The Nexo Card is a Mastercard-linked crypto spending card that lets you pay for purchases by drawing from your crypto balance or borrowing against it as collateral, with debit mode earning up to 13% annual interest on your remaining balance and credit mode starting at 1.9% annual interest with up to 2% cashback.
About Nexo Card
What is Nexo Card?
Nexo Card is a physical and virtual payment card issued by Nexo, a digital asset platform that has been operating since 2018. The card lets you spend your crypto holdings at any merchant that accepts Mastercard, without converting your assets to cash beforehand or closing your positions. It comes with two modes: debit and credit. You can switch between them at any time, directly from the Nexo app.
In debit mode, your purchases draw from your crypto balance while that balance continues to earn up to 13% annual interest. In credit mode, your crypto stays put and works as collateral instead. Your spending gets tied to your Nexo Credit Line, which starts at 1.9% annual interest, and you get up to 2% cashback on purchases. The idea is that you keep your assets working while you spend, rather than selling them to cover everyday expenses.
Nexo has over $8 billion in assets under management and operates across 199 or more jurisdictions, so the card is available to a broad user base, though availability varies by region. It sits inside a broader platform that includes savings accounts, an exchange, crypto-backed loans, and futures trading.
Who uses it?
The Nexo Card suits people who hold crypto long-term and want to spend without selling. If you believe your Bitcoin or Ethereum will be worth more in a year, selling it to pay for groceries feels like a bad trade. The card gives you a way around that. You spend against your holdings rather than liquidating them, and depending on the mode you choose, you either keep earning interest on your balance or borrow against it at a low rate.
It also works well for people who are already using the Nexo platform for savings or a credit line. If you have a Flexible Savings account with Nexo and want a card connected to that same balance, the debit mode is a natural fit. Your balance keeps compounding daily while the card stays ready for purchases.
Credit mode appeals to a different type of user: someone comfortable using their crypto as collateral for short-term spending rather than dipping into the principal. For that person, 1.9% annual interest on a credit line is meaningfully cheaper than a typical credit card rate, and the 2% cashback adds a small return on top. Nexo also has a private clients tier for accounts above $100,000, and users at that level likely find the card a useful part of managing liquidity without disrupting their larger positions.
How it works
You apply for the Nexo Card through the Nexo app after verifying your account. Once approved, you get a virtual card immediately and a physical card by mail. Both work wherever Mastercard is accepted.
Before you spend, you choose your mode. In debit mode, you set the priority order for which assets to spend first using a drag-and-drop interface in the app. When you make a purchase, Nexo converts the required amount from your chosen asset at the current rate and processes the payment. Your remaining balance continues earning daily interest the whole time. In credit mode, there is no conversion. Your crypto stays in your account as collateral, and your spending draws from your pre-approved Credit Line. Nexo calculates how much you can borrow based on the value of your collateral and the loan-to-value ratio for each asset, which ranges from 15% for the NEXO token to 50% for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Cashback in credit mode comes in the form of NEXO tokens or Bitcoin, depending on your preference and loyalty tier. Nexo runs a tiered loyalty program based on what proportion of your portfolio you hold in NEXO tokens. Higher tiers unlock better savings rates, lower borrowing rates, and higher cashback percentages. The top tier offers the full 2% cashback on card spending.
The card connects directly to the same balance you use for everything else on the platform. There is no separate wallet to manage. If your collateral value drops due to a market move, Nexo sends warnings before any automatic actions take effect, but it is worth monitoring your loan-to-value ratio if you use credit mode regularly during volatile periods.
Key Features
Pros & Cons
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Geo-restricted card accessThe Nexo Card is not available in all countries, so a significant portion of users on the platform cannot actually use it regardless of their account status.
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Cashback paid in NEXO tokenCashback rewards are distributed in the native NEXO token rather than the asset you spend, which exposes you to the price volatility of a token you may not want to hold.
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Loyalty tier affects card benefitsThe best cashback rates require you to hold a specific ratio of NEXO tokens relative to your total portfolio, which ties card value to token allocation decisions you might not otherwise make.
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Credit line tied to collateral ratioSpending via the credit line feature requires keeping crypto locked as collateral, and a drop in asset prices can trigger a margin call that forces you to top up or face liquidation.