BitPay launches Bitcoin prepaid Visa card in 131 new countries

Thus, the Visa-branded offering enables users to top up BitPay Cards with dollars using cryptocurrency, which can then be spent as euros, British pounds or US dollars at merchants around the globe. In terms of fees, users have to pay the associated Bitcoin network transaction fee to load the card.

Founded in 2011, BitPay is one of the longest-operating Bitcoin startups, having raised just over USD 30 million in three public funding rounds, according to CoinDesk. So far, the company reports that 15,000 cards from its domestic product, unveiled in 2016, have been ordered. Furthermore, BitPay has seen growing demand for an international version of the offering since then.