Coinbase Card: A crypto rewards debit card that hints at greater depository ambitions

In The Block's 2020 Research Outlook, the rise of 'crypto rewards cards' was one of a handful of thematic trends presented to watch for in 2020, with the expectation for both BlockFi and Fold to launch respective bitcoin credit, and bitcoin debit card rewards, respectively.

Now 10 months into the year, neither company has officially launched their respective card products. For BlockFi, specifically, the company told The Block in May that standing up the backend of a credit card program required the need to connect to a few partners to help with processing and servicing, not to mention work around marketing and designing the rewards program — some of these partners reportedly were slowed down a bit this year due to the pandemic. According to BlockFi CEO, Zac Prince, the company is set to launch an initial "pre-launch" batch of cards into the end of the year for employees and strategic clients, while the full card launch is slated for 2021.