BIT-X, a relatively new but very popular cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the official release of its Bitcoin Debit MasterCard™.

The BIT-X MasterCard™ can be used to shop online, pay for goods and services, and withdraw cash at ATMs worldwide using any of a user’s balances in the form of BTC, LTC, USD, EUR or GBP. It can also be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted: online, at ATMs and in POS (Point of Sale) locations.

Although cards are denominated in USD and EUR, the balance can be stored in the user’s BIT-X account in the form of BTC, which will be converted upon payment. Currently, there is only one other service that offers this: Xapo, a company which also provides insured bitcoin wallet services. However, Xapo’s debit cards are currently under beta testing and only provided to a limited amount of participants.

To acquire a BIT-X Bitcoin Debit MasterCard™, no identity verification is required. Interested users only have to sign up on BIT-X, and he/she can immediately order a card. To have higher limits on spending and on ATM withdrawals, the user only needs to verify their email, and for even higher limits, then identity verification is required.

Verification levels and limits can be found here:

There is no need to manually fund cards for each use as funds are situated directly in a user’s BIT-X wallet. Once the card is used, Bitcoins are exchanged. These funds are not exchanged before hand, not after but at the time of the transaction, at the current market exchange rate. This means that users no longer have to worry about the volatile exchange rate, and no fear about converting the bitcoins and then having the price rise.

“It’s a great thing for users to have on them for everyday purchases. Funds are converted on the spot, straight out of their Bit-X Bitcoin wallets. Bitcoin can now be spent everywhere without worrying about price volatility! Members of the community wanted the ability to spend their Bitcoins worldwide so we gave them the Bit-X Crypto MasterCard™.” -Marco, Head of Public Relations at BIT-X.

About BIT-X

Founded in late 2014, BIT-X is a licensed crypto-currency and hashpower trading platform, which provides two-factor authentication and multisig wallets to protect user’s funds. It is also only one of the few exchanges that offers credit card deposits and PayPal withdrawals.