Author: Chen Xiaomeng
A comprehensive review of 31 USB flash drives: which one is the hottest, and which one is the worst? Let's take a look!
By 2025, the U-card market had evolved from a simple withdrawal tool to an asset appreciation tool. The Block, a well-known crypto data organization, recently conducted a rigorous rating of major global crypto debit and credit cards.
This evaluation does not focus on the "maximum returns" advertised, but rather on the effective rate of return—that is, the actual returns that users can receive after deducting hidden fees, exchange rate spreads, monthly fees, and token staking costs.
Below is an in-depth analysis of all the cards on the list, arranged from highest to lowest score.
Tier 1: Top Choice (Rating 4.0 - 4.4)
This tier of cards is not only a payment tool, but also a financial product. They typically feature low fees, high net returns, and excellent security mechanisms.
EtherFi Cash Card (Best Overall)
Rating: 4.4
Type: Secured Credit Card
Key Highlights: Non-managed + 3% Cashback
In-depth analysis: This is currently the benchmark product in the market. Its killer feature is its non-custodial nature—your funds are not held in the card issuer's account, but rather exist on-chain as collateral. This means that even if the card issuer goes bankrupt, your assets remain safe. It offers up to 3% cash back, and this is not limited to specific categories.
Target audience: Experienced DeFi users and high-net-worth consumers who place extreme importance on asset security.
2. Gemini Credit Card (Best sign-up bonus)
Rating: 4.2
Type: Credit Card
Key Highlights: Instant Rewards + No Annual Fee/No Foreign Exchange Fee
In-depth analysis: This product is offered by Gemini, a US-compliant exchange. Its biggest advantage is the "instant" reward (cash back upon card swipe), with dozens of tokens to choose from, including BTC and ETH. It claims up to 4% cashback (dining), 3% on gas, and 1% on other items. While the overall return is approximately 1.5%-2%, its strength lies in complete compliance and the absence of any hidden fees.
Target audience: US and overseas Chinese users who prioritize compliance and do not want the hassle of on-chain operations.
3. Crypto-com Ruby Credit Card (Preferred choice for high-net-worth individuals)
Rating: 4.1
Type: Credit Card
Key Highlight: 3.5% Cash Back
In-depth analysis: Crypto-com is a long-established card issuer, and this is its credit card version. While the return rate is as high as 3.5%, it requires deep engagement with its ecosystem (staking CRO tokens). The Block believes that only when you are already a high-frequency trader or a large CRO holder will the card's returns be sufficient to cover the staking costs.
Target audience: Loyal users and frequent consumers of the Crypto-com ecosystem.
4. Gnosis Pay Card (Best for self-management)
Rating: 4.0
Type: Debit Card
Key highlights: Web3 native + direct connection to Safe Wallet
In-depth analysis: A truly decentralized card. It connects directly to your Safe smart contract wallet. Holding GNO tokens unlocks rewards of up to 4-5%. It's one of the smoothest bridges connecting the DeFi world with the real world.
Target audience: DeFi whales, DAO members, and on-chain fundamentalists.
5. Coinbase One Card
Rating: 4.0
Type: Credit Card
Key Highlights: Metal card face + Amex access
In-depth analysis: This is a metal American Express (Amex) card designed specifically for Coinbase One subscribers. It offers Bitcoin as a spending reward. Its value is highly dependent on the amount of assets you hold in custody at Coinbase and your membership tier.
Target audience: Coinbase heavy users, people who like the feel of metal cards.
6. Uphold Essential Card
Rating: 4.0
Type: Debit Card
Key Highlight: XRP Cashback
In-depth analysis: Allows users to directly spend assets within their account. Offers up to 4% XRP cashback for the first 90 days, then drops to 2%. For the XRP community, this is the most powerful loyalty-boosting card.
Target audience: XRP holders (Ripple Army).
7. Ready Metal Card (Best Discount)
Rating: 4.0
Type: Debit Card
Key Highlights: 3% STRK Cashback + Partner Discounts
In-depth analysis: Another excellent self-custodied card. In addition to offering 3% STRK token cashback, it also features exclusive partner discounts (such as subscription service discounts).
Target audience: Starknet ecosystem users and budget-conscious consumers.
7+. UR card
Rating: 4.0
Type: Debit Card
Key Highlight: 5% Interest Rate USDE
In-depth analysis: Another excellent self-custodied card. In addition to offering 5% USDE real-time interest, it also features exclusive partner discounts.
Target audience: USDE ecosystem users and budget-conscious consumers.
Second Tier: Challengers (Rating 3.5 - 3.9)
The cards in this tier each have their own unique features, but some flaws in terms of cost, maximum reward, or ease of use prevent them from entering the top tier.
8. Venmo Credit Card
Rating: 3.8
Analysis: This is an attempt by traditional financial giant Venmo. It offers up to 3% cashback and can automatically purchase cryptocurrency. The downside is that it's not a pure U card; it's more of a fiat card with encryption features, and the actual average return is around 1-2%.
9. Bybit Card
Rating: 3.7
Analysis: The advertisement promises "up to 10% cashback," which is very tempting. The downside is that this 10% has a very high threshold and monthly cap, and there are transaction fees. The actual return for the average user is approximately 2-4%.
10. COCA Visa Card
Rating: 3.6
Analysis: This product combines a self-custodied wallet with a Visa card and claims up to 8% cashback. The downside is its complex tiered system and token staking requirements, leading to significant fluctuations in the "actual return."
11. MetaMask Virtual Card
Rating: 3.6
Analysis: The Little Fox Wallet official card allows you to directly spend the coins in your wallet, which is very convenient. The downside is that the reward is only 1%, and some transactions incur gas fees or transaction fees, lowering the overall cost-effectiveness.
