On Wednesday (October 28), crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of Coinbase Card (its crypto debit card) in the U.S.

Coinbase first introduced Coinbase Card — a new Visa debit card that allows Coinbase customers to easily spend any of the crypto balances in their Coinbase account for paying for goods/services anywhere that Visa is accepted or for making cash withdrawals from ATMs — on 11 April 2019.

Here were the two main ideas:

  • It is possible spend any cryptocurrency that is supported by Coinbase.com in the jurisdiction that you live in (as long as you have a non-zero balance in the wallet for that cryptocurrency in your Coinbase.com account).
  • When you wish to use your Coinbase Card, to pay for something or to get a cash withdrawal from an ATM, you need to use the Coinbase Card app to select which crypto wallet in your Coinbase.com account is to be used for that transaction, at which Coinbase will then perform an automatic conversion from that cryptocurrency to fiat currency.

Initially, Coinbase Card was only available in the UK. Then, on 12 June 2019, the Coinbase Card was launched in the European Union (EU).

Well, yesterday, Coinbase published a blog post, in which it said that it is now possible for its customers in the U.S. to “join the waitlist” for Coinbase Card.

What makes this launch different from previous launches of Coinbase Card in the UK and the EU is that this time Coinbase initially is offering up to 4% crypto “cashback” — 1% if you spend Bitcoin (BTC) and 4% if you spend Stellar (XLM).

Coinbase says that “eligible” customer ca apply either by using the Coinbase app or on the web and that “the first customers will be approved this winter.” Once approved, customers can spend their crypto “with a virtual card right away” within two weeks will receive by mail a physical card.

It is worth noting that there is a 2.49% transaction fee (unless you are spending one of the fiat-backed stablecoins supported by Coinbase, which incidentally is something that only U.S. customers can do) and a $2,500 daily spending limit.

Currently, Coinbase Card is available in almost 30 countries.