Coinbase receives Visa principal membership to offer more features for its debit card

Coinbase has now become a Visa principal member, a move that will allow the crypto exchange to offer more features for its debit card.

Announcing the news on Wednesday, Coinbase said it is the "first pure-play cryptocurrency company" to receive Visa membership.

Principal members of Visa are financial institutions that are reportedly authorized to act as “issuing bank,” meaning they could issue cards and provide transaction processing services. It remains unclear how Coinbase plans to utilize the membership and what specific features it will offer. The Block has reached out to the exchange and will update this story if we hear back.

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Coinbase has been working with Visa since early last year when it launched its Coinbase Card in the U.K. The debit card allows users to spend their crypto funds as cash where Visa is accepted.

Coinbase Card currently supports 10 coins, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), XRP and DAI, and is available in 29 markets. Notably, it is not available in the U.S. 

“This membership will enable us to offer more features for Coinbase Card customers; from additional services to support in more markets — all elements that will help to evolve and enrich the cryptocurrency payment experience,” per the announcement. 

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.