12. Payy Card (Best Privacy)
Rating: 3.6
Analysis: This card emphasizes privacy and features a cool, glowing design. Its drawback is the current lack of a competitive reward system, making it less "money-making" than other cards.
13. Bleap Card
Rating: 3.6
Analysis: This is a non-custodial card that offers a clean 2% USDC cashback with no foreign exchange fees. The downside is a monthly spending cap, limiting the earning potential for high-spending customers.
14. BitMart Card
Rating: 3.6
Analysis: Offers up to 3.5% cashback. The downside is that the high cashback rate is locked after meeting high-frequency trading requirements and platform token holding requirements, making it unfriendly to ordinary retail investors.
15. Plutus Card
Rating: 3.5
Analysis: Popular in Europe, it claims a 3% cashback. The downside is its subscription fee model and complex cashback cap, which dilutes the actual net return for ordinary users to 0.75-1.5%.
Third Tier: Specific Niche Markets and Basic Tools (Rating 3.0 - 3.4)
Cards in this tier are either just starting out (points system), have high fees, or offer no cashback at all, and are mainly used as channels for funds to enter and exit.
16. Solayer Emerald Card (3.4 points)
Analysis: This combines DeFi yields and spending rewards. The downside is that the rewards are currently mainly in the form of "points," whose value is unclear, and the fee structure is unfriendly to non-Solayer native users.
17. Kast Card (3.4 points)
Analysis: This is a reward system based on the future token $KAST . The downsides are that it's largely based on empty promises, the actual value received is uncertain, and the tokens have an unlocking period.
18. Bitget Wallet Card (3.3 points)
Analysis: Extremely useful but offers no rewards. It supports a wide range of Visa/Mastercard transactions with zero fees within spending limits. However, because it offers absolutely no token rewards, it doesn't score highly in the ratings. It's a perfect "spending tool," not a "making tool."
19. Crypto-com Ruby Steel Debit (3.3 points)
Analysis: This is the debit card version (not the credit card version mentioned above). Although it offers 2% cashback, there's only a monthly reward cap of $25, and it requires collateral. Overall, its value for money is far inferior to the credit card version.
20. Coinbase Card (Debit) (3.3 points)
Analysis: This is the debit card version of Coinbase. The downsides are the lack of transparency in exchange spreads and the frequent changes in the reward mechanism, making it difficult to calculate stable returns.
21. 1-inch Card (3.3 points)
Analysis: This card was launched by DeFi aggregator 1inch. Although it offers a 2% reward, the high fees essentially offset the reward.
22. Wirex Multicurrency Card (3.2 points)
Analysis: Established card provider with wide coverage. The downside is that even with advertised 8% cashback, most users only receive around 1%, and high cashback requires expensive subscription fees and token holdings.
23. Holyheld Card (3.2 points)
Analysis: 0.5-1% USDC cashback. The downside is the high initial card application/setup fees; unless you spend a lot, it's difficult to break even.
24. SafePal Card (3.2 points)
Analysis: It focuses on compliance and combines hardware wallets. The downside is that, primarily for convenience and compliance, it offers almost no high-yield rewards (the main reward is fee rebates).
25. Avici Card (3.2 points)
Analysis: A simple global payment tool with no crypto rewards, primarily serving Web2 scenarios.
26. DeCard Luminaries (3.2 points)
Analysis: This is a high-end card targeting C-suite (executives) and KOLs. The downsides are the extremely high annual fee and high eligibility requirements, making it inaccessible and uneconomical for ordinary people.
27. Nexo Crypto Card (3.1 points)
Analysis: Nexo's card is interesting; it offers cashback on the credit card but not on the debit card. This complexity and the requirement to hold assets as collateral lowers its score.
28. Avalanche Card (3.1 points)
Analysis: This is the official Avalanche Protocol card. It supports AVAX and stablecoin spending. The downside is that it lacks any clear rewards program; it's merely a payment gateway.
29. CoinJar Card (3.1 points)
Analysis: Although there are points (worth about 2%), the card itself has a 1% transaction fee. With each transaction, the user earns almost nothing, and may even lose money.
30. RedotPay Card (3.0 points - bottom tier but popular)
Rating: 3.0
Type: Debit Card
Key pain points: No rewards + high transaction fees
In-depth analysis: RedotPay is very popular in Chinese-speaking regions because of its extremely low application threshold and support for USDT deposits. Why then is it ranked at the bottom?
Zero rewards: No tokens are awarded for purchases.
Fees: There are transaction fees (approximately 1%) and deposit/exchange losses. In The Block's rating logic, it's merely an asset-consuming tool with no investment attributes. While usable, from an investment return perspective, it's one of the least cost-effective options.
Summary: How to choose your 2026 U-card?
After reviewing these 31 cards, we can draw the following conclusions:
If you want genuine passive income: choose EtherFi, Gnosis Pay, or UR CARD. They not only allow you to spend money, but also let you securely earn 3-4% returns through on-chain mechanisms, without the worry of centralized platforms collapsing.
If you're in the US or seeking maximum compliance: Gemini Credit Card is the perfect choice—swipe your card effortlessly and earn coins instantly.
If you want to pay a discount: Ready Meta Card is still the preferred choice even though it has been weakened.
If you are a believer in a specific token: if you hold CRO, choose Crypto-com (Credit version); if you hold XRP, choose Uphold.
Regarding low-rated cards like RedotPay and Bitget Wallet: Although they have low ratings, they are still usable tools if you don't care about cashback and just want a simple, no-staking, no-KYC (partially) or low-threshold fiat currency withdrawal channel. But remember, you are paying for convenience, not making money.
