FinTech News
Aven Introduces Bitcoin-Backed Rewards Credit Card
A company known for its asset-backed credit cards is introducing a new product — one backed by Bitcoin.
About the Aven Bitcoin Visa Card:
This week, Aven announced the launch of its Bitcoin Visa Card. Rather than earning Bitcoin, however, this unique card is backed by customers’ Bitcoin holdings. The reveal was made during the 2026 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas.
With this new card, customers can pledge their Bitcoin to Aven and get a credit interest rate based on their loan-to-value (LTV). For example, according to the card’s site, a customer with just over 2 Bitcoins (currently worth upwards of $154,000) could get a $46,000 credit limit, which is 30% LTV, with a 7.99% APR. Meanwhile, credit limits based on 50% and 70% LTVs carry APRs of 9.99% and 11.99%, respectively.
Currently, Aven allows for credit limits up to $100,000 with this card and offers fixed-term plans up to 10 years. Additionally, the card earns unlimited 2% cashback. These cards are issued by Coastal Community Bank, while the Bitcoin is held with BitGo Bank & Trust.
The debut of this Aven Bitcoin Visa Card comes nearly two years after the company introduced a home equity-backed credit card, giving homeowners lines of credit of up to $250,000. Meanwhile, Aven also offers a more traditional card in the Aven Rewards Visa, which earns 3% cashback on up to $10,000 in purchases per year and 2% back after that.
What They’re Saying:
Announcing the new card, Aven’s chief of crypto Sisun Lee stated, “Bitcoin is becoming a bigger part of people’s lives and net worth, but using bitcoin productively remains challenging. We built the Aven Bitcoin Visa Card to give bitcoin holders the opportunity to borrow against their bitcoin and access their line of credit through a credit card with lower rates, better terms and rich rewards.”
My Thoughts:
If you’re a crypto enthusiast (or just someone who happens to have a decent amount for whatever reason), the idea of securing a credit line with your Bitcoin in order to obtain a lower interest rate may seem attractive. However, with the volatility of Bitcoin, customers will want to pay close attention to their LTV.
As Aven notes in their terms, if your LTV exceeds 80%, you’ll only have 72 hours to get it back below this threshold. Otherwise, Aven will sell whatever portion of your pledged Bitcoin it needs to in order to get you down to your original LTV amount. Should that happen, it could result in you taking a loss on your crypto. Oh, also, if your LTV reaches 85%, Aven will fully liquidate your pledged Bitcoin and charge you a 2% fee on top of that. Yikes.
Lastly, it’s a bit funny to me that the card earns cashback and not crypto, but that might actually be better. Either way, this is another intriguing product from Aven, albeit one that I personally don’t have any interest in.