Crypto Rewards Go Mainstream with the Launch of an Amex-Backed Credit Card from Coinbase

Coinbase is launching a brand-new card on the American Express network and it is letting users earn cryptocurrency rewards on everyday spend and control their activity directly from within the Coinbase app.

The partnership signals mainstream financial institutions are embracing cryptocurrency, legitimizing crypto rewards as a competitive offering alongside traditional points and miles.

The newly announced Coinbase One Card isn’t Coinbase’s first card, but it’s the first to work as a true credit card instead of as a debit card. It is also American Express’ first foray directly into a crypto credit card.

In early 2022, Amex announced it was partnering on a crypto card with Abra, but it never went forward. Now it’s partnering with Coinbase, the world’s third largest crypto exchange by volume, so Amex appears ready to try again.

“In today’s world, we see real potential in the combination of Coinbase and crypto with the Powerful Backing of American Express, and what the card offers is an excellent mix of what customers are looking for right now,” said Will Stredwick, SVP, Global Network Services at American Express.

The Coinbase One Card becomes available to users who sign up for Coinbase One, a $29.99-per-month subscription product from the company.

Membership offers cheaper transaction fees, improved customer support, and, starting today, access to the new card. Coinbase hasn’t yet said which cryptocurrencies users can earn or how much they’ll get back, but rewards are evidently an incentive.

Other major card networks have already tried crypto rewards themselves.

Mastercard partnered with Gemini and Nexo to bring similar products to market. Visa once had a Coinbase-linked debit card, too, although it pulled out of some regions.

The reason this is notable is American Express is offering bonafide credit rather than simply crypto-enabled spending.

Coinbase is still tangled up with the SEC regarding how it treats some digital assets. All of this makes such an alliance with Amex interesting.

Despite regulatory uncertainty, Coinbase continues to defend crypto on its journey to becoming an everyday component of consumer finance.

Coinbase also characterized the new card for users looking to pay with credit and also get rewarded with cryptocurrency. It’s an onboarding for users already familiar with this novel form of payment but still requiring a credit card.

It’s not cryptocurrency speculation for American Express. It’s being ahead of the curve when customers increasingly seek new ways of managing money. Offering a crypto rewards card is a means for Amex to experiment with digital finance without moving too far from what it already does — credit.

This could be a model for other networks to follow. The fact that Amex, considered the most conservative of all major networks, is taking the initiative can serve to set an example for other alliances to follow.

It is only available so far to Coinbase One members on a wait list and can become available later on a demand and regulation basis. Much of it also has to do with how competitive it is to use the rewards, benefits against comparable cards, and how it manages crypto price volatility.

It won’t change everything in the long run, no. But it does mean crypto and credit are beginning to combine in some pretty major ways — and players like Amex are finally entering the scene.