Ledger
wavecard
wavecardwavecard
VisaVirtual and plasticSince 2025Asks for everythingOperational
The first Visa debit card that spends self-custodial Bitcoin straight from your own Lightning wallet over Nostr Wallet Connect — you keep the keys, the card pulls sats only at the moment of purchase, and you can put any name you like on the plastic.
Total, per $100 spent: $1.50per $100 spent
84 of the 174 priced cards cost less. Among the 113 that ask for exactly as much identity, the median is $1.23.
Open wave.spaceNot a paid link: we earn nothing either way.
Whether to take wavecard
In its favour
- Pseudonymous by design — you set any name you want on the card
- Genuinely self-custodial: connect your own Lightning wallet over Nostr Wallet Connect and the card pulls sats only as you spend
- Your BTC stays in your wallet until the last possible second
- Cheapest conversion in its class: 1% plus roughly 0.5% spread, about 1.5% all-in
Against it
- No direct Apple Pay — it only works through the Curve app
- Card opening is paid: €2.99 in BTC for virtual, €29.99 in BTC for physical
- ATM withdrawals are expensive at 3% plus €2, passed through at cost
- Tier 1 KYC is full verification: personal details, home address, document check and a selfie
Also true, in its favour
- Zero FX fees between fiat currencies — pay in any country at fair rates
- No monthly fee at all
- Unlimited cards, both virtual and physical
- Personal virtual IBAN in your own name for sending and receiving EUR over SEPA Instant
- Bank transfers and Lightning transactions are free of charge
- On-chain withdrawals cost only the network fee, with no markup
- MiCA-compliant, and Lightning keeps your payment history off the public chain
- Standing purchase orders can auto-convert your salary into Bitcoin
What wavecard costs
| Charge | What it costs |
|---|---|
| To get the card | |
| To issue the card | $2.99 |
| Monthly | $0.00 |
| To put money in | |
| To load | 0% |
| To spend it | |
| To spend | 1% |
| To spend outside the dollar | 0% |
| At a cash machine | 3% + €2 |
| Total, per $100 spent | $1.50 |
Not published by the issuer: per payment, fixed.
Read off wave.space on September 7, 2026.
One-time card opening fee paid in BTC: €2.99 for a virtual card, €29.99 for a physical one. No monthly fee. Spending costs a flat 1% conversion fee plus roughly 0.5% spread baked into the BTC price by liquidity providers — about 1.5% all-in, which wave.space positions against roughly 2.49% for Bitrefill and 3.99% for the Coinbase card. There are no additional FX fees between fiat currencies. ATM withdrawals are passed through at cost: 3% plus €2. Bank transfers and Lightning transactions are free, and on-chain withdrawals cost only the network fee. Tier 1 verification caps card payments at €10,000 per month; Tier 2 raises it to €15,000 and unlocks unlimited deposits.
KYC: what wavecard asks for
Full verification: a document, a photograph of your face and proof of your address. The same file a bank opens on you, held by a company that is not a bank.
Asks nothing7 cards
An email18 cards
A light check — a name and a phone, unverified9 cards
A document102 cards
Everything — document, face, address114 cards
Limits on spending
Monthly spend$10,000
Daily spend$10,000
Cash, per day$350
Not published by the issuer: per payment, maximum balance.
Confirmed on wave.space on September 7, 2026. A figure told to one person in a chat window is not a published limit, so it does not appear here.
Where it works
WalletsGoogle Pay only
Accepted whereOnline, in person, cash machines
Account detailsIts own account details
Coins in1BTC
Chains2Bitcoin, Lightning
TiersVirtual, Physical
The issuer names no country it turns away. That is not a promise that every country works.
The other flaws
- Tier 1 caps card payments at €10,000 per month, and even Tier 2 only raises that to €15,000
- Tier 2 demands usage purpose, source of funds and proof of address
- Bitcoin-only — no stablecoins or other assets
- Top-up fee is not published separately from the conversion fee
How we checked this
Thirteen fields are tracked for every service. 11 of them carry a figure we read off wave.space on September 7, 2026.
- Issuer's page
- Cost per $100 · Loading charge · Currency conversion · Per-payment charge · Issuance · Monthly · Cash machine charge · Spending limits · Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Sign-up flow
- Identity level
- Live check
- Operating status
- The issuer does not publish
- Maximum balance · Countries closed
Nothing here came from a press release, an affiliate sheet, or another comparison site.
Open wave.spaceNot a paid link: we earn nothing either way.
Alternatives to wavecard
Takes $0.50 less on every $100 spent.
Banxe Corporate CardBanxe Corporate CardMastercardVirtual and plasticAsks for everythingOperational$1.00 fixed. 1 fee field is not published.AG7 Sept$1.00per $100 spent
Banxe Corporate CardBanxe Corporate CardMastercardVirtual and plasticAsks for everythingOperational$1.00 fixed. 1 fee field is not published.AG7 Sept$1.00per $100 spentIts issuer publishes nothing to compare on price.
PokePay CardPokePay CardVisaVirtual and plasticAsks for everythingOperationalPublishes 2 of five fee fields — not enough to price.AG31 Julnot published
PokePay CardPokePay CardVisaVirtual and plasticAsks for everythingOperationalPublishes 2 of five fee fields — not enough to price.AG31 Julnot published