Shakepay is turning everyday card taps into a new way for Canadians to earn bitcoin while helping local businesses build bitcoin reserves.
The Montreal-based fintech announced that the waitlist for its physical Shakepay Visa Prepaid Card is now available in the Shakepay app, alongside a 21-day national campaign designed to reward both consumers and participating merchants.
During the campaign, eligible in-person purchases made with the Virtual Shakepay Card will earn customers waitlist points toward early access to the physical card. Those purchases will also help local businesses “turn orange” on a shared map, highlighting where Canadians are using everyday spending to earn bitcoin and support merchants in their communities.
Local businesses can also participate directly. Eligible owners who sign up for Shakepay for Business during the campaign can, after verification, claim bitcoin rewards tied to waitlist activity at their location. Customers can refer local business owners as well, helping introduce more Canadian merchants to bitcoin as a business asset.
“Most rewards programs give people points they can only use inside someone else’s system. We think Canadians should be able to earn an asset they can actually own,” said Jean Amiouny, CEO of Shakepay. “This campaign makes bitcoin part of everyday life: at the coffee shop, the grocery store, the lunch spot, and the local businesses that make communities work.”
Shakepay said the campaign builds on its existing Virtual Card, which thousands of Canadians already use each week to earn bitcoin rewards on everyday purchases. Both the virtual and physical cards allow customers to spend from their cash balance while receiving rewards paid in bitcoin.
The top 21,000 customers on the waitlist will receive early access to the physical Shakepay Card, while the top 2,100 will be eligible for a Launch Edition card engraved with their waitlist rank.
The campaign also adds a community layer to the card launch, allowing customers to discover and revisit local merchants, compete for local status by becoming “Mayor” of participating locations, and help businesses gain visibility on the campaign map.
Founded in 2015, Shakepay says it now helps more than 1.5 million Canadians access and use bitcoin through everyday financial products. The company is a CIRO member, an Investment Dealer registered with the AMF, and a FINTRAC-registered Money Service Business.
Canadians can join the physical card waitlist and participate in the campaign through the Shakepay app.
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