Wavecard

What Wavecard is

Wavecard is a Visa debit card from wave.space that spends Bitcoin and nothing else. Its defining feature is how the BTC is held: instead of converting your coins to a fiat float when you deposit, the card keeps Bitcoin until the last second of the transaction and converts on the spot to cover the purchase.

Self-custodial spending

The headline feature is Nostr Wallet Connect. You can link your own Lightning wallet through NWC and have the card spend directly from it, which means the Bitcoin never leaves your custody until a payment settles. Bitcoin Magazine reported wavespace's MiCA-compliant self-custodial debit card as one of the few surviving Bitcoin services in Europe under the new rules.

Fees in plain terms

A virtual card costs €2.99 once, a physical card €29.99 once, and the monthly fee is zero. Each transaction carries a 1% conversion fee plus roughly 0.5% spread from the liquidity provider, so the realistic total cost is about 1.5%. FX fees between fiat currencies are 0%. ATM withdrawals are passed through at cost: 3% + €2.

Who can get it

Residents of the EEA aged 18 and over, across the 31 countries listed on the card page. KYC is required to issue the personal vIBAN in your name, and you can set any name on the card itself, which makes it pseudonymous by design rather than anonymous.

The trade-offs

Bitcoin only — no stablecoins or altcoins. Apple Pay only works through the Curve app for now, while Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay work directly. Physical cards take five to nine working days on standard delivery.

Wavecard is Bitcoin-only: it spends from your own Lightning wallet and sells BTC at the moment of payment. SatPay is the other Bitcoin-first neobank card here, and The Bitcoin Company sells prepaid cards bought with Bitcoin. The crypto cards directory covers the Bitcoin-only field.

Bitcoin held until the last second

• The card holds BTC rather than pre-converting to fiat, and sells at the moment you pay.
• Fund by onchain deposit, by Lightning invoice or Lightning address, or by buying BTC with EUR through your personal vIBAN.

Spend from self-custody with NWC

• Connect your own Lightning wallet via Nostr Wallet Connect for self-custodial spending.
• Alby is the recommended wallet, with a wave.space referral benefit.

Pseudonymous by design

• Set any name you want on the card.
• KYC is still required for the vIBAN and card issuance.

Accepted everywhere Visa works

• 150 million-plus shops worldwide, online and in person.
• Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay supported directly; Apple Pay via the Curve app.

Controls and limits

• Freeze the card, change limits or create additional cards from the app.
• Daily spending €10,000 and monthly €10,000, rising to €15,000 monthly with Tier 2 KYC.
• ATM: €350 per day and €3,000 per month.

Regulation and reception

• MiCA compliant, serving the Eurozone.
• Endorsed publicly by Bitcoin advocates including Jimmy Song, Daniel Prince and Endo Rivers.

Bitcoin only

Wavecard spends Bitcoin and nothing else. There is no stablecoin balance, no altcoin support and no multi-asset wallet — the product is aimed squarely at people who hold BTC and want to live on it.

Ways to fund it

• Deposit Bitcoin onchain.
• Deposit Bitcoin over Lightning, using either invoices or Lightning addresses.
• Buy BTC into the card by sending EUR to your personal vIBAN.
• Connect a Lightning wallet through NWC to spend self-custodially.

Why that matters

Because the card holds BTC until the moment of payment rather than converting to a fiat balance first, you keep Bitcoin exposure for longer instead of sitting in a euro float between purchases.

One-time card fees

• Virtual card: €2.99, paid in BTC
• Physical card: €29.99, paid in BTC

Ongoing fees

• Monthly fee: free
• Bitcoin conversion: 1% per transaction
• Liquidity spread: roughly 0.5%, already baked into the BTC price
• Total transaction cost: about 1.5%
• FX fees: 0%
• ATM withdrawal: 3% + €2, passed on at cost

How it compares

Wave.space publishes a side-by-side comparison against the Coinbase Card and the Bitrefill Card. On its figures, wavecard's total transaction cost of about 1.5% compares with roughly 3.99% for the Coinbase Card and 2.49% for Bitrefill, with a lower Bitcoin conversion fee of 1% against 2.49% and 1.99%. Those are the provider's own numbers rather than independently verified figures.

Spending limits

• Daily spend: €10,000
• Monthly spend: €10,000, or €15,000 with Tier 2 KYC
• Daily ATM: €350
• Monthly ATM: €3,000