Coinbase customers in Europe and Australia can now buy e-gift cards for some of the top brands worldwide using cryptos withdrawn from the exchange.
Coinbase customers in Australia and some European countries can now send e-gift cards using cryptocurrencies.
The crypto exchange has announced in a blogpost its partnership with voucher transaction platform WeGift. The deal would allow Coinbase wallet holders to buy e-gift cards from several retailers using any of the four crypto coins supported by the wallet: Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
The post claimed that the partnership makes Coinbase the first to provide the option of converting direct crypto withdrawals into e-gift cards.
Purchasing digital vouchers using crypto would be a breeze for Coinbase customers as WeGift allows for instant purchase and delivery of e-gift cards. In addition, buyers can enjoy zero withdrawal fees from Coinbase and get bonuses on a number of vouchers.
WeGift offers some of the top brands in the fashion, high street, home and leisure, and experiences sectors. Included in those brands are sportswear giant Nike, mobile app store Google Play, and ride-sharing company Uber, among others.
Zeeshan Feroz, CEO at Coinbase UK, wrote:
“Making crypto easier to use, trade and spend is a core part of our efforts to improve customer experience. With the launch of e-gift cards, customers now have the option to spend their crypto balances, realising its value to buy tangible things or experiences.”
Coinbase’s offer is only available to wallet owners in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Australia. However, customers can expect the coverage to expand over the next three months.
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Successful Second Quarter
The partnership with WeGift aims to continue the success Coinbase achieved during the second quarter of this year. In a separate blogpost, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has shared some of the exchange’s accomplishments in the past three months.
He said that the company has expanded in terms of workforce and reach. New hires filled up more than 60 new positions, including one for the VP of Financial Planning and Analysis. Moreover, Coinbase oversaw the opening of two new offices in Chicago and Portland.
In Q2, Coinbase has acquired four companies, namely Earn.com, Cipher Browser, Paradex, and Keystone. In addition, Armstrong shared that the company has invested in 12 crypto-related businesses—including Etherscan, Rarebits, and Unlock Protocol—to help speed up innovation.
He also wrote about four new and adapted business units launched in the same quarter. Some of these are the recently developed Coinbase Index Fund and Coinbase Custody, which were marketed as helpful tools for any kind of investor. In addition, Coinbase’s GDAX was split into Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Prime for active traders and institutional investors, respectively.
Armstrong, also the co-founder of Coinbase, wrote:
“We’re all about efficient execution! So it makes sense that we’ve moved so fast, and completed so much… [This] is a great quarter to start, because we accomplished a ton in Q2 2018. WE’re on the right path, doing the right work. I hope you’ll take a moment this weekend to reflect on the past quarter and all that we’ve accomplished.”
Coinbase reportedly posted US$1 billion in revenue in 2017. The company’s Coinbase Pro stands at rank 18 in terms of daily trading volume based on CoinMarketCap.
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