Ether.fi’s crypto-native credit card is reaching new heights as more industry players muscle into traditional financial services to lure new customers.
On June 30, the card’s volume surpassed $10 million in daily transactions, with users now spending over $200,000 per day. It has processed more than 80,000 transactions and issued a total of over 2,500 cards.
“We want to create a crypto-native financial services product that people can use to save, invest, and spend their money and never have to off-ramp them to TradFi again,” Mike Silagadze, CEO of ether.fi, told The Whale podcast last year. The card was launched in 2024.
Silagadze will face some stiff competition.
A smattering of crypto-native firms have launched crypto credit cards to sway new users as they expect digital assets to go mainstream.
It also highlights how the lines between traditional finance and crypto are beginning to blur.
Buoyed by US President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto administration, fintech firms like Robinhood have rolled out new crypto services and crypto companies are increasingly diving into traditional financial services.
Ether.fi has over $6 billion under total value locked, making it the fifth largest DeFi protocol in the world by total value deposited. It offers a variety of yield products including liquid staking for Ethereum.
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Credit cards are a tried and tested method for non-financial firms to tap into new revenue streams and secure clients.
Companies like Uber, Apple and Amazon are just some businesses that have launched credit cards of their own.
As crypto is seemingly on the cusp of becoming mainstream, crypto exchanges like Coinbase, and Gemini have announced credit cards.
Other centralised exchanges like Bybit and Crypto.com offer debit cards.
Nexo, a digital asset wealth management platform, offers both credit and debit options on top of their lending platform, but only in the United Kingdom and the European Union.
In 2024, Nexo reported that they received over $50 million in volume during the holiday season. Volume since then has not been publicly available.
To be sure, not everyone is thrilled about this latest development.
Mak Hays, associate director for cryptocurrency and financial technology at Americans for Financial Reform, a US-based non-profit lobbying for stricter rules for Wall Street, warned that people should ensure that they understand the risks associated with tapping into crypto-based credit cards.
“For example, who’s the wallet provider if the consumer gets rewarded Bitcoin? What happens if it gets stolen? Who’s on the hook for that?” Hays told the Wall Street Journal.
In theory, users can borrow against their yield-bearing assets and pay 0% interest while earning cash back.
In total, almost $2.8 million has been borrowed and there are more than $1.6 million in outstanding borrows.
Ether.fi didn’t respond to requests for comment.
