Lava rolled out the Lava Card this week, a secured Visa credit card that pays Bitcoin rewards on every purchase and accepts stablecoins like USDC as a funding source. US-based users earn 3% Bitcoin back on all transactions; international users get 1%. The card has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and no markup on Visa's official exchange rate — basically, it turns everyday spending into a steady stream of sats.
How the Lava Card works
The card is secured, meaning cardholders spend from a pre-funded USD balance instead of borrowing. You load money via bank transfer, direct deposit, or stablecoins. That makes it a practical way to spend stablecoins through standard Visa rails — no need to convert to fiat first. Lava says the card is accepted anywhere Visa is, which is most places that take plastic.
Bitcoin-backed spending without selling
Users who hold Bitcoin can fund spending through Lava's Bitcoin Line of Credit (BLOC). Instead of liquidating BTC, you borrow against it — loan-to-value up to 50%, with interest rates starting at 5% plus additional fees. Lava raised $200 million in November 2025 to expand that lending platform, combining venture and debt capital. The BLOC option makes the card a kind of spending tool for people who want to keep their bitcoin stack intact.
Rewards structure and launch promos
Beyond the base 3% back for US users (1% internationally), cardholders earn 5% Bitcoin back at Lava's network of Bitcoin-aligned merchants. Launch promotions cover Amazon, Apple, and Netflix — so the early adopters stacking sats on streaming and shopping are probably the target audience. No word yet on how long those boosted rates last.
Global availability and what it means
The card is available to users in nearly every country, which is ambitious for a crypto card. Lava's pitch is straightforward: spend your stablecoins or borrow against BTC, earn Bitcoin, and skip the fees that eat into typical crypto-to-fiat conversions. The secured model also means no credit check — just fund the account and spend. Whether that's enough to pull in mainstream users remains the open question, but for the Bitcoin-max crowd, it's one more way to put their stack to work without selling.
