Best crypto Mastercard cards

What being on the Mastercard network means

Three parties stand behind one card. The issuer is the bank or licensed company that issues the card and answers for it. The card network, here Mastercard, connects the shop’s bank with the issuer and carries each payment between them. Around both there is often a crypto company that runs the app, keeps your balance and sells your crypto when you pay.

So the Mastercard logo tells you where the card is accepted: in shops and online, wherever Mastercard is taken. It does not tell you who holds your crypto, who is allowed to open the card, or what it costs. Those answers come from the issuer and the company running the card, and they differ from one Mastercard card to the next.

Mastercard or Visa: what changes for you

Less than the logos suggest. Both networks are accepted almost everywhere you are likely to shop, and for everyday payments you will probably never notice which one you hold. Some shops, countries or kinds of payment lean towards one network, so it is worth checking the places where you spend the most.

What changes your bill sits in the card, not in the network: its fees, the rate it uses and the company behind it. A cheap card on one network beats an expensive card on the other, and the reverse is just as true. So choose by cost and availability first, and let the network break a tie, for example when a service you rely on accepts only one. The crypto Visa list is ranked the same way, so you can put the two side by side.

What to compare

Start with whether you can get the card, then look at what it costs.

• Availability. A card only helps if it is open where you live. Eligibility is checked per country.
• Card currency. Paying in the currency of the card means the payment itself needs no conversion.
• FX fee and markup. The FX fee is a listed charge for paying in another currency. The FX markup sits inside the rate. Check both, or begin with the no FX fee list.
• Top-ups. Which assets and networks the card takes, what each top-up costs, and the conversion spread when your crypto is sold.
• Cash. If you need a machine, look at the ATM fee and the limit. The ATM list ranks physical cards whose ATM fee is on file.

Our ranking folds these into one estimated net cost. A fee we have not verified is left out and flagged, never counted as zero. The methodology shows how.

How many crypto Mastercard cards are in your country

Many cards are open in some countries only, so the list shifts with where you live. Across all countries it ranks 24 cards. For a few places:

• United States: 5 cards
• Germany: 16 cards
• United Kingdom: 11 cards
• Brazil: 7 cards

The Card Finder has no filter for the network. Pick your country there to see which cards you can get and what they would cost for your own spending, then come back to this list to see which of them run on Mastercard.