How OBOL rates crypto cards
A crypto card is a payments product with an FX desk attached. The advertised cashback is almost never the number that decides whether it is worth holding — the conversion spread applied when your crypto becomes fiat at the till is. So true all-in cost carries the heaviest weight here, calculated as spread plus FX markup plus the fees that appear on the statement rather than the marketing page.
Issuer stability is second because this category has a history of programmes changing overnight. Cards have lost their BIN sponsor, cut rewards without warning, or withdrawn from entire regions with weeks of notice. A card is only as durable as the issuing bank and the programme manager behind it, which is rarely the brand on the front.
The rewards are usually staked, capped, or both
Headline cashback figures in this sector typically require locking a substantial amount of the issuer's own token, and often cap monthly rewards. We score what a realistic user earns without staking a five-figure sum into a volatile asset, and we note the staked tier separately.
Custodial by construction
Almost every card here spends from a balance the issuer controls, which means those funds can be frozen for compliance review like any account. The self-custody cards that spend directly from a smart account are a genuinely different product, and we say so where it applies.