Bitwala Card

What the Bitwala Card is

Bitwala is a Berlin company that has offered a Bitcoin wallet and a Visa debit card since 2015, and the card is the spending half of that product: you hold crypto in the app and spend it wherever Visa is accepted — online, in shops and at ATMs — with conversion to euros happening in a tap.

The company behind it

This history matters for anyone assessing the card. Bitwala rebranded to Nuri in 2021, filed for insolvency in August 2022 during the crypto bear market, and saw its customer base transferred to Vivid Money. The company relaunched under the original Bitwala name in late 2023 in partnership with Striga, an Estonia-based banking and crypto-as-a-service provider, and the current entity is registered as Bitwala GmbH in Berlin. Customer funds were reported as unaffected by the insolvency because they were held at the partner bank.

How the card works

Download the app, complete instant registration, and get a virtual or physical Visa card. When you spend crypto, it is converted to euros instantly and the transaction settles like any euro payment. Euro payments are free, which keeps the card cheap for day-to-day spending inside the EEA, and the card can be used abroad anywhere Visa is accepted.

Fees are unusually transparent

Bitwala publishes one fee sheet that applies to every user rather than tiering it by staking or subscription, and it positions that directly against cards with hidden fees. There is no account fee, no monthly subscription, and euro payments cost nothing.

Bitwala's card has no cashback programme, so it competes on fees and on holding crypto in the same account as euros. The Deblock Card takes the same hybrid approach in France, pairing a euro account with a self-custodial wallet, while the Brighty Card adds IBAN accounts and pays cashback in USDC. See which suits your spending pattern in the crypto cards directory.

Card and acceptance

• Visa debit card issued in virtual and physical form.
• Spend online, in stores and at ATMs anywhere Visa is accepted.
• Google Pay works directly; Apple Pay is supported through the Curve app.

Asset support

• Spend Bitcoin, Ether and USDC, plus euros held in the account.
• Crypto is converted to euros in a tap rather than requiring a manual pre-conversion.

Controls

• Set limits, freeze and unfreeze the card, and track spending in the app.
• Freeze and order a replacement from the app if the card is lost.

Wallet

• Bitwala presents the wallet as self-custodial: the company's own marketing states you remain the true owner rather than the platform or an exchange.
• The app is built in Berlin and has been running since 2014 under the various brand iterations.

Three assets plus euros

The card supports Bitcoin, Ether and USDC, and can also spend euros held in the account. There is no long list of altcoins, and Bitwala positions that narrow focus as a feature — its comparison table highlights "Bitcoin & stablecoins, no leverage" against cards that carry casino tokens and leveraged products.

How conversion works

You convert crypto to euros in a tap inside the app, and the card then spends euros. That is different from cards that swap assets automatically at checkout, and it means you can control the timing of the conversion rather than being converted at whatever rate applies when a merchant charges you.

Ownership

Bitwala describes the wallet as self-custodial, telling users they remain the true owner of their coins rather than the platform or an exchange. That is a meaningful distinction, but it applies to the wallet side — the card itself settles in euros through the Visa network.

Published pricing

• Account creation: free
• Monthly subscription: free
• Euro payments, online and offline: free
• Crypto payments: €0.20 + 1% per transaction
• ATM withdrawals: €2 + 1%
• Virtual card: €0.99 one-time
• Physical card: €9.99 one-time, plus shipping

Why the fee sheet matters

Bitwala applies one fee set to every user rather than varying it by staking or a paid tier, and states the rates openly. Euro spending costs nothing, which is unusual for a crypto card, while the crypto conversion path costs €0.20 plus 1% per transaction.

Cost profile in practice

Inside the EEA, this is one of the cheaper structures in the category if most of your spending is in euros. If you spend crypto directly on every purchase, the 1% conversion charge plus the flat €0.20 adds up quickly on small transactions, and ATM use carries both a flat €2 and a 1% charge.

Eligibility

Anyone with a verified Bitwala account resident in the EEA. Supported assets are Bitcoin, Ether, USDC and euros.