Coinbase Debit Card now supports stablecoin DAI

Coinbase has announced today that MakerDAO’s Ethereum-based DAI has become the first stablecoin fully supported by its crypto debit card, Coinbase Card.

According to an official blog post, this new edition is primarily aimed at users who want to experience and spend cryptocurrencies without the crazy price fluctuations that typical cryptocurrencies come with. As a stablecoin, one DAI token is supposed to always be worth one US dollar, which means more certainty and confidence in its purchasing power.

Joseph-Daniel Millwood, head of growth marketing at Coinbase, previously stated that customers can “buy anything from coffee to Christmas shopping” using Coinbase Debit Card in “millions of locations worldwide” just as easy as their fiat card. This is because the Coinbase converts any cryptocurrency to fiat money, which is then spent via the VISA Coinbase Debit Card.

“Spending crypto as easily as money in your bank account is exactly what Coinbase Debit Card lets you do. But for us, it doesn’t stop there. Spending summaries, combined with our brand new monthly statements feature, make tracking your crypto spend easy,” Millwood added.

With DAI support, the card now allows users to spend 10 different cryptocurrencies—double the number of available assets at its launch in 2019—including bitcoin, ether, litecoin, XRP and others.

In November, Coinbase rolled the Coinbase Debit Card out to Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden—bringing the total number of countries supported to 29.

Other companies are currently also leveraging DAI to bridge the two worlds of decentralized and traditional finance. In August, MakerDAO, Monolith and Digix announced a new partnership that brought DAI to 31 countries throughout the entire European Economic Area. But again, it simply converts to fiat and uses that. So real adoption isn’t quite here yet.