This is advertised as a "crypto" credit card. Beware, the crypto part means they steal your crypto and replace it with thier crypto, Ternio, which has no liquidity. It's not listed on any major exchanges. The consumer can't really buy it at "market" rates because there really is no market for it. And Blockcard doesn't even sell you thier cypto at the rate you can buy it on the few unheard of exchanges that sell it. Instead they use "the going rate" on an exchange that only they use. This gives Blockcard control of the price.
The way it works is this:
You send your chosen crypto to the card wallet, that crypto is converted to Ternio which is the card's native currency. Afterward your card balance is calculated by number of ternio you have mulitiplied by the "value" of ternio. (More on how this is calculated later and why it is in quotations). You then can spend your dollar value of turnio. When you spend it, they buy it on thier "exchange" at below market value This sets a low price, devaluing the balances people are holding. They sell it to you at $0.008 or higher, and you sell it to them at .0005x when yo spend out of your wallet, losing 20% or 30% with every purchase.
It's basically a scam that works off arbitrage. But they are the only ones who can arbitrage. You might have done due diligence and checked coingecko or CMC before buying. Then you look at your balance and you're left wondering what happened. The money in your wallet doesn't match your calculations. Well, this is because Blockcard doesn't take the average TERN price from all market pairs across the few questionable exchanges that have listed it. Instead, that price comes from one exchange and one pair in specific--one which normal people can't access or trade and which has no sellers. It appears that the sole purpose of this pair (TERN/USDD on stellarterm) is to buy back Ternio at 15% less than selling price. And if you think you'll be able to buy back the Ternio at the price they are liquidating it for your purchases, fugheddaboudit.
Ternio is not a real cryptocurrency. Sure, it's on the blockchain, but it was not designed with any of the brilliance or ethos you've come to expect in good projects. There's no focus on deflation, no proposition of increasing value, no interest for staking coins other than a 6% reward for purchases which will do little to soothe the burn of the 30% you'll likely lose. The only thought that seems to have gone into this is how to make a quick buck off every purchase. With other far better options out there, I can't imagine anyone will use this card more than once unless it is because credit problems have left them with no other alternative.
If you're in crypto for the tech, for the people who are dreaming about ways to lift people out of poverty and provide banks to the unbanked--not to take advantage of desperation, but to provide a much needed service--blockcard is the wrong place to look. Think more like predatory lending or payday loans or flim-flam scams--that seems to be closer to the ethos of this project. Except it's worse than that, because these guys are actually, in my opinion, white collar criminals. Somehow they got Visa to sign off on this.
I came to this card with hope that it was a way to avoid the exorbitant coinbase transfer fees and long clearing periods, and what I got was minus a almost four-hundred bucks in twenty minutes. Please don't make the same mistake.
BlockCard crypto visa card is a ripoff. They advertise no fees but when you transfer your crypto coins to them they ripoff a big chunk of your money. I just opened an account with them and I transfered $15 worth of Bitcoin and my balance is showing Spendable Balance $10.52
I contacted them about the missing $4.48 I got this reply:
..........
Thank you for reaching out, we are happy to answer any questions you have and we want to make sure you understand how your account works. When you deposit cryptocurrency to your account, it is automatically converted into TERN, and from there you can make purchases with the card that will draw from your balance (and automatically convert to USD during transaction processing), or withdraw it as TERN directly. Your USD account balance will change dynamically according to the market value of TERN, the underlying cryptocurrency asset for your BlockCard account.
Your spendable value is tied to TERN on the BlockCard market. BlockCard does not use CMC for price value. As users deposit on BlockCard, the value of TERN increases. As users spend, the value decreases. This is tied to the USDD/TERN market. TERN is never issued at less than $0.008, but can be higher based on BlockCard market usage. TERN can be spent at any price. For current pricing click here For more details about how this works, please check out this article in our FAQ: https://terniohelp.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/44001901366-why-is-my-blockcard-balance-changing I hope this answers your question, and we are happy to answer any other questions you may have. Thank you again for getting in touch with us.
..........
They never answered my question. Then they said I had to create an account at some exchange called Lobstr. I followed the instructions to convert the TERN into XLM, etc. to NO AVAIL!
The President, Daniel Gouldman, responded and said it was nothing they can do because the Bitcoin is automatically converted into Terino. That's B.S. If you can RECEIVE BITCOIN, YOU CAN SEND BITCOIN.
STAY CLEAR OF THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE ONLY TRYING TO DRAW YOU INTO GETTING THEIR CARD AS A WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO BUY AND START USING TERINO. IT'S ALL ABOUT USAGE WITH THESE NEW TOKENS AND COINS.
Portland, Maine: Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy announced that Sal Mansy, 41, of Detroit, Michigan, and TV TOYZ, LLC, a Michigan corporation, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to operating an unlicensed money service business.
