Is the Fold Card Worth It for Earning Bitcoin Rewards?
The Fold Card lets you earn Bitcoin on everyday purchases. Here's an honest look at whether its rewards justify the costs and volatility risks.
Fold has distributed nearly $75 million in Bitcoin rewards to its users. That's a striking number for a company most people have never heard of, and it raises an obvious question: should you be using their card?
The answer depends almost entirely on one thing—whether you believe Bitcoin's long-term trajectory is up.
What Fold Actually Offers
Fold provides both a Visa debit card and, as of February 2025, a credit card. Both let you earn Bitcoin instead of traditional cashback or points on everyday purchases.
The basic structure looks like this:
- Standard members earn 1-1.5% back in Bitcoin on purchases
- Fold+ members ($100-$150/year) earn 2-3.5% back
- Gift card purchases through the app can yield 10-20% back at merchants like Amazon, Target, and Starbucks
- A gamified "spin wheel" offers bonus Bitcoin after purchases
The new credit card, launched through partnerships with Visa and Stripe, simplifies things with a flat 2% unlimited Bitcoin back—no categories to track, no rotating bonuses to remember.
Fold reports over 600,000 users and $2.5 billion in processed transactions. The company is also trading on NASDAQ, which would makes it the first publicly traded Bitcoin financial services firm.
The Case For Fold
If you're already buying Bitcoin regularly, Fold lets you accumulate more through spending you'd do anyway. The debit card requires no credit check and connects to FDIC-insured accounts, with insured custody for your Bitcoin holdings.
The real appeal is mathematical. If Bitcoin doubles over five years, that 2% reward becomes 4% in purchasing power. If it follows anything close to its historical trajectory, your rewards could outpace traditional cashback significantly.
For committed Bitcoin holders—the "HODLers"—this is passive accumulation with minimal friction.
The Case Against
Here's where it gets complicated.
Traditional cashback cards offer predictable 2-5% rewards that won't evaporate in a market downturn. If Bitcoin drops 30% after you earn your rewards, your effective rate drops with it.
The premium Fold+ membership costs $100-$150 annually. Unless you're spending at least $1,000 per month, the higher reward rates may not offset that fee. For most people, the math works out.
Who Should Actually Consider This?
Fold makes sense if:
- You already believe in Bitcoin's long-term value and plan to hold for years
- You spend enough monthly to justify premium membership fees
- You're comfortable with reward volatility tied to crypto markets
Fold probably isn't for you if:
- You prefer stable, predictable cashback
- You'd convert Bitcoin rewards to dollars immediately anyway
- Your monthly spending wouldn't offset membership costs
The Bottom Line
Fold is a great product for a specific type of person: someone who's already committed to accumulating Bitcoin and wants another avenue to do it. The 2% credit card rate is competitive with traditional cashback, and if Bitcoin appreciates, those rewards become increasingly valuable.
But if you're skeptical of Bitcoin, ambivalent about holding it, or simply prefer certainty in your rewards, a conventional 2% cashback card delivers the same rate without the volatility.
The Fold Card isn't a way to get rich—it's a way to align your spending with a bet you've already made.