Cryptocurrency wallet and infrastructure provider Ledger has unveiled a new debit card that allows users to purchase goods and services with their digital assets, potentially opening the door to wider use of cryptocurrency payment services.
The Crypto Life card, also known as the “CL,” was unveiled at the biennial Ledger Op3n conference on Thursday. The debit card is linked to Ledger Live, a desktop and mobile application that allows general ledger users to buy, exchange and bet on cryptocurrency. The CL card supports many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT).
Cardholders have the ability to instantly convert their cryptocurrency into cash for expenses, as well as obtain a credit limit by using their digital assets as collateral. The latter option gives cardholders the opportunity to use their debit card without having to sell their cryptocurrency. Users can also enter salary and choose what percentage of the income they want to convert to BTC and ETH.
The CL card will be launched in the first quarter of 2022 for users in the UK, France and Germany, followed by a US card in the second quarter.
Ledger’s entry into the debit card market follows a strategic shift to the decentralized financial market, or DeFi. The company, known for its Ledger Nano S and Nano X hardware portfolio, completed a $ 380 million private financing round in June this year, bringing its total value to $ 1.5 billion.
About it: Building a path to sustainable finance and blockchain adoption begins with payments
Payments are a highly publicized but underutilized use for the crypto-economy. However, the situation now seems to be changing slowly with major players such as Mastercard entering the crypto payment arena. Meanwhile, the provider of cryptocurrency payments BitPay recently partnered with the MetaMask browser and the wallet extension to provide a payment gateway to tens of millions of new users.