According to court documents, Mansy bought and sold approximately $2,400,000 worth of the virtual currency “Bitcoin” for profit online between August 2013 and June 2015. Mansy would funnel proceeds from his Bitcoin sales through the business bank account of TV TOYZ, a limited liability corporation he owned and operated.
A year-long investigation into Mansy’s activities culminated in June 2015 with a search of his Detroit residence and the seizure of three of his bank accounts, containing a combined total of $118,134.57.
Mansy engaged in the buying and selling of Bitcoin for profit without ever registering his money service business with federal authorities. Through this failure to register, Mansy violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 1960, which makes it a crime to transfer money for others as a business without obtaining appropriate licenses.
Mansy faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the Portland, Maine and Detroit, Michigan offices of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; and the Saco Police Department.
BlockCard crypto visa card is a ripoff. they advertise no fees but when you transfer your crypto coins to them they ripoff a big chunk of your money. i just opened an account with them and i did transfer 0.48 Etherum worth $98.29. but my balance is showing Spendable Balance $63.71
i did contact them about the missing $30 i got this reply:
Thank you for contacting us, I understand your concern and we want to make sure you understand how your account works. The reason you may observe changes in your USD equivalent account balance day-to-day, besides spending and depositing activity, is because your USD equivalent account balance will change dynamically according to the market value of TERN, the underlying cryptocurrency asset for your BlockCard account. (Your TERN balance will not change unless you make a transaction or deposit, only the momentary USD/TERN conversion price based on market price.) BlockCard uses United States Dollar Derivative (TERN/USDD) to establish market value.
(This is independent of XLM/TERN, ETH/TERN, or BTC/TERN, for example.) Using USDD to establish value helps smooth out some of the fluctuations in the marketplace, but there will still be fluctuations in value based on the value of TERN, trends in the larger cryptocurrency market, and the deposit and spending behavior of users (in particular during times when there is a lot of depositing and spending activity).
One of the main challenges of cryptocurrency is that the markets are going to fluctuate unpredictably at times, but we think that this is something that will be less of an issue as the marketplace becomes bigger.
Our growth has been exceptional and will continue to be as we expand into new markets with new products and have new partnerships (all of which we are presently doing). We really appreciate the patience of our users as we continue to roll out the product and features, and we’re working hard to make it an awesome experience. I hope this answers your question, we very much appreciate your questions and feedback. Thank you for getting in touch with us.
BlockCard Reviews
This is advertised as a "crypto" credit card. Beware, the crypto part means they steal your crypto and replace it with thier crypto, Ternio, which has no liquidity. It's not listed on any major exchanges. The consumer can't really buy it at "market" rates because there really is no market for it. And Blockcard doesn't even sell you thier cypto at the rate you can buy it on the few unheard of exchanges that sell it. Instead they use "the going rate" on an exchange that only they use. This gives Blockcard control of the price.
The way it works is this:
You send your chosen crypto to the card wallet, that crypto is converted to Ternio which is the card's native currency. Afterward your card balance is calculated by number of ternio you have mulitiplied by the "value" of ternio. (More on how this is calculated later and why it is in quotations). You then can spend your dollar value of turnio. When you spend it, they buy it on thier "exchange" at below market value This sets a low price, devaluing the balances people are holding. They sell it to you at $0.008 or higher, and you sell it to them at .0005x when yo spend out of your wallet, losing 20% or 30% with every purchase.
It's basically a scam that works off arbitrage. But they are the only ones who can arbitrage. You might have done due diligence and checked coingecko or CMC before buying. Then you look at your balance and you're left wondering what happened. The money in your wallet doesn't match your calculations. Well, this is because Blockcard doesn't take the average TERN price from all market pairs across the few questionable exchanges that have listed it. Instead, that price comes from one exchange and one pair in specific--one which normal people can't access or trade and which has no sellers. It appears that the sole purpose of this pair (TERN/USDD on stellarterm) is to buy back Ternio at 15% less than selling price. And if you think you'll be able to buy back the Ternio at the price they are liquidating it for your purchases, fugheddaboudit.
Ternio is not a real cryptocurrency. Sure, it's on the blockchain, but it was not designed with any of the brilliance or ethos you've come to expect in good projects. There's no focus on deflation, no proposition of increasing value, no interest for staking coins other than a 6% reward for purchases which will do little to soothe the burn of the 30% you'll likely lose. The only thought that seems to have gone into this is how to make a quick buck off every purchase. With other far better options out there, I can't imagine anyone will use this card more than once unless it is because credit problems have left them with no other alternative.
If you're in crypto for the tech, for the people who are dreaming about ways to lift people out of poverty and provide banks to the unbanked--not to take advantage of desperation, but to provide a much needed service--blockcard is the wrong place to look. Think more like predatory lending or payday loans or flim-flam scams--that seems to be closer to the ethos of this project. Except it's worse than that, because these guys are actually, in my opinion, white collar criminals. Somehow they got Visa to sign off on this.
