Kraken's consumer money app just launched a Visa debit card in the US that pays up to 2% back on everyday spending, delivered as cash or bitcoin, with no monthly or annual fees.
It’s called the Krak Card, and it went live on Aug. 18, 2026. For anyone stuck earning nothing on debit spending, it could potentially offer a more rewarding alternative.
What the card actually pays
The cashback rate is tiered by total assets held across Krak, Kraken, and Kraken Pro. The more you hold, the higher your rate, up to 2%.
Rewards land in your account the instant a transaction settles, paid in US dollars or bitcoin, with no redemption process and no points that expire.
For travel, the Krak Concierge feature unlocks rates at over 2.2M hotels, with boosted cashback applied automatically at checkout and up to 6% back on hotel bookings. That's a rate most travel credit cards charge an annual fee to match.
How spending from crypto works
The card lets you store value across 600+ currencies and crypto assets. At checkout, Krak converts whichever balances you've designated into US dollars in real time. You set the priority order, deciding which assets are spent first and which stay untouched.
A single purchase can draw from multiple balances. A $100 transaction could pull $80 from a dollar balance and $20 from euros or bitcoin, each converted at the point of sale.
Customers who want to leave their crypto holdings alone can set dollars as first priority and crypto as off-limits.
"The old deal was simple: if you wanted rewards, you had to take on debt to get them. That deal is over."
Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward
Converting crypto to spend it is a taxable event that can create capital gains or losses. Customers who hold crypto and plan to spend from it should consult a tax advisor before setting crypto as a priority balance.
Who can get it and what to know
The card is available to eligible US residents in most states. It is not available in New York, Maine, Massachusetts, or Indiana. There are no subscription, monthly, or annual fees, and there are free ways to deposit.
The Krak Card is issued by Lead Bank under a Visa license, and Stripe Issuing powers the technology behind it. Account balances are not FDIC- or SIPC-insured, which is a meaningful distinction from a traditional bank debit card.
A virtual card is available immediately upon approval and can be added to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. A physical card arrives within 14 days.
The card has already been tested in other markets. Over 135,000 Krak Cards have been issued across the UK and European Economic Area since December 2025.
The US launch brings the same product to American customers, with cashback funded not just from interchange fees but from Kraken's broader goal of keeping more of each customer's financial activity on its platform.