Tangem Says Crypto Card Access Falls Short of Global Demand Due to Regulation and Infrastructure
Swiss crypto wallet provider Tangem told Cointelegraph that over 40% of Tangem Pay transactions come from Latin America and more than 30% from the United States, while physical crypto cards remain unavailable in some markets due to regulatory challenges, banking infrastructure, and card-issuing conditions.
Tangem’s Services and Card Situation
Tangem has built its reputation in the crypto space with hardware wallets and recently launched a physical Visa card allowing in-store and online purchases as well as ATM withdrawals. The initial issuance was limited to 5,000 cards.
Users can fund the card directly from their self-custodial Tangem wallet and transfer funds back if the card is suspended or closed. A Tangem representative indicated that self-custody removes intermediaries between user and assets, but integration into regulated payment networks introduces new restrictions.
Regional Restrictions on Card Availability
Despite strong demand in Latin America and the US, Tangem currently cannot ship physical cards to about 20 countries, including China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine.
Tangem noted that card delivery restrictions do not necessarily align with cryptocurrency regulations as a whole; factors such as Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, sanctions, local banking rules, and card-issuing compliance dictate where crypto-linked cards are available.
The company highlighted that conditions driving crypto as alternative financial rails can simultaneously complicate regulated card issuance in some jurisdictions.
New Features and Upcoming Announcements
Tangem is introducing cashback paid in Circle's USDC stablecoin, offering 1% cashback for Basic users and 2% for Plus users on eligible purchases.
The company plans to showcase its first physical Tangem Pay cards at the Token2049 crypto event in Singapore.
Why it matters
The news highlights the discrepancy between global demand for crypto payment cards and their actual availability, which is constrained not only by technical but also legal, regulatory, and banking factors. Despite strong user interest in regions like Latin America and the US, the physical market presence is limited due to sanctions, KYC requirements, and card-issuing specifics. This gap illustrates the challenges of bringing crypto products through traditional financial channels and underscores the importance of developing tailored regulatory frameworks to broaden access to innovative crypto payment solutions.
Prepared from the source material with AI-assisted editing and checked against the supplied facts.
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