Gemini to offer a credit card with crypto-back rewards

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced the launch of a credit card with crypto rewards.

According to a Jan. 14 announcement, Gemini will launch the Gemini Credit Card after acquiring Blockrize, a fintech startup that has been building a credit card with cryptocurrency rewards.

“The Gemini Credit Card will make it easier for any consumer to invest in Bitcoin and other cryptos without changing their existing behavior,” the New York-based exchange’s CEO Tyler Winklevoss said. “Rather than deciding how and when to buy crypto, customers can do so when making their everyday purchases.” 

Card users will be earn up to 3% back in Bitcoin or other crypto assets on every purchase they make with the card.

The goal, Winklevoss added, is to “redefine the credit card experience.”

Gemini plans to launch its credit card later this year and has opened the Gemini Credit Card waitlist to provide its customers with early access.

The Gemini Credit Card will work like a traditional credit card, will be available to United States residents in every state, and will be widely accepted wherever major cards are accepted. The rewards earned by cardholders will be directly credited to their linked Gemini cryptocurrency exchange account.

There have been cards—usually debit cards—with some cryptocurrency features on the market for some time, and recently major players in the cryptocurrency industry started to release their own. As Modern Consensus reported in early November last year, Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange Paxful launched a crypto asset-based debit card with its partner BlockCard to allow its users to spend cryptocurrency anywhere.

And in February 2020, U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase was given permission by Visa to issue cards to its customers directly, which reduces intermediaries and lowers costs. At the end of last year’s November, Coinbase launched the card as a new product allowing its customers to spend crypto assets anywhere with up to 4% of cashback.