Crypto cards bridge the gap between the digital cryptocurrency world and the real-world economy, making it easier for individuals to use their crypto holdings for everyday transactions.

Crypto cards, also known as cryptocurrency debit or prepaid cards, began to emerge around 2015-2016. These early versions of crypto cards allowed users to load their cards with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and then spend those cryptocurrencies at merchants that accepted traditional debit or credit cards.

One of the first notable companies to offer a crypto card was Xapo, which launched its Bitcoin debit card in 2014. This card allowed users to spend their Bitcoin holdings at any merchant that accepted debit cards. Other companies, such as Bitwala (now known as Nuri) and SpectroCoin, also entered the market around the same time, offering similar services.

With the great growth of the crypto sector, several card offerings have emerged over the last couple of years, each with their own set of benefits and unique selling points for users.

Let’s take a look at some of the cards which have been on the market for a while, and some of the newer players.

Crypto Cards Compared

Several crypto cards have been on the market for a while and have established themselves as prominent players in the industry:

Coinbase Card

The most ideal cardholder of the Coinbase card is someone who is already a Coinbase customer and is looking to start earning crypto rewards on all of their day-to-day purchases by spending their current crypto holdings on the platform or a stablecoin like USDC.

Along with that, if you’re someone who is looking to dip your toe into the world of crypto, both the Coinbase platform and the Coinbase card provide a beginner-friendly experience that allows you to purchase crypto, learn about it, and spend some of it, in a relatively easy manner.

BitPay Card

Bitpay Card primarily supports Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, but will most likely support even more cryptocurrencies in the future. With respect to fiat currencies, Bitpay Card supports only USD.

The biggest benefit of using the Bitpay Mastercard card is that there are no exchange fees associated with converting some bitcoin into dollars and placing that value on the card. That said, Bitpay adds mining and network fees associated with the Bitcoin transaction used to move funds onto the Bitpay Mastercard. These fees vary from time to time, so users should be sure to check the fees associated with adding funds to their Bitpay debit card before confirming the process.

Crypto.com Card

This card is a good fit for crypto investors who want a variety of useful perks and a high rewards rate. Benefits and rewards depend on how much crypto you stake, so the more you invest, the more you get back.

The Crypto.com Card is a prepaid debit card. To use it, you need to top up the card (load funds onto it) in the Crypto.com app. You can top it up with cryptocurrency or fiat money. 

Binance Card

With low transaction fees, high withdrawal limits, and a cashback program that rewards you in Binance Coin (BNB), the Binance Card is a compelling choice for crypto enthusiasts around the globe.

The Binance Card is a Visa debit card that’s connected to your Binance account for easy top-ups. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and is available as a physical and virtual card. It supports only a few popular altcoins and has many limits and restrictions on its cashback rewards program.

It is important to note that most of these are prepaid cards and have diverse cash back programs in place. They also do require users to have open and valid accounts with their centralized services, which could be off-putting to real degens who value their anonymity and ownership. 

Meanwhile, there have also been several newcomers to the Crypto Card space which are worth mentioning:

Fold 

Launched in 2019, Fold accrued a waitlist of over 250,000 waiting for access to their bitcoin cashback debit card. Fold Cardholders can earn variable rewards by spinning a rewards wheel after each qualifying purchase, like earning 100% of their purchase back in bitcoin, or even winning a whole bitcoin, which ten users have done to date.

Wirex

Wirex (formerly E-Coin) was established in 2014. In 2015, E-Coin successfully crowdfunded around $200K from 93 investors via the online investment platform BnkToTheFuture. In March 2017, Wirex raised $3 million in a Series A funding round from the Fintech fund established by Japanese financial giant SBI Group.

The Wirex app allows you to easily convert your digital coins into fiat currency, which can then be used to make purchases or withdraw cash from ATMs. Plus, with its low transaction fees and generous rewards program, the Wirex crypto debit card is a great way to get the most out of your cryptocurrency.

Fiat24 

The Fiat24 Card stepped into the market in July 2023, making it one of the most recent newcomers. The Fiat24 virtual Visa Debit Card is the first card to enable users to spend the crypto they hold in ANY crypto wallet. An account is opened by minting a Fiat24 NFT, which allows users to access payment services with the crypto wallet of their choice.

Some of the unique features and functionalities include allowing users can use their preferred crypto wallet, without being limited to the one offered by any card issuer, and that they are the only licensed fintech that has fully abandoned servers, and instead uses public blockchain to book client ledgers (specifically, Layer 2 rollup solution Arbitrum). 

The Future of Payments?

In the beginning, it was only Bitcoin that the crypto debit cards supported. Today, crypto debit cards support as many as 100 digital assets minted on the blockchain. 

Crypto debit cards have a bright future - indeed, we continue to see news of Visa and Mastercard continuing to invest in digital assets as a form of payment, new players emerging in the space, and a high demand for solutions. These all signal a continued demand for cards which support crypto payments, and it will almost definitely shape the future of payments.