Ether.fi Cash Review (2026)

The Ether.fi Cash earns 3% cashback on a Visa credit card with no annual fee, available in US (30 states; 20 excluded)/EU/UK/HK/UAE + more.

Reviewed by Card Pilled Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30

Key Facts

Cashback
3%
Annual Fee
$0
Region
US (30 states; 20 excluded)/EU/UK/HK/UAE + more
Type
Credit
Network
Visa
KYC
standard
Mobile Pay
Apple Pay, Google Pay

Overview

Ether.fi is a non-custodial liquid restaking protocol on Ethereum founded in 2022 by Mike Silagadze and Rok Kopp, with the operating entity ether.fi SEZC registered in the Cayman Islands. The protocol's mainnet launched in May 2023, and Silagadze previously co-founded the Canadian education software company Top Hat before relocating to build ether.fi.

The Ether.fi Cash is a crypto credit card offered by Ether.fi, available in US (30 states; 20 excluded)/EU/UK/HK/UAE + more. It offers 3% cashback across 3 reward tiers, giving users the ability to earn higher rates as they increase their commitment. There is no annual fee to hold this card.

Best suited for spenders who want a true credit line rather than a pre-funded crypto debit card. Note that collateral is subject to liquidation risk and some regions are excluded from coverage. It runs on the Visa network and requires standard identity verification.

Cashback Tiers

Ether.fi Cash cashback tiers and requirements
TierRateRequirement
Core3%Free, 3% on first $2,000/mo, step-down: 1% $2K-$3K, 0.5% above $3K
Luxe3%15,000 ETHFI staked or 10,000 monthly points, 3% on first $10,000/mo spend cap
Pinnacle3%100,000 ETHFI staked or 50,000 monthly points, 3% on first $50,000/mo spend cap

Pros

Cons

Fees & Costs

Conversion Fee
Variable (DeFi rate)

Limits & Top-Up

Top-Up Assets
USDC (Direct Pay), LiquidUSD (Direct Pay), Borrow Mode collateral: wETH, wHYPE, USDC, EURC, USDT, frxUSD, OP, ETHFI, sETHFI, eBTC, eUSD, weETH, beHYPE, Liquid vaults
Deposit Networks
Optimism
Top-Up Methods
Direct Pay Mode (spend vault stablecoin balance, USDC first), Borrow Mode (borrow against collateral at 4% APY)
Virtual Card Fee
$0 (free virtual cards; 1 Core, 4 Luxe, 10 Pinnacle)
Physical Card Fee
$0 (free plastic at Core; metal included at Luxe/Pinnacle/VIP)

Who's behind this card

Issuing bank
Nimbus LLC (dba Third National)
Fiat custody
No fiat is held: the card settles from a per-user non-custodial vault contract, and the issuer states it has no custody or control over the contents of the user's wallet.
Licence
Money transmitter (NMLS 2612780) (Puerto Rico Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF), US)

Banking features

Personal IBAN
No

Compare IBAN and transfer capability across cards in our crypto cards with IBAN guide.

Cost & Returns

On $500/mo spend, the estimated monthly cost breakdown for Ether.fi Cash is: gas $0.03, conversion spread $5.00, flat/FX fees $0.00, and amortised card/tier fee $0.00, for a total drag of 1% of spend. After $15.00/mo cashback that nets a gain of about $9.97/mo ($119.64/yr). Because Ether.fi Cash is loaded on-chain, frequent small top-ups add gas cost: a daily-spender profile pays about $0.60/mo in gas versus $0.03/mo for a single monthly load, so total drag runs 1.1% with daily reloads versus 1% with a monthly reload. Figures are conservative estimates and vary with conditions.

Our Verdict

Ether.fi Cash is a genuinely DeFi-native card rather than a prepaid card with a crypto skin: you either spend a stablecoin vault balance (Direct Pay Mode, USDC first, then LiquidUSD) or borrow against collateral like weETH at 4% APY so your staked assets keep earning while backing your spend. It suits holders who want to spend without selling, and who will actually keep spend inside the 3% band: on the free Core tier that rate covers only the first $2,000 per month, stepping down to 1% up to $3,000 and 0.5% above, with the larger 3% bands ($10,000 and $50,000 per month) reserved for the Luxe and Pinnacle membership levels.

The fine print matters more than the headline. A meaningful list of transaction types earns nothing at all: ATM withdrawals, cash advances, peer-to-peer payments, gift cards, tax payments, and specific merchant category codes (6011, 6012, 6211, 6513, 6532, 7995). Cashback is currently credited in USDC per the live help documentation, even though older marketing and reviews describe wETH rewards, so the reward asset has quietly changed. EUR transactions also earn at an adjusted rate to balance the zero-FX benefit on EUR spend.

