The average American is struggling to save. Wages haven’t kept up with inflation, and the traditional tools for building financial security aren’t working like they used to.
Bitcoin is the solution.
But for many, it still feels too volatile, too complex, or simply too far out of reach to pay attention to. And when saving itself feels impossible, buying bitcoin directly isn’t even on the radar. That’s why a little skin in the game — even passively through rewards — can change everything.
“I think a bitcoin rewards credit card will be a top three bitcoin product of all time, behind only the bitcoin exchange and the bitcoin ETF.” — Will Reeves
A bitcoin rewards credit card is the ultimate budget-neutral strategy for bitcoin accumulation. Stack sats without changing your habits; just choose a different daily driver credit card.
It’s a solution for the bitcoin-curious who aren’t ready to buy and for those just focused on keeping their head above water — struggling to budget for any meaningful savings. It’s a way to accumulate bitcoin without running faster on the hamster wheel.
Like bitcoin itself, once you see the benefits of a bitcoin rewards credit card, you can’t unsee it. For individuals, it may not seem obvious at first glance, but when you zoom out to the extreme ends of the spending spectrum, the potential becomes impossible to ignore.
In 2024, the U.S. government spent $39.7 billion on credit cards — averaging over $108 million in daily spend. At a 2% bitcoin rewards rate and an average bitcoin price of $66K, that would have equated to roughly 33 BTC earned per day and over 12,000 BTC across the year — all without increasing the budget by a single dollar.
At today’s bitcoin prices, that reward stack would have grown by roughly $400 million in additional purchasing power — an increase that nearly matches the $506 million in total refunds earned through the existing GSA SmartPay program.
It’s a stretch to imagine the U.S. government adopting the Fold Standard. But the hypothetical large-scale example shows just how quickly bitcoin rewards can stack up. And this strategy works whether you’re a government agency, a corporation, a small business, an individual, or a family trying to build long-term wealth.
A bitcoin rewards credit card simply makes sense.
The payment bridge bitcoiners need
Credit cards aren’t going anywhere. The network effects of infrastructure and cultural acceptance are massive. They’re the preferred payment method for a reason.
What both current and future bitcoiners need is an optimal way to straddle bitcoin and dollars as money — and a bitcoin rewards credit card is that solution.
Leveraging the existing financial system to make living on bitcoin easier isn’t a fiat compromise. It’s progress. And meeting pre-coiners where they are, with a seamless on-ramp to bitcoin, is a good thing.
As Americans look for ways to defend their savings against inflation, wage stagnation, and the quiet erosion of purchasing power, a bitcoin rewards credit card offers a simple solution: upgrade a familiar tool and accumulate bitcoin without disrupting day-to-day life.
Even if bitcoin merchant adoption became widespread in America, many would still choose to spend debasing dollars and save in hard money. That preference only grows stronger as more people internalize bitcoin as their personal hurdle rate.
So despite not being a bitcoin-native innovation, the upcoming Fold Credit Card is worth celebrating as if it were. Once launched, the first public bitcoin financial services company will have infiltrated the apex predator of payment methods — rerouting broken incentives toward bitcoin adoption.
And as bitcoin becomes normalized as pristine capital, it can continue to upgrade the system from the inside.
“Today, the best credit cards are only available to a limited set of consumers with high FICO scores, a system that reflects debt management. What happens when bitcoin ownership and activity can signal financial responsibility? Suddenly, a card that previously served 20% of the population could serve 50%.” — Will Reeves
Beyond rewards
The Fold Credit Card won’t be the only credit card that earns bitcoin — but it will be the first one built into a comprehensive toolkit for personal finances powered by bitcoin. And that’s something special.
If you’re already saving in bitcoin, you’ve experienced the relief of not having to be an amateur investor to keep up with dollar debasement. You’ve eliminated the need to play those fiat games.
This relief is overlooked when comparing the upcoming Fold Credit Card with other options.
Yes — you could juggle legacy cards to maximize cash back dollars and manually buy bitcoin at the end of the month. But the time, energy, and discipline needed to ensure those rewards eventually become bitcoin adds friction to what could be automatic. That effort could be returned to you if you simply earned bitcoin with every purchase.
Bitcoin’s four-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has ranged between 60% and 30% — and even at its lowest, a 7% gain in the purchasing power of rewards offers meaningful growth that fiat rewards can’t match.
Passive bitcoin exposure, built directly into your everyday spending, simply makes life easier.
There are cards on the market now that make earning bitcoin easy, either instantly or at the end of the month, but they exist on platforms that aren’t built for personal finance.
The true unlock of a bitcoin rewards credit card is having it be a tool in a broader toolkit. There’s value in the simplicity of spending, saving, and earning in one place.
This is the gap the Fold Credit Card will close. It’s what existing users want, and more importantly, it will create a crucial bridge for retail bitcoin adoption.
Bitcoin user adoption
Institutions and nation-states are waking up to the reality that bitcoin is pristine capital. Meanwhile, the average American is unaware that bitcoin fixes their savings struggles.
Maybe since bitcoin has matured past the FOMO hype cycles, retail is simply not paying attention. Maybe they feel like they missed the boat. Maybe they’re still conflating bitcoin with crypto. Regardless, there’s no clear catalyst pulling them in.
It certainly doesn’t help that the very concept of saving feels foreign to most.
“The idea of savings has been so eroded, not because it’s not a good thing to do, but because the mechanics in which people would have saved money are completely debased. Eroded in a way that has made that process of saving feel fruitless. And they’re right that the tools aren’t working anymore. They’re wrong that savings isn’t a worthy path.” — Will Reeves
The average American has lost the ability to save, forgotten what it means, or never experienced it. And turning $100 into $200 with bitcoin doesn’t feel as exciting as chasing the next 100x memecoin or betting on sports.
It’s a Catch-22: Bitcoin fixes a savings problem most people don’t recognize — and the only way to recognize it is by stepping into bitcoin, not as an investment, but as better money. And it’s hard to care about better money when you feel like you have nothing to save.
The pieces are there.
Fold can already satisfy earning and saving in bitcoin. Across the board