The ether.fi Cash Card is a self-custody Visa card that lets long-term ETH holders spend freely — while their staked Ethereum keeps earning yield in the background.
The ether.fi Cash Card is a non-custodial Visa credit card issued via Rain — a regulated card infrastructure provider. Transactions settle on the Scroll Layer 2 network. Your funds are held in a Gnosis Safe smart contract vault that only you control. ether.fi the company cannot access or freeze your assets.
It's fully launched as of April 2025 — no waitlist. Open signup at ether.fi.com/cash.
In Borrow Mode you are not selling your ETH — you are borrowing against it. Under current IRS guidance (US), borrowing is generally not a taxable disposal event. If you have unrealized gains on ETH, Borrow Mode lets you access liquidity without triggering capital gains. This is structurally different from every other crypto spending card that converts your crypto at the point of sale.
The Core tier (free) earns 3% cashback on the first $2,000 of spending per calendar month. The rate then steps down to 1% from $2,001–$3,000, and 0.5% above $3,000.
Cashback is settled in SCR tokens (Scroll network token), credited automatically to your vault after each transaction. You can convert SCR to weETH, USDC, or other assets. Resets on the 1st of each calendar month.
| Tier | Top rate | Monthly cap at top rate | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core (free) | 3% | First $2,000/month | None — free |
| Luxe | 3% | Up to $10,000/month | 15,000 ETHFI staked (~$5,700) |
| Pinnacle | 3% | Up to $50,000/month | 100,000 ETHFI staked (~$38,000) |
| Business | 1% | Unlimited | Business account |
ETHFI token prices as of May 2025 (~$0.38/token). Tier staking costs fluctuate with token price. Most users will be on Core tier.
The "3% cashback" is 3% of your purchase value paid in SCR (Scroll) tokens at the time of settlement — not in a stablecoin. If SCR token price falls, your effective cashback value falls with it. You can convert SCR to weETH or USDC immediately, but the conversion rate at settlement is not guaranteed.
Cashback does not apply to: ATM withdrawals, P2P transfers, currency exchanges, tax payments, gift card purchases, gambling merchants, or real estate transactions. Specific merchants can also be excluded at the issuer's discretion — ether.fi does not publish a full exclusion list.
No hidden fees — but a few things to know.
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 | All tiers |
| Physical card deposit (Core) | $40 (refundable) | Refunded if you upgrade to Luxe within 12 months. Virtual card is free. |
| Foreign exchange | 1% | 0% for VIP tier. Reduces net cashback to ~2% internationally. |
| ATM withdrawal | 2% | Max $250/day, 3 attempts per 24h |
| Borrow Mode interest | 4% APY | Continuous accrual — no grace period, no minimum repayment. Repay anytime. |
| Crypto on-ramp | 0.2% | Fiat-to-crypto within the app |
| Late payment fee | None | Borrow Mode has no billing cycle. You repay at your own pace. |
You deposit 1 ETH (~$3,000) earning ~3% APY via restaking. You borrow $1,000 USDC at 4% APY and spend it on the card, earning 3% back in SCR (~$30). Your ETH collateral earns ~$90/year. Borrowing cost: ~$40/year. Net position before cashback: positive if ETH yield stays above 4%.
The card is available in approximately 171 countries — but with notable exceptions.
Available in the US from April 2025 — but roughly 20 states are currently excluded, including Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. Always check the ether.fi Help Center for the current list before applying.
Not available in: China, India, Russia, Turkey, Netherlands, Israel, Philippines, and several others. Notably, the Netherlands is excluded despite being an EU country. Verify your country at ether.fi before applying.
There is no traditional credit score check. You need to complete KYC: government-issued ID, live selfie verification, and proof of address in some jurisdictions. Virtual card is activated immediately upon approval. Physical card ships in 15+ business days (1–3 days for Pinnacle tier).
This is a genuinely innovative product, but it carries risks that don't exist with a traditional Visa card. We explain all of them here.
Honest comparison based on current public data.
| Feature | ether.fi Cash | Coinbase Card | Crypto.com Card | Nexo Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max cashback rate | 3% (free) | 2% BTC (Coinbase One) | Up to 5% (requires $500K CRO stake) | Up to 2% |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 / $49.99 (One) | $0–varies | $0 |
| Custody model | Self-custody | Custodial | Custodial | Custodial |
| ETH collateral earns yield | Yes — staking + restaking | No | No | No (locked) |
| Spending triggers taxable sale | No (Borrow Mode) | Yes | Yes | No (credit) |
| FX fee | 1% | Varies | 0% (Ruby+) | 0% |
| Cashback token | SCR → weETH/USDC | BTC or crypto | CRO (native token) | NEXO token |
| Liquidation risk | Yes (Borrow Mode) | No | No | Yes |
| No credit check | Yes | Varies | Yes | Yes |
The Nexo Card is the closest structural competitor — it also uses collateral without selling. The key difference: ether.fi uses self-custody (you control your keys), while Nexo is custodial. ether.fi also earns restaking yield on collateral, which Nexo does not.