Where it stands apart is scale and mechanics rather than rate: users report effective daily spend far above typical exchange-card caps (one App Store reviewer cites up to $50K daily on higher tiers, though ether.fi publishes no official limit). The cost of that flexibility is complexity: in Borrow Mode, weETH lends at a 55% LTV with a 75% liquidation threshold and a 3.5% bonus paid to liquidators, and interest starts the moment you borrow with no grace period. Best for confident DeFi users; overkill for someone who just wants tap-to-pay cashback.

What users report

On the US App Store the app rates 4.9 from 222 ratings; reviewers call the 3% cashback "unheard of compared to a measly 0.5% with Coinbase", describe Apple Pay checkout as smooth, and one user of crypto cards since Xapo in 2015 calls it "by far the best I have used to date" and "truly crypto native" [1]. The recurring negative is card declines early in the account's life that later resolve ("periodically declined the first month or so ... haven't had issues for months") [1]. Community feedback relayed by an independent review notes cashback eligibility is not always transparent, with some transactions failing to qualify without a clear explanation [2].

Sources: [1] [2]

Updated 2026-07-06

Note: Borrow against crypto collateral. Liquidation risk. Core rate 3% on first $2K/mo (raised from 2% in mid-2026) is PROMOTIONAL — standard base rate is 2% and may revert; step-down: 1% $2K-$3K, 0.5% above $3K; $1,000/mo max cashback cap on Core. Luxe/Pinnacle also 3%. What scales is the monthly cashback-eligible spend cap ($2K Core, $10K Luxe, $50K Pinnacle). Available in ~30 US states (20 excluded: AZ, DE, GA, ID, LA, MD, MS, MO, MT, NV, NM, ND, OH, OR, RI, SD, TN, VT, WA, WI — major states like NY, CA, TX, FL ARE available), EU, UK, Hong Kong, UAE, and others (93 countries total). Loyalty Points earn ~3,000 per $1,000 spent so $17K/mo spend keeps Pinnacle status without ETHFI staking. Tiers revert to Core if staked balance drops below threshold. $40 refundable deposit for Core physical card. Migrated to OP Mainnet (April 2026). Cashback paid in USDC. Issued by Nimbus LLC (trading as Third National) under a Puerto Rico money transmitter licence; no EEA or UK e-money or payment licence is claimed anywhere. Spending limits are dynamic and set in-app rather than published. Cash features exclude several European countries including Estonia, Finland, Hungary, and the Netherlands.

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FAQ

What is the Ether.fi Cash?

The Ether.fi Cash is a crypto credit card offered by Ether.fi. It is available in US (30 states; 20 excluded)/EU/UK/HK/UAE + more and allows users to spend cryptocurrency at merchants worldwide.

How much cashback does the Ether.fi Cash offer?

The Ether.fi Cash offers 3% cashback. There are 3 tiers: Core (3%), Luxe (3%), Pinnacle (3%).

What are the fees for the Ether.fi Cash?

The Ether.fi Cash has an annual fee of $0. Additional fees: Conversion fee: Variable (DeFi rate).

How do you top up the Ether.fi Cash?

Supported assets include USDC (Direct Pay), LiquidUSD (Direct Pay), Borrow Mode collateral: wETH, wHYPE, USDC, EURC, USDT, frxUSD, OP, ETHFI, sETHFI, eBTC, eUSD, weETH, beHYPE, Liquid vaults; top-up methods include Direct Pay Mode (spend vault stablecoin balance, USDC first), Borrow Mode (borrow against collateral at 4% APY); crypto deposits are supported on Optimism.

Does the Ether.fi Cash require KYC?

Yes. Ether.fi requires standard identity verification (KYC), typically a government-issued ID, during signup.

Which countries is the Ether.fi Cash available in?

The Ether.fi Cash is available in US (30 states; 20 excluded)/EU/UK/HK/UAE + more.

Is the Ether.fi Cash a credit or debit card?

The Ether.fi Cash is a true credit card, meaning you can make purchases on credit rather than needing to pre-fund the card with cryptocurrency.

Does the Ether.fi Cash support Apple Pay or Google Pay?

Yes, the Ether.fi Cash supports Apple Pay and Google Pay for contactless payments.

Who issues the Ether.fi Cash?

The Ether.fi Cash is issued by Nimbus LLC (dba Third National). Licences: Money transmitter (NMLS 2612780) (Puerto Rico Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF), US).

Does the Ether.fi Cash come with a personal IBAN?

No, the Ether.fi Cash does not come with a personal IBAN.

Where are Ether.fi Cash fiat funds held?

No fiat is held: the card settles from a per-user non-custodial vault contract, and the issuer states it has no custody or control over the contents of the user's wallet.

Visit Ether.fi

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