Bitcoin may be the future of digital money, but it has a big problem here in the United States: why use it to buy anything when millions of merchants already accept debit and credit cards?Today, if you want to buy a bottle of lemonade with bitcoins, you need to scan a QR code with your phone or email a long bitcoin address to the seller.For most people, buying with bitcoins just isn't as easy as Visa or MasterCard.>"You just have one card that you can use everywhere without restrictions."But that's set to change in the next two months.Xapo, a company that offers online bitcoin wallets, says it's two months away from introducing the first debit card that will let you spend your bitcoins at any place that takes Visa or MasterCard.It's a sign of bitcoin's growing maturity, and a look at how the digital currency is slowly integrating with the mainstream financial services industry, thanks to a raft of venture-backed bitcoin startups that are now coming online.There are a few other companies that offer prepaid bitcoin cards, but some of them have a fly-by-night feel.

Xapo, it seems, is the first to really link your online bitcoin wallet to a card, and–backed by $20 million in VC funding–it's on far firmer footing.Unlike others, it also operates out of the United States–though it's incorporated in Hong Kong.Here's how it works.Xapo, a bitcoin wallet provider, is in the process of becoming a debit card issuer on one of the major credit card networks.That means that, like your bank, Xapo, can issue you a debit card number and expiration date.You get the card number for free.If you want them to send you some plastic so you can gas up or buy beer at a corner store with your bitcoins, then they'll charge you $15.When you use the Xapo card, the credit card number checks in with Xapo, which approves or declines the transaction, depending on how much bitcoin you have in your wallet.It then sells the bitcoin on the Bitstamp exchange and pays out the merchants just like any other card issuer."Youjust have one card that you can use everywhere without restrictions," says Wences Casares, Xapo's founder and a veteran of the digital payment space.You can already buy prepaid gift cards using bitcoin thanks to a company called Gyft.

But Gyft's cards only work with specific merchants–Amazon or Target or Dell, for example.That's because the regulations covering cards such as MasterCard or Visa (known as "open loop" cards in the payment industry) are much more onerous than the gift card rules, says Vinny Lingham, Gyft's CEO.Gyft is a peer-to-peer gifting service that "cannot guarantee that open loop cards would not be used by international people accessing our website," Lingham says.bitcoin wechat group"[I]t's not worth the risk to offer these cards, knowing we could not, with 100% certainty, comply with the laws."Xapobitcoin voucher code freelaw by requiring its customers to provide proof of residency and identification before they can open an account.bitcoin office in delhi

Casares says that his company isn't sure yet which payment network the Xapo card will use, but the company is testing MasterCard, Visa and Discover."I think it's most likely MasterCard, but there's still a chance that it will be another," he says.You can sign up for the Xapo Card now on the company's web page.ethereum mist clientWe are working hard to make # easy to understand, acquire and use!bitcoin ke paypalLet us know what you think!See allXapoThe Xapo debit card can now be ordered in more than 100 countries.ethereum criptomonedaOrders yours today and start spending bitcoins at any merchant that accepts Visa!bitcoin wallet script/campaign/debit/Do you have bitcoins?Learn MoreXapoXapo joins in with industry leaders to support BIP101Xapo joins in with industry leaders to support BIP101XapoToday, Xapo is proud to announce the three new leaders of its Board of Advisors: Dee Hock (founder of Visa), John Reed (former Chairman & CEO of Citibank) and Lawrence H. Summers (former U.S.poker et bitcoin

Secretary of Treasury).Announcing Xapo's Advisory BoardXapoBitcoin core developer Gavin Andresen has proposed increasing block size, and the news is getting a lot of attention.Mike Hearn from Medium explains the history of how we came to have our current 1MB block size, and why Satoshi never intended for it to remain that way.The capacity cliffXapoOn the heels of Xapo announcing their partnership with Argentina based Social network, Taringa!, Nathaniel Popper from The New York Times explores how Wences' early vision for an economic solution in Argentina through #, is becoming a reality.How Bitcoin is Disrupting Argentina’s EconomyXapoMembers of the Xapo and Taringa!bitcoin 25 btc per blockteam got together yesterday to witness the first payment as part of Taringa!Creators, the product of our recently announced partnership that pays content creators in #.XapoThe buzz about our partnership with Taringa!continues to spread like wildfire.

Some of us didn't expect the community (especially outside of Latin America) to fully grasp the scale and importance of this integration, but the enthusiasm and encouragement we've seen from so many has proved otherwise.Thank you everyone!Latin America's Largest Social Network Will Pay Its Users in Bitcoin for ContentXapoXapo and Taringa!launch largest bitcoin integration - Taringa!is the largest social network created in Latin America, with over 75 million users.By introducing # to Taringa!’s platform, top content creators can now earn bitcoin through Taringa!’s Revenue Sharing program, rewarding users who bring quality content to Taringa!BitBeat: Latin America Facebook Rival to Use Bitcoin to Pay for ContentXapoBitPay Reveals the (Good) Reason Why Bitcoin Price Is Down - With 100,000 merchants around the globe now accepting bitcoin, transaction volume has doubled since last year.Increasingly more and more people are spending bitcoin, versus holding it.As a result, more bitcoin is regularly being converted back to fiat by merchants versus last year when speculators strictly bought the price up.BitPay Reveals the (Good) Reason Why Bitcoin Price Is DownXapoAfrica Sees Record VC Funding in Q1 2015 - Supporting earlier reports of Africa's potential to "leap frog" traditional banking for cryptocurrency, comparatively high rates of mobile technology use and need for cheaper remittance payments makes cryptocurrency adoption likely to outpace traditional banking solutions in the region.Africa Sees Record VC Funding in Q1 2015Xapo"I first got into [bitcoin] after speaking with Wences Casares, who I refer to as Patient Zero for Bitcoin in Silicon Valley.

Patient Zero is the first infection of a viral contagion."- Reid Hoffman on Xapo CEO, Wences CasaresWhy Billionaire Investor Reid Hoffman Is Betting Big on BitcoinXapoXapo is happy to announce our new partnership with CEVO, a leading global esports company, and Leet, a bitcoin-based gaming service, to provide a seamless, bitcoin-enabled competitive gaming experience to players on the CEVO platform.Xapo links CEVO and Leet to create large-scale bitcoin gaming platformXapoThe Australian Central Bank is considered to be one of the more knowledgeable of central authorities on the topic of cryptocurrency, announced today, regulation would only hold back its actual purpose.Australian Central Bank: Bitcoin Regulation Not Worth the CostXapoWe expect bitcoin's popularity and overall awareness to continue it's incline, but some say 2015 will be a shakedown year for bitcoin companies, with only the strong surviving the period between mass adoption, and the recent spark in investor interest.Buttercoin, a household name in the BTC community, who secured over $1million in funding just several months ago, may be the first of many to shut it's doors this year.Bitcoin Marketplace Buttercoin Folds Despite $1.3 Million Investment - CoinDesk