CoinGate Gift Cards vs BitCard: A Card That Gives Bitcoin or Takes It

Summary: BitCard is a gift card you redeem for Bitcoin, sold through US retail networks. It runs the opposite way to buying a retailer gift card with crypto: one ends with you holding Bitcoin, the other starts there. Both get called a Bitcoin gift card, which is why people arrive at one wanting the other.

• BitCard's output is Bitcoin. A gift card bought with crypto outputs credit at a named retailer.
• BitCard is distributed through US retail, so availability is largely American.
• Redeeming a card for crypto generally involves identity verification at the redemption step.
• To spend crypto you already hold, a gift card catalogue that accepts coins at checkout does that job.

A card in a supermarket rack with Bitcoin printed on it is not the same object as a gift card you paid for in Bitcoin. Knowing which one is in front of you is most of the decision.

What BitCard Is

BitCard, founded in 2018 and based in Pennsylvania, sells physical and digital gift cards redeemable for Bitcoin, and announced a distribution relationship with Blackhawk Network in 2023 to place them in US retailers and reward programmes. The idea is to make buying Bitcoin as ordinary as picking a card off a rack, which for a lot of first-time buyers it is.

That makes it a way of acquiring Bitcoin rather than a gift card shop, despite the name pointing the other way.

The Verification Usually Arrives at Redemption

Cards redeemable for crypto are often assumed to be anonymous because buying one in a shop is. The check tends to sit at the other end, when the code is exchanged for actual coins, since the party delivering the Bitcoin has its own obligations. Worth knowing if avoiding verification was the reason for choosing this route.

Spending Crypto Runs the Other Direction

If you already hold Bitcoin, a card that delivers Bitcoin does a different job. To spend it, you need a checkout that takes your coin and returns store credit. CoinGate Gift Cards does this with over 70 accepted cryptocurrencies, over 6,000 brands across more than 90 markets, no crypto fee and delivery in about a minute.

Geography differs too. BitCard's distribution is built around US retail, so buyers outside the United States may not find it, while a crypto checkout works wherever the brand you want is stocked.

Pros and Cons of Each Option

BitCard

• Pro: Simple way to buy Bitcoin, available in US shops and reward programmes.
• Pro: Good as a first Bitcoin gift for someone new to crypto.
• Pro: Physical and digital versions available.
• Con: Mostly available in the US.
• Con: Redeeming for Bitcoin usually involves identity verification.
• Con: Does not help you spend crypto you already hold.

CoinGate Gift Cards

• Pro: Turns crypto you already hold into store credit at over 6,000 brands.
• Pro: Accepts over 70 cryptocurrencies with no crypto fee, plus cards and wallets.
• Pro: Available across 90-plus markets.
• Con: Does not sell gift cards that pay out in Bitcoin.
• Con: Verification may be required on purchases above 700 euros.

Check Which Direction the Card Runs

Before buying anything labelled a Bitcoin gift card, ask what comes out of it. Bitcoin comes out of a BitCard, which is useful if the point is to give someone their first coins. Store credit comes out of a gift card bought with crypto, which is what you want if you already hold coins and would like to eat, play or travel with them.

Both products are useful for the right purpose. If you hold crypto and want to spend it at a shop, browse the gift card catalogue.