Coinbase launches debit card in the UK to pay by crypto

Retailers themselves would not take payments in cryptocurrency, Feroz said.

Instead, Coinbase charges users a modest fee of around 2.5% to convert cash, such as the pound sterling, into cryptocurrency, such as etheric.

Users can choose the cryptographic wallet that they wish to use for payment via a new Coinbase Card application, the company announced. The amount of the selected cryptocurrency would then be removed from the customer's Coinbase account.

"We have tried to keep the rates as competitive as possible," said Feroz.

Coinbase said it has an electronic money license in the UK to allow payments. Feroz added that the company was also seeking a European e-money license and was hoping to expand to other European countries by mid-April. Last year, the group opened an office in Dublin as part of an emergency plan for Brexit.