Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange and custodian founded by the Winklevoss brothers, has launched the Gemini Credit Card offering cryptocurrency rewards.
- The company said the introduction of the credit card has been accelerated with the acquisition of the fintech startup Blockrize and will be made available to U.S. citizens in all states.
- According to Gemini, the card will work like a traditional card and will be widely accepted where major cards are accepted and the rewards will be automatically deposited into a cardholder’s Gemini account.
- Using the Blockrize rewards program, cardholders will be able to earn up to 3% back in bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies, on every purchase they make with the Gemini Credit Card, said the firm.
- Gemini said it has opened the Gemini Credit Card waitlist which allows its current customers, and those already on the Blockrize waitlist, with early access to the credit card.
- "The Gemini Credit Card will make it easier for any consumer to invest in bitcoin and other cryptos without changing their existing behavior, “ said Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini.
- In December, cryptocurrency lender BlockFi announced it will launch its rewards credit card in the first quarter of this year calling it the first of its kind in an industry that is already saturated with bitcoin reward debit cards.
- Gemini’s acquisition of Blockrize is the firm’s second acquisition, following its acquisition of Nifty Gateway in November 2019.
- The Nifty Gateway uses the Gemini infrastructure on the backend for a dollar-exchange platform allowing users to buy non-fungible token (NFTs) with credit cards and cash out directly to their bank accounts when they sell.
- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are longtime cryptocurrency investors and the co-founders of Gemini, an exchange that gives users the ability to buy, sell, and store digital assets.