Coinbase Partners with American Express for 4% BTC Cashback Card

Coinbase, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its plans to launch a new credit card in partnership with American Express. The Coinbase One Card will offer users the unique benefit of earning up to 4% in bitcoin (BTC) cashback on their purchases. This initiative aligns with a broader trend in the crypto industry, where exchanges are increasingly introducing payment cards to facilitate the spending of digital asset holdings for everyday transactions.

The Coinbase One Card is set to provide additional perks beyond the 4% BTC cashback. Users can also expect boosted rewards on USDC stablecoin holdings and enhanced staking rewards and transaction credits on Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network developed by Coinbase. The card's rollout is anticipated for this fall, marking a significant step in integrating cryptocurrency into daily financial activities.

This move by Coinbase is part of a larger strategy to expand its services and offerings. The announcement coincided with Coinbase's State of Crypto Summit event in New York, where the exchange hinted at its plans to bring perpetual futures trading to the U.S. market. Currently, perpetual futures trading is available only to non-U.S. users on Coinbase Advance. However, the exchange has been working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to make "perpetual-style futures contracts" accessible to U.S. users, as mentioned in an earlier blog post.

Coinbase's partnership with American Express is not the first foray into the crypto space for the financial giant. In 2022, American Express issued a credit card offering crypto rewards in collaboration with Abra. This latest venture with Coinbase further solidifies American Express's commitment to integrating cryptocurrency into its financial services.

As more crypto platforms and exchanges introduce payment cards, the trend of enabling users to spend their blockchain-based tokens for everyday purchases is gaining momentum. For instance, self-custodial wallet MetaMask launched its debit card last year, and Mastercard announced plans in April to introduce debit cards in partnership with crypto exchanges OKX and Kraken. These developments indicate a growing acceptance and integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream financial services, providing users with more flexible and convenient ways to utilize their digital assets.