The best cards to spend your cryptocurrencies in a sovereign way

The appeal of cryptocurrencies is clear: resistance to censorship, state control and the loss of purchasing power caused by inflation. However, the low direct acceptance in commerce still represents a challenge for those who wish to use them on a daily basis.

In this context, crypto cards have emerged as a practical bridge between digital currencies and the traditional financial system. But which card is best for spending your cryptocurrencies?

In this article, I analyze the main cards currently available, thinking about custody, privacy, fees and risks for those seeking both freedom and convenience.

The dilemma of crypto cards

Every crypto card has its advantages and disadvantages.

They work settling your cryptocurrencies for reais at the time of purchase, This means that, at some point, there are This means that, at some point, there is:

Temporary or permanent custody
Possibly KYC
Banking intermediation
Regulatory compliance

Cards that mitigate these risks tend to charge higher rates, and it's up to each person to assess which option makes the most sense for their profile.

Characteristics of the evaluation cards

Are they issued in Brazil or in another country?

Brazilian cards report to the Receita Federal for you
With foreign cards, you are responsible for reporting

Does the most convenient use of the card require custody?

With some cards, you give up custody completely
In others, it just sends the amount at the time of purchase to make the payments

Do they require KYC?

Does the company behind the card require personal information?

And finally, what is the cost of using the card, taking into account issuance, annuity, spread and conversion rates, taking into account benefits such as cashbacks or points.

General comparison

Card	Does it require KYC?	Issued in Brazil?	Physical and virtual?	Supported currencies	Custody	Physical Issue	Fee per purchase	Benefits
OKX	Yes	No	Virtual	Stablecoins	Yes	-	Spread only	10% p.a. balance in USDG
Binance	Yes	Yes	Physical and virtual	BTC, ETH, BNB, Stablecoins	Yes	$0,00	0,90%	0.5 to 2% Cashback
BityBank	Yes	Yes	Physical and virtual	Real, BTC, ETH, Stablecoins	Yes	R$ 29,90	0% in reais	0.5 to 10% Cashback
Bybit	Yes	Yes	Physical and virtual	BTC, ETH, XRP, Stablecoins	Yes	€5,00	0.9% to 1.4%	Points and 2% Cashback
MetaMask	Yes	No	Virtual	wETH and Stablecoins	On payment	-	0.5% to 0.875%	Points and 1% Cashback
Kast	Yes	No	Physical and virtual	Stablecoins	On payment	$100,00	2%	2 to 3% Cashback
TheBitcoinCompany	No	No	Virtual	BTC	On payment	-	2%	Cash back on gift cards
Paywide	No	No	Virtual	ETH, SOL, BNB, etc.	On payment	-	1,25% to 5%	-

Note on the cost: the spread, which is the conversion rate between the crypto chosen for payment and the real, can vary from card to card.

All crypto cards work as prepaid cards, meaning that you need to top up the card in order to use it. Although some differ in the method of payment in practice, they generally use “cash credit” even if they debit your balance at the time of purchase. Check with the service you end up choosing how to make your payments at the payment machines.

While most have a long expiration date, the few options without KYC are more temporary prepaid, more like gift cards. You recharge it once, paying a fee, and use it until it's empty. TheBitcoinCompany card is the only one that charges a fixed amount (US$ 2) per virtual card issue.

Furthermore, none of them charge an annual fee for the basic version of the card, although some, especially Kast, offer premium cards for the high-income public that charge up to US$ 10,000 per year.

What to avoid

To mitigate your risks when using crypto cards, avoid:

Holding large balances on cards
Use the card as your “main account”
Centralize everything in a single company
Confusing convenience with freedom

Cards are tools for practical spending, not wallets.

Crypto cards are useful while the world still mostly operates in fiat. But they do not replace self-custody, nor do they solve the structural problem of bank dependency.

The safest recommendation is: