Coinbase might be experiencing a slide in download numbers and new user registrations, but this isn’t slowing down one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges. Acquisitions have been on the menu since the turn of the year, with Coinbase buying Earn.com and expanding into Japan. However, Coinbase is growing in other departments too, with the company entering the emerging crypto voucher market. Customers will now be able to buy Coinbase branded vouchers with crypto, which will let them spend digital cash at several different retailers and service providers.
WeGift and Coinbase Come Together
The news was announced via an official Coinbase blog post, where it was revealed that the new e-certificate product line has come about thanks to a new partnership with UK-based company WeGift. This move will allow Coinbase users to spend cryptocurrency in a more conventional way, albeit through a slightly long-winded process. “Starting today, Coinbase customers in the EU and Australia are able to instantly spend their cryptocurrency balances on e-gift cards, making us the first trading platform to offer direct withdrawals into e-gift cards,” said Coinbase within an official announcement.
Europe, Australia and Potentially Beyond
The initial rollout will see the gift card service made available in Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. Coinbase has made it clear that both market and retailer expansion is in the pipeline, with these plans set to materialize in the “next three months.” It’s clear from this that Coinbase is simply dipping its toe in the water at this point, so user uptake will be telling in the initial weeks post-launch.
The Crypto Voucher Market Grows!
Cryptocurrency acceptance is still low amongst mainstream retailers – with some brands even going as far as to remove Bitcoin as a payment option. Expedia – the travel booking giant – recently made this decision in the wake of Bitcoin’s price dip. However, if you look elsewhere, the retail acceptance level of Bitcoin is slowly growing. Coinbase best be ready though, as it’s entering a competitive marketplace, with Bitrefill already having made a splash with its own line of crypto vouchers.
