Bitcoin debit card doesn't match the hype
Local bitcoin exchange operator CoinJar has launched a payment card pilot that promises to "make bitcoin accessible for everyone" and "allow bitcoin holders to spend their digital currency anywhere they like."The reality is not so exciting. CoinJar has teamed up with prepaid card specialist emerchants to trial the card, called CoinJar Swipe.Bitcoin holders trade bitcoin for Australian dollars through CoinJar, which then purchases a prepaid card on the customer's behalf. The card is reloadable.The prospect of allowing people to spend their actual digital currency "anywhere they like" is still some way off.CoinJar chief executive Asher Tan said the business was started in the middle of last year and since then has received some venture capital funding. It has traded A$50 million of bitcoin since it started and Tan estimates that there are 500,000 people in Australia holding the virtual currency.