Tangem says crypto card supply falls short of demand

Swiss crypto wallet provider Tangem has launched its first physical Visa card in a limited release of 5,000 units. The company says demand for crypto-linked payment cards exceeds availability in some markets.

The Tangem Pay card supports in-store and online purchases and ATM withdrawals. Users can fund it from a self-custodial Tangem wallet and transfer funds back to the wallet if the card is suspended or closed.

More than 40% of Tangem Pay payments come from Latin America, and users in the United States account for more than 30% of transactions, according to the company. Physical cards are unavailable in some of those markets because supply depends on regulatory, banking and card-issuance requirements.

“It is not simply a question of where people want crypto cards,” Andrey Ilinskiy, head of Tangem Pay, said. “It is where demand, regulation, banking infrastructure and card-issuing requirements happen to line up — and today, those maps do not always overlap.”

Tangem cannot currently ship physical cards to about 20 countries, including China, Russia, North Korea and Palestine. The company said those restrictions do not necessarily reflect rules governing cryptocurrency use in those countries.

Know Your Customer requirements, sanctions, local banking rules and card-issuance compliance can determine whether the card is available in a market. Tangem said self-custody removes the need for a third-party custodian, but regulated payment networks impose separate requirements.

The company is offering cashback in Circle’s USDC stablecoin. Basic users can receive 1% cashback on eligible purchases, while Plus users can receive 2%. Tangem plans to display the first physical cards at Token2049 in Singapore.