Share this article
Coinbase Becomes First 'Pure' Crypto Firm Approved as Visa Principal Member
The San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange will have the power to issue payment cards thanks to its new status.
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:06 a.m. Published Feb 19, 2020, 11:30 a.m.
Coinbase, the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange, has been made a Visa principal member.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Announcing the news on its blog Wednesday, the firm said the news marks it as the "first pure-play crypto company" to be approved by the credit card giant.
Coinbase has been working with Visa since 2019 when it launched its Coinbase Card in the UK. The debit card allows users to spend cryptocurrency as cash anywhere Visa is accepted. The card has since been made available in 29 markets with 10 cryptocurrencies supported.
Principal members of Visa are financial institutions authorized to issue some types of payment cards. In theory, Coinbase could issue cards to other crypto companies, though it's not clear if it plans to use that power immediately.
Discussing the Visa approval, Coinbase said that "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."
According to Forbes, the status was granted to Coinbase in December but has just been announced.
More For You
알아야 할 것:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
French Banking Giant BPCE to Roll Out Crypto Trading for 2M Retail Clients
The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq.
알아야 할 것:
- French banking group BPCE will start offering crypto trading services to 2 million retail customers through its Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne apps, with plans to expand to 12 million customers by 2026.
- The service will allow customers to buy and sell BTC, ETH, SOL, and USDC through a separate digital asset account managed by Hexarq, with a €2.99 monthly fee and 1.5% transaction commission.
- The move follows similar initiatives by other European banks, such as BBVA, Santander, and Raiffeisen Bank, which have already started offering crypto trading services to their customers.
Top Stories