I came to this card with hope that it was a way to avoid the exorbitant coinbase transfer fees and long clearing periods, and what I got was minus a almost four-hundred bucks in twenty minutes. Please don't make the same mistake.
BlockCard crypto visa card is a ripoff. They advertise no fees but when you transfer your crypto coins to them they ripoff a big chunk of your money. I just opened an account with them and I transfered $15 worth of Bitcoin and my balance is showing Spendable Balance $10.52
I contacted them about the missing $4.48 I got this reply:
..........
Thank you for reaching out, we are happy to answer any questions you have and we want to make sure you understand how your account works. When you deposit cryptocurrency to your account, it is automatically converted into TERN, and from there you can make purchases with the card that will draw from your balance (and automatically convert to USD during transaction processing), or withdraw it as TERN directly. Your USD account balance will change dynamically according to the market value of TERN, the underlying cryptocurrency asset for your BlockCard account.
Your spendable value is tied to TERN on the BlockCard market. BlockCard does not use CMC for price value. As users deposit on BlockCard, the value of TERN increases. As users spend, the value decreases. This is tied to the USDD/TERN market. TERN is never issued at less than $0.008, but can be higher based on BlockCard market usage. TERN can be spent at any price. For current pricing click here For more details about how this works, please check out this article in our FAQ: https://terniohelp.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/44001901366-why-is-my-blockcard-balance-changing I hope this answers your question, and we are happy to answer any other questions you may have. Thank you again for getting in touch with us.
..........
They never answered my question. Then they said I had to create an account at some exchange called Lobstr. I followed the instructions to convert the TERN into XLM, etc. to NO AVAIL!
The President, Daniel Gouldman, responded and said it was nothing they can do because the Bitcoin is automatically converted into Terino. That's B.S. If you can RECEIVE BITCOIN, YOU CAN SEND BITCOIN.
STAY CLEAR OF THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE ONLY TRYING TO DRAW YOU INTO GETTING THEIR CARD AS A WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO BUY AND START USING TERINO. IT'S ALL ABOUT USAGE WITH THESE NEW TOKENS AND COINS.
Sal Mansy
Portland, Maine: Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy announced that Sal Mansy, 41, of Detroit, Michigan, and TV TOYZ, LLC, a Michigan corporation, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to operating an unlicensed money service business.
According to court documents, Mansy bought and sold approximately $2,400,000 worth of the virtual currency “Bitcoin” for profit online between August 2013 and June 2015. Mansy would funnel proceeds from his Bitcoin sales through the business bank account of TV TOYZ, a limited liability corporation he owned and operated.
A year-long investigation into Mansy’s activities culminated in June 2015 with a search of his Detroit residence and the seizure of three of his bank accounts, containing a combined total of $118,134.57.
Mansy engaged in the buying and selling of Bitcoin for profit without ever registering his money service business with federal authorities. Through this failure to register, Mansy violated Title 18, United States Code, Section 1960, which makes it a crime to transfer money for others as a business without obtaining appropriate licenses.
Mansy faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The investigation was conducted by the Portland, Maine and Detroit, Michigan offices of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; and the Saco Police Department.
BlockCard crypto visa card is a ripoff. they advertise no fees but when you transfer your crypto coins to them they ripoff a big chunk of your money. i just opened an account with them and i did transfer 0.48 Etherum worth $98.29. but my balance is showing Spendable Balance $63.71
i did contact them about the missing $30 i got this reply:
Thank you for contacting us, I understand your concern and we want to make sure you understand how your account works. The reason you may observe changes in your USD equivalent account balance day-to-day, besides spending and depositing activity, is because your USD equivalent account balance will change dynamically according to the market value of TERN, the underlying cryptocurrency asset for your BlockCard account. (Your TERN balance will not change unless you make a transaction or deposit, only the momentary USD/TERN conversion price based on market price.) BlockCard uses United States Dollar Derivative (TERN/USDD) to establish market value.
(This is independent of XLM/TERN, ETH/TERN, or BTC/TERN, for example.) Using USDD to establish value helps smooth out some of the fluctuations in the marketplace, but there will still be fluctuations in value based on the value of TERN, trends in the larger cryptocurrency market, and the deposit and spending behavior of users (in particular during times when there is a lot of depositing and spending activity).
One of the main challenges of cryptocurrency is that the markets are going to fluctuate unpredictably at times, but we think that this is something that will be less of an issue as the marketplace becomes bigger.
Our growth has been exceptional and will continue to be as we expand into new markets with new products and have new partnerships (all of which we are presently doing). We really appreciate the patience of our users as we continue to roll out the product and features, and we’re working hard to make it an awesome experience. I hope this answers your question, we very much appreciate your questions and feedback. Thank you for getting in touch with us.