Nexo Card: crypto cards rating breakdown
DiPocket · Mastercard
The card that most surprised us, and it belongs in this table even though a US person cannot get it — because it shows what good looks like. Its reward tier is a portfolio RATIO, not a fixed lock, so there is no lock-up period, and even with NEXO down about 42% on the year the honest net is positive. It also discloses its foreign-exchange markup more clearly than any US-facing competitor, right down to a weekend surcharge most cards hide.
The card that most surprised us, and it belongs in this table even though a US person cannot get it — because it shows what good looks like. Its reward tier is a portfolio RATIO, not a fixed lock, so there is no lock-up period, and even with NEXO down about 42% on the year the honest net is positive.…
How the score is built
Each criterion is scored 0–10 and weighted. The median column is the middle score across every entry in this ranking, so a row reads as a position rather than a number.
| Criterion | What we measured | Weight | Score | Category median | Rank | Weighted gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reward you actually keep | — | 25% | 8 | 5 | 2 of 11 | +0.75 |
| Is the real cost disclosed? | — | 25% | 9 | 4 | 2 of 11 | +1.25 |
| Issuer and program safety | — | 20% | 7 | 6 | 3 of 11 | +0.20 |
| US availability | — | 15% | 0 | 0 | 6 of 11 | 0.00 |
| Net value on public terms | — | 10% | 7 | 5 | 3 of 11 | +0.20 |
| Product | — | 5% | 7 | 6 | 5 of 11 | +0.05 |
Measured 15 July 2026 · weights and method · decided by is the real cost disclosed?, worth +1.25 points against the median
Reward you actually keep: 8/10
Not the headline percentage — the reward net of what earning it costs. Where the rate is gated behind staking a volatile issuer token, we price that stake against the token’s real drawdown and ask whether a cash alternative exists. A card that pays a flat rate in Bitcoin with nothing to lock up keeps its whole number; a card whose 8% requires locking a token down 96% from its high does not.
Scored 8 of 10 against a category median of 5, which places it 2nd of 11 among crypto cards on this criterion. At a 25% weight that is 0.75 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 10, the worst 0.
Is the real cost disclosed?: 9/10
The cost that touches every purchase is the crypto-to-fiat conversion spread at the till, and almost nobody states it as a number. We check whether the spread and the foreign-exchange markup are published. Two exchanges disclose more than the US market leader; several disclose nothing and say only that charges “may apply”.
Scored 9 of 10 against a category median of 4, which places it 2nd of 11 among crypto cards on this criterion. At a 25% weight that is 1.25 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 10, the worst 0.
Issuer and program safety: 7/10
Who actually issues the card — the real bank or e-money institution behind the brand — and what happens to your balance if the program stops. Program suspensions are not hypothetical: the 2020 Wirecard collapse froze several of these cards overnight, and BlockFi’s card died with its bankruptcy. A real, named, regulated issuer scores; an opaque one does not.
Scored 7 of 10 against a category median of 6, which places it 3rd of 11 among crypto cards on this criterion. At a 20% weight that is 0.20 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 0.
US availability: 0/10
Whether an American can actually get the card, and in which states. Several of the highest-headline cards are unavailable in the US entirely, which for our audience settles the matter regardless of the rate.
Scored 0 of 10 against a category median of 0, which places it 6th of 11 among crypto cards on this criterion. At a 15% weight that is exactly level with the median of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 10, the worst 0.
Net value on public terms: 7/10
The honest arithmetic on a realistic $24,000/year of spending, from the issuer’s own published terms and public token prices — including the opportunity cost of any locked capital and the token’s realised return. Where the net is positive we say so; where it is negative we show the working.
Scored 7 of 10 against a category median of 5, which places it 3rd of 11 among crypto cards on this criterion. At a 10% weight that is 0.20 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 8, the worst 0.
Product: 7/10
The app, Apple and Google Pay support, virtual cards, and ATM access — the ordinary things that make a card usable.
Scored 7 of 10 against a category median of 6, which places it 5th of 11 among crypto cards on this criterion. At a 5% weight that is 0.05 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 8, the worst 0.
Other measurements
Questions about this score
Why is Nexo's tier system better than a staking ladder?
+
Because it is proportional. Tiers are set by the ratio of NEXO to your portfolio rather than an absolute locked amount, so a smaller user is not required to sacrifice a disproportionate share of their capital to reach the same rate. Every ladder-based competitor asks exactly that.
Can Americans get the Nexo Card?
+
No. It is unavailable to US persons, which is why it appears here as an illustration of good design rather than as a recommendation. For a US spender the top of this rating — a straightforward credit card paying in Bitcoin with no token requirement — is the better answer anyway.