Bitcoin Debit Cards Hit Europe, Asia Coming Soon

Bitcoin wallet and card company Wirex has officially launched Bitcoin debit cards in Europe. The new plastic Visa cards allow users to convert Bitcoin to pay in multiple currencies like GBP, EUR and USD.

“Wirex is the only provider in Europe right now to offer crypto, converted into fiat for everyday spending on cards,” says Wirex CEO Pavel Matveev.

“Transactions in stores, buying goods online or withdrawing money from ATMs just got much easier. We were the first to bring such cards to the world and now we’re the first to bring converted cryptocurrency accounts with new contactless debit cards.”

Wirex says it currently has about 1.5 million customers around the world, and plans to bring its crypto debit cards to the Asian market soon. The roll out is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2018, beginning in Japan and Southeast Asia.

The news comes after a big setback with Visa payment processors in January.

That’s when major Bitcoin debit card providers like Wirex, TenX and Bitwala were abruptly informed by Visa card issuer Wavecrest that all operations had been canceled immediately.