.
Update: Coinbase also says it has now rescinded its offer to refund insurance feeds.





















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