Crypto.com's top cashback rates look impressive but require staking 1–10 million CRO (~$30K–$300K at current prices). The ether.fi 3% free tier is unmatched at zero staking requirement.
No waitlist. Open signup as of April 2025. The process takes about 10–15 minutes.
Under current IRS practice, borrowing is generally not a taxable disposal — so spending via Borrow Mode is not the same as selling your ETH. This is a meaningful structural advantage for ETH holders with large unrealized gains. However, the IRS has not issued specific guidance on DeFi collateral loans, and the tax treatment could change. Always consult a qualified crypto tax professional before making financial decisions based on this.
If ETH falls enough that your collateral health factor drops below the liquidation threshold, the protocol will automatically liquidate part of your ETH collateral to repay the debt — plus a liquidation penalty. This is the most important risk to understand before using Borrow Mode. To protect yourself: borrow at 50–60% of maximum LTV (not the maximum), monitor your health factor in the app, and be prepared to add collateral or repay debt if the price drops.
Cashback is settled via the Scroll network (where the card runs), and SCR is the native token used for fast, low-cost settlement. You can convert SCR to weETH or USDC inside the app. The "3% cashback in SCR" means you receive SCR tokens worth 3% of your purchase value at the time of settlement — the value in USD/ETH terms depends on SCR's market price at that moment.
Yes — this is the card's core differentiator. Your eETH or weETH sitting in your Gnosis Safe vault continues to earn Ethereum staking yield (~3–4% APY) and EigenLayer restaking rewards. The collateral earns yield continuously. If your ETH yield exceeds the 4% borrow rate, you are in positive carry — essentially borrowing for free or at a net profit before cashback.
No FDIC or similar deposit insurance applies — your funds are in on-chain smart contracts, not a bank account. If ether.fi as a company shut down, your assets would remain in your self-custody Gnosis Safe vault — you would still be able to withdraw using the open-source smart contracts directly. Card services would cease, but your crypto would not be lost. This is the key advantage of the self-custody model over custodial cards.
Yes. In Direct Pay mode, you simply deposit USDC (a stablecoin) and spend it. No ETH staking required. You still earn 3% cashback in SCR. Borrow Mode requires depositing eETH or weETH as collateral, which means you'd need to stake ETH through ether.fi first — but this is not required to get and use the card.
eETH is a rebasing token — your balance grows automatically as staking rewards accrue. weETH (wrapped eETH) is a non-rebasing version where the exchange rate to ETH increases instead of your balance. Both represent the same underlying staked ETH. weETH is used more widely in DeFi because it's easier to handle in smart contracts. Either can be used as collateral in Borrow Mode.
Both cards let you borrow against crypto without selling it. The key differences: ether.fi is self-custody (your assets are in a smart contract only you control), while Nexo is custodial (Nexo holds your assets). ether.fi's collateral continues earning EigenLayer restaking yield; Nexo locks your assets. ether.fi's free tier earns 3% cashback; Nexo tops out at 2%. Nexo offers 0% FX fees; ether.fi charges 1%.
The ether.fi Cash Card is the most structurally interesting crypto card on the market right now — and for the right user, genuinely one of the best credit cards period.
The 3% cashback rate on the free tier beats almost every competing crypto card without any token staking requirement. The self-custody model is a genuine differentiator. And Borrow Mode's tax efficiency — spending without triggering a disposal event — is a meaningful financial planning tool for long-term ETH holders.
What holds it back from a perfect score: SCR cashback token volatility adds friction, the 1% FX fee is a real cost for travelers, regional availability is limited, and Borrow Mode requires active risk management that not every user will be comfortable with. There have also been documented KYC delays and opaque merchant exclusions.
Best for: Long-term ETH holders in supported regions who spend $500–$2,000/month and understand DeFi basics. Not ideal for: Crypto newcomers, heavy international spenders, or users in excluded US states.
Our review is based on publicly available documentation from ether.fi's official help center, independent analysis from CoinDesk, CardPilled, SpendNode, and CryptoCardHub, and reported user experiences on Reddit and Trustpilot. Fees and features are accurate as of May 28, 2025 and subject to change. This page contains affiliate links — we earn a referral commission if you apply through our link, at no cost to you.