The ether.fi Cash Card is a Visa crypto card that lets you spend from an account where you retain custody of your funds. The free Core plan earns 3% on the first US$2,000 of monthly spend. Taiwan’s first virtual card has no issuance fee. See What to know before applying for fees and risks.
What is ether.fi? Company background
ether.fi began as an Ethereum staking protocol in 2023 and now describes itself as a non-custodial crypto bank, bringing spending, trading, borrowing, earning interest, and staking into one account. Co-founder and CEO is Mike Silagadze. In February 2024 the company closed a US$23 million Series A led by Bullish Capital and CoinFund; the company had also raised US$5.3 million in March 2023. In a blog post dated April 15, 2026, the company said more than 70,000 cards were active and there were over 300,000 accounts.
The card runs on Visa. Third National is the issuer, while ether.fi is the card-program brand. The account is non-custodial, so you retain ownership and control of your funds. Virtual and physical cards are available.
There are two ways to spend: Direct Pay deducts USDC, USDT, or LiquidUSD from your account and converts it to the purchase currency; Borrow Mode uses your assets as collateral for a loan and must be enabled by you. The card’s default daily limit is US$5,000 and can be adjusted in the app. The vault’s default daily and monthly limits are each US$10,000, shared across all cards. The issuer may also adjust limits.
For a detailed comparison, see ether.fi Cash Card review and comparison, or compare it with other cards at crypto card comparison.
ether.fi rewards: 3% on the free Core plan
ether.fi has Core, Luxe, and Pinnacle plans. Core is free with no threshold. Luxe and Pinnacle can each be unlocked through any one of the methods in the table. The table shows benefits for non-EUR spending, including TWD; monthly spend bands are shared across currencies. See ether.fi rewards and fees for EUR rewards.
| Item | Core | Luxe | Pinnacle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock with spend points | Default; no threshold | 5,000 points per month | 25,000 points per month |
| Unlock with Liquid deposit | — | US$15,000 | US$100,000 |
| Unlock by staking ETHFI | — | 30,000 ETHFI | 150,000 ETHFI |
| Unlock with annual fee | — | US$199/year | US$999/year |
| Spending rewards | 3% on first US$2,000; 1% up to US$3,000; 0.5% after | 3% on first US$10,000; 1% up to US$20,000; 0.5% after | 3% on first US$50,000; 1% up to US$80,000; 0.5% after |
| Category rewards (selected subscriptions) | — | Extra 10%, up to US$10/month | Extra 20%, up to US$20/month |
| Fee-free ATM withdrawals | — | — | First 10 per month |
| Free virtual cards (Taiwan) | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Physical card | US$60, including shipping | 1 free | 1 free |
Card spending earns 1 point per US$1. Points reset monthly, so you must meet the threshold each month to keep the tier. Annual memberships last one year.
The table excludes VIP. VIP earns 4% on the first US$50,000 of monthly spend.
Rewards are paid in ETHFI, not cash. They become claimable after 7 days, with a US$5 minimum claim. ATM withdrawals, investing, securities brokerage, real estate, bank transfers, and gambling do not earn rewards.
For category rewards, select a category in the app. Eligible subscriptions include ChatGPT, Claude, Netflix, and Spotify. Subscriptions billed through platforms such as the App Store, or bundled with other products, are excluded.
ether.fi deposits, ATMs, and fees
- Card issuance: Taiwan’s first virtual card has no issuance fee; each additional virtual card costs US$10.
- Annual fee: Core has no annual fee.
- Deposits: No deposit fee; you only pay on-chain gas. USDC, USDT, and LiquidUSD are supported across networks including Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Solana, and Tron.
- Foreign currency fee: TWD purchases incur an approximately 1% base fee, plus up to 0.5% for Core, for a total of about 1% to 1.5%. USD purchases are 0%.
- ATM: Up to US$5,000 per withdrawal, with a maximum of 5 withdrawals (US$25,000 in total) in any 24-hour period.
Some accounts must first deposit US$10 worth of crypto before identity verification. This is a deposit, not a fee.
What to know before applying
- Rewards are paid in ETHFI, whose price can fluctuate. There is a 7-day waiting period before claiming and a US$5 minimum claim.
- Borrow Mode is a loan with a variable interest rate, and collateral may be liquidated. It is used only if you enable it.
- TWD purchases are not fee-free: the total fee is about 1% to 1.5%.
How to apply for ether.fi (where to enter the referral code)
- Open the registration page from the referral link in this article (button above).
- If you see “You’ve been invited!”, code
99bc0818has been applied. There is no field for it in the web registration form. Select Sign Up Today to begin. - Complete KYC: verify your phone by SMS, complete a selfie liveness check, and enter your address. Applicants in Taiwan can use a valid passport, national ID, or driver’s license. If proof of address is requested, use a utility bill or bank or credit-card statement dated within the past 3 months.
- Deposit USDC or USDT; you only pay gas. For the basics, see Stablecoin storage guide.
- Create a virtual card. To get a physical card, order it in the app; Core costs US$60.
- Add the card to Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Using the card in Taiwan and Hong Kong
Taiwan is on the official availability list, and physical cards can be shipped there. Hong Kong is also on the list, and physical cards can be shipped there too.
Taiwan use and merchant tests
Penchan’s hands-on tests in Taiwan: LINE Pay and Alipay can be linked; JKOPay cannot. ChatGPT and Claude subscriptions also work. See Taiwan merchant tests for more results.
