Plain-English terms

The crypto card glossary

The jargon that decides what a crypto card actually costs you — each term in plain English, with a real example from a card I've reviewed.

Custody

Cold storage also cold wallet: Keeping a wallet's keys offline — on a device never connected to the internet — so they can't be reached remotely, the opposite of a hot wallet a card spends from.
Custodial also custody: A custodial crypto card is one where the company holds your funds, and you trust it to let you spend and withdraw them — the opposite of self-custodial.
FDIC insurance also FDIC: FDIC insurance is US government cover that repays bank deposits up to $250,000 if the bank fails — and most crypto-card balances do not have it.
Multisig also multi-signature: A multisig wallet needs more than one approval to move funds, so a single leaked key isn't enough to drain it — the security model behind a Safe smart account.
Seed phrase also recovery phrase, seed: The list of words (usually 12 or 24) that recovers a self-custodial wallet — whoever has it controls the funds, so guarding it is the whole job.
Self-custodial also self-custody, non-custodial: A self-custodial crypto card spends from a wallet only you control, so your money stays in your hands until the instant a payment settles.
Smart account also smart contract wallet, Safe: A crypto wallet that is itself a smart contract, enabling rules and recovery beyond a single private key — how self-custodial cards spend from funds you control.

Rewards

APY also annual percentage yield: APY (annual percentage yield) is the yearly return you earn on crypto you stake or save, including the effect of compounding — distinct from APR, what you pay to borrow.
Crypto cashback also cashback, crypto-back: Crypto cashback is a percentage of your spending paid back in crypto rather than fiat — so the real value of your rewards floats with the token's price.
Loyalty tier also rewards tier, staking tier: A reward level you unlock by holding or staking a set amount of the issuer's own token; the higher your tier, the higher your cashback rate.
Merchant category code also MCC: A merchant category code (MCC) is the four-digit code that classifies what a merchant sells — and on crypto cards it often decides which spending earns cashback and which is excluded.
Restaking also liquid restaking, re-staking: Restaking is putting already-staked ETH to work a second time to earn extra yield — the mechanism behind cards that let you spend against staked ETH while it keeps earning.
Reward token: The specific crypto a card pays cashback in — often the issuer's own volatile token, so the real value of "up to X%" rises and falls with its price.
Staking also stake: Staking means locking up crypto to earn rewards and/or unlock a higher card tier, usually for a fixed period during which you can't freely move the funds.

Fees

APR also annual percentage rate: APR (annual percentage rate) is the yearly interest you pay on borrowed money — a credit-card balance you carry, or a crypto-backed credit line.
Cash advance: Borrowing cash against a credit card — charged a higher APR plus a fee and earning no rewards. Crucially, buying crypto is often coded as one.
Exchange spread also spread: An exchange spread is the hidden buy/sell markup baked into a crypto-to-fiat conversion — a cost separate from, and on top of, any stated fee.
Foreign transaction fee also FX fee, foreign-exchange fee: A foreign transaction fee (FX fee) is a charge for spending in a currency other than your card's — and the advertised "0% FX" is often gated to a card's top tiers.
Gas fee also gas: The small fee you pay a blockchain network to process an on-chain transaction; it matters for self-custodial cards but rarely for the card payment itself.

Mechanics

Bridging also bridge: Moving crypto from one blockchain to another; card users bridge to get their funds onto the chain their card actually spends from.
Card network also Visa, Mastercard, payment network: The card network — Visa or Mastercard — is the rails that carry a payment between the shop and the card issuer; it's why acceptance and a few fees differ between two otherwise similar cards.
Card tokenization also Apple Pay, Google Pay, device token: Card tokenization replaces your real card number with a device-specific token so Apple Pay or Google Pay can pay without ever exposing or storing the actual number.
Chargeback also dispute, card dispute: A chargeback is when you dispute a card transaction through the network to claw back a payment — the issuer reverses the charge if your case holds up.
Collateral: Collateral is the crypto you pledge to back a credit line you spend against, so you can buy things without selling your holdings.
DeFi also decentralized finance: Decentralized finance — financial services run by smart contracts you interact with directly, versus CeFi (centralized finance) run by a company.
Liquidation: Liquidation is when a lender force-sells your crypto collateral because its value fell and your loan-to-value climbed too high — the core risk of any borrow-to-spend card.
Loan-to-value (LTV) also LTV: Loan-to-value (LTV) is how much you've borrowed against your crypto collateral as a percentage of its value — a higher LTV means you're closer to liquidation.
Overcollateralization also overcollateralized, over-collateralization: Overcollateralization means borrowing less than the value of the crypto you've pledged, leaving a buffer that protects a crypto credit line from a price drop.
Prepaid card: A card you load with money before spending — not linked to a bank account or a credit line, so your spending is capped at the balance you've topped up.
Settlement also settle: When a pending card charge finalizes — a day or two after you pay — at which point the exact amount and exchange rate are locked in, and can differ from what the terminal showed.
Stablecoin also stablecoins: A stablecoin is a crypto token pegged at roughly 1:1 to a fiat currency — like USDC, EURe or GBPe — so its value stays steady instead of swinging with the market.
Wrapped token also wETH, weETH: A token that stands in 1:1 for another asset so it can be used on a given chain or in DeFi — like wETH for ether, the form some crypto cards pay rewards in.

Access

Anti-money-laundering also AML: Anti-money-laundering (AML) is the body of rules behind KYC that card issuers must follow to stop dirty money moving through their cards.
E-money institution also EMI, electronic money institution: An e-money institution (EMI) is the regulated, non-bank entity that issues many crypto cards in the EU and UK — licensed to hold your money and put a card on it.
Fiat on-ramp also on-ramp, off-ramp: A fiat on-ramp converts ordinary money into crypto (and an off-ramp converts it back) — how you fund a crypto card from your bank, and cash out from it.
IBAN also International Bank Account Number: A bank-style account identifier used for SEPA transfers; some crypto cards give you one so you can fund the card by ordinary bank transfer.
KYC also know your customer, identity verification: KYC (Know Your Customer) is the identity check a regulated card issuer must run before you can use the card — and self-custody doesn't exempt you.
Money transmitter also MSB, money services business: A money transmitter is a licensed-but-not-a-bank company allowed to move and hold money for you — it can issue a card, but your balance isn't covered by deposit insurance.
Proof of address also proof of residence, address verification: Proof of address is the document — a recent utility bill or bank statement — that KYC asks for to confirm where you live, and a common reason crypto-card applications get rejected.
Virtual card also digital card: A virtual card is a digital card number issued instantly after approval, so you can add it to a wallet and spend before — or instead of — the plastic arrives.