Leading self-custodial wallet MetaMask has made its debit card available to users in the United States through a limited pilot program. For now, only a few select users can access the card, and a date for the full release to the public has yet to be announced.
The project shared the news via an announcement on its X account. Part of the post read, “Today we’re kicking off a limited pilot program in the United States where some of you will get your hands on MetaMask Card and try it out before it goes to a wider release.”
Metamast tests the US markets
The soft launch in the US is a precursor to a full-scale launch. Currently, the MetaMask card is only available to select areas in the US, with users in New York and Vermont not making the list.
The MetaMask team went on to urge users who were not accepted into the pilot program to apply to join the waitlist.
Users of MetaMask and other self-custodial wallets face the challenge of using their crypto funds to make payments for common goods and services directly without having to move these funds to centralized wallets or banks. The MetaMask card could be a game-changer in allowing crypto holders to easily complete transactions in real-time without first converting or transferring their crypto funds.
According to Lorenzo Santos, senior product manager at Consensys, the parent company behind MetaMask, “MetaMask Card represents a major step to removing the friction that has existed between the blockchain and traditional payments. This is a paradigm shift that offers the best of both worlds.”
He also added that the card pilot program gives people the freedom to spend crypto.
The MetaMask card allows direct spending from self-custodial wallets
To get the card, users have to first check their eligibility on their MetaMask portfolios before registering for the digital card. Once they go through these steps, they can then set it up as a payment method on their mobile devices as it can be integrated into Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Funds that users can spend directly from the card include cryptos such as USDC, USDT, and WETH on the Linea network. They can also set spending limits for their card.
The card launched in August of this year, and it allows users to spend the crypto they hold on MetaMask anywhere. This means that a MetaMask cardholder can use their card to make payments in fiat currency anywhere a Mastercard is accepted, thanks to their partnership with Mastercard and Baanx.
At the time of its initial launch, the card was available in Europe and the UK, with the promise to roll it out in other locations. So far, the card is now operational in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Columbia.
According to the partners, the card joins the Web2 world to Web3, by leveraging Mastercard’s merchant network, MetaMask’s security, the efficiency of the Linea network, and the depth of experience Baanx brings in building financial technologies and cards in the Web3 space.
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