Some companies allow customers to earn rewards in cryptocurrency. As of late 2021, there are 8+ known options available. More are coming soon like Nexo and Celsius.
The main downside is how this complicates finances. Some issues to consider:
- Tax implications for some cards and/or transactions, including any rewards earned (capital gains or losses may apply)
- At this time, most people would rather earn than spend cryptocurrency, since crypto is an asset which generally appreciates in price
- It can be more cost-effective to stick with traditional credit cards (which typically have higher earn rates) and manually purchase cryptocurrency with those rewards (or dollar-cost averaging)
- Services aren’t available in every country or state, which may potentially cause issues with cross-border transactions (or if you decide to move)
- Most of the below cards don’t have sign-up bonuses or other obvious incentives to get a crypto-specific card
- Variable value makes it difficult to accurately calculate rewards, and cash back rates could be as low as 0%
Overall, cryptocurrency-focused cards aren’t attractive at this time. They’re mostly novelties with niche use cases. This is hopefully subject to change as blockchain technology gains wider adoption.
BINANCE DEBIT CARD
This is a Visa debit card which can earn up to 8% cash back in cryptocurrency. It’s available in 30+ countries, but NOT the United States or Canada. We’re therefore unable to review any potential benefits to this card, since we’re based in North America.
Another non-US option is Plutus.
BITPAY DEBIT CARD
This is a prepaid Mastercard debit card. There don’t seem to be any rewards or big perks to incentivize use. It has fees for issuance, inactivity, ATM withdrawals, foreign transactions, and more. In general, Bitpay’s card appears to be the worst option on this list.
BLOCKFI CREDIT CARD
This is a Visa Signature credit card which earns 1.5% cash back (as Bitcoin) on every purchase. If you spend more than $50,000 with the card, you’ll earn 2% on further transactions that year. The card doesn’t have an annual fee or foreign transaction fees. As a sign-up bonus, you can instead earn 3.5% in BTC for 3 months. BlockFi also has small bonuses for new customers.
BlockFi isn’t available in every state, and some of their products have extra regional restrictions. YMMV. In the short term this credit card could have value, but in the long term its prospects become fuzzier.
COINBASE DEBIT CARD
This is a Visa debit card which can earn 1% or 4% cash back in cryptocurrency. There’s a 2.49% fee to convert and use your funds for transactions (or 0% when using USDC) and a daily spend limit of $2,500. You likely have to pay taxes when using non-USDC cryptocurrency, since crypto is classified as “property” instead of currency. “Cash back” rewards should also be taxable as short-term capital gains/losses if you convert or sell them within 12 months. Coinbase’s consumer platform also has higher fees than most of its competitors when purchasing non-USDC crypto with cash. If you’re not careful, those fees will cancel out the value of any earned rewards. Otherwise, the Coinbase debit card doesn’t have things like annual fees or inactivity fees. It takes just a few seconds to add to mobile wallets and a virtual card number is issued instantly.
Using traditional credit cards may result in a higher ROI. Many non-crypto cards earn more cash back with fewer fees. Coinbase does give 0.15% APY on USDC balances, which is higher than most checking accounts, but that’s only $1.50 per year for every $1,000 kept on Coinbase. Anyone involved in crypto can get 20% APY or higher elsewhere.
Coinbase’s cash back rewards may vary by region, and there are fees to transfer/sell such rewards (varying by amount and network). There technically isn’t a fee to convert funds, but Coinbase has a 1% spread which can lower the actual value of rewards. As of late 2021, for someone in New York, reward options show as:
- 4% tier: Stellar Lumens (XLM), The Graph (GRT), Rally (RLY), and AMP
- 1% tier: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and DAI stablecoin
Coinbase doesn’t charge ATM fees or foreign transaction fees, according to their cardholder agreement. Other limits and fees may apply (for example, Coinbase Debit can have a maximum balance of $9,999 at any one time).
CRYPTO.COM DEBIT CARD
This is a prepaid metal Visa debit card with variable fees and rewards. There are 5 tiers depending on how much money you’ve put into Crypto.com Coins (CRO), anywhere from $0 to $400,000. Higher tiers can get reimbursements for Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, among other benefits. CRO has a variable value itself, so tier status is uncertain.
- $0: No reimbursements
- $400: Reimbursements for Spotify subscriptions ($156 value)
- $4,000: Reimbursements for Netflix and Spotify subscriptions, plus LoungeKey membership ($324+ value)
- $40,000: Reimbursements for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Spotify subscriptions, plus limited 10% reimbursement from Expedia, and a LoungeKey membership ($530+ value)
- $400,000: Several perks, including the above ($630+ value)
This is an interesting card which could be valuable to some people. It depends a lot on personal preferences and spending habits.
GEMINI CREDIT CARD
This is a Mastercard credit card made with stainless steel. It earns up to 3% back in 40+ cryptocurrencies with a standard 3/2/1 earn rate structure. The 3% rate applies only to dining expenses (the first $6,000 annually), there’s 2% back on groceries, and 1% on everything else. There isn’t an annual fee, foreign transaction fees, or exchange fees. Rewards are earned instantly, unlike most cards. This is the only real benefit since other cards earn more cash back. The Gemini card (which isn’t available yet) is worse than many alternatives, including the SoFi/Venmo cards below.
SOFI CREDIT CARD
SoFi’s credit card earns 2% cash back which can be redeemed as BTC or other cryptocurrencies. Non-cryptocurrency fans can redeem points for cash value into other accounts instead. This is a good everyday card with some decent perks, and probably the best all-around option on this list. Any card earning 2% or less cash back becomes obsolete next to the SoFi card.
We also included this card on our list of the top 10 cards for everyday spending, and you can see the full list by clicking here.
UPGRADE CREDIT CARD
Upgrade has a Visa which earns 1.5% cash back in Bitcoin. There isn’t any sign-up bonus and you can’t transfer your Bitcoin elsewhere. The website says “Sales of bitcoin are subject to a 1.5% transaction fee which will be deducted from your sale proceeds” and “Bitcoin services and accounts provided by NYDIG.” This may not be available in all states. Overall, Upgrade’s card is a very boring option with no compelling use cases. There isn’t any reason to get this credit card.
VENMO CREDIT CARD
Venmo’s credit card supports earning rewards in BTC + 3 other cryptocurrencies, at 3/2/1% cash back rates. Like the SoFi card, rewards can go into cash or cash equivalents instead. This is also better than the Gemini credit card. Venmo’s 3% category is a lot more flexible and doesn’t have a spending limit. Plus it may be possible to earn a sign-up bonus at times.
You can read our full review here.
Note: The above article was last updated in November 2021. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to take advantage of our personalized consulting services!