Revolut Crypto Card Puts Digital Asset Spending Into Physical Payments.

Revolut has launched its first physical crypto debit card in the UK and European Economic Area, as payments firms and digital banks continue to test how digital assets can be used at checkout.

The card gives customers a way to spend crypto wherever Visa and Mastercard are accepted, with zero exchange fees and an LED glow when users tap to pay. Exchange rate and fair usage fees may apply depending on the customer’s plan.

The card is available in the UK and EEA, excluding Hungary, Switzerland and Portugal. Initial supplies may be limited.

The launch comes as much of the digital asset payments discussion has focused on stablecoins and settlement use cases. Blandina Szalay, banking and payments analyst at GlobalData, a data and analytics company, said Revolut’s move represented “a renewed bet on making crypto payments mainstream” by bringing its crypto debit card proposition into the physical card market.

“While the industry focuses on leveraging the efficiencies of stablecoin payments, Revolut has placed a renewed bet on making crypto payments mainstream by relaunching its crypto debit card proposition – this time in the physical world with flashy features like LED light up at payment,” Szalay said.

“This move signals an important market shift from the leading digital bank, as until now cryptocurrency spending was mostly only possible as an underlying funding source for payment wallets.”

Crypto spending moves into a familiar card format

GlobalData said payment use cases among crypto holders remain relatively low. According to its Mobile Wallet Analytics 2025 data, 5% of wallet holders, on average, reported using crypto to fund their payment wallets last year.

Szalay said usage was highest in emerging markets and the US, although some of Revolut’s European target markets, including the UK, France and Poland, were also slightly above average for using crypto to fund wallets.

She also added that the physical card format could be significant because it places crypto spending within a familiar payments experience.

“Against the backdrop of growing mobile payment trends, Revolut’s move to launch a decentralised finance instrument into the physical world may seem counterintuitive at first,” Szalay said. “But in reality, it is a way of leveraging a bank card as a key symbol associated with traditional banking.”

She said positioning the product within a traditional card experience “may just be what was needed to push crypto payments into the mainstream”, while the LED feature adds a visual prompt at the point of payment.

Tax and risk warnings remain central to crypto card spending

Revolut’s launch also comes with several warnings for customers. Crypto card payments are subject to the exchange rate at the point of transaction, and the company has warned that paying with a crypto card may be considered a disposal of cryptoassets, meaning tax could be payable depending on the customer’s circumstances.

The company also directed users to its crypto risk summary, warning that customers should not invest unless they are prepared to lose all the money they invest.

Szalay said wider use of crypto for active spending could have market implications if holders begin using crypto balances more frequently for purchases.

“This large-scale development does not come without risks,” she said. “As and when passive crypto holding starts shifting to active spend, it will impact the wider market, and coin values due to supply and demand shocks that would then directly impact the value of purchases, as opposed to just the value of investment balances.”

She added that the extent of any impact would depend on whether crypto holders are ready to start spending their holdings regularly.

Revolut expands across investments and business services

The crypto card launch follows a series of recent product and regulatory updates from Revolut.

Last week, Revolut Trading Ltd secured a Variation of Permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority, broadening the regulated activities it can offer in the UK. The permissions include managing investments and dealing as principal, moving the business beyond basic brokerage.

The approval is expected to support a broader investment product range, including leveraged products, managed portfolio solutions and private wealth services.

Victoria Laffey, head of operations at Revolut Trading Ltd, said: “These permissions are the missing piece allowing us to unite investment, advisory and portfolio management under one roof, making them even more accessible. Our mission has always been to remove the friction of fragmented financial services; and we can now put sophisticated wealth management products and tools in the hands of every type of investor, helping our customers build and manage wealth with confidence.”

Revolut Business has also recently launched GlobalHire, an Employer of Record platform designed to help UK businesses hire, onboard and pay international workers without setting up local legal entities.

The product is integrated into the Revolut Business ecosystem and uses Revolut’s foreign exchange infrastructure for international salary payments. Revolut Business said GlobalHire follows a period of growth for the business, which now serves close to 800,000 global businesses and surpassed £277 billion in transaction volumes in 2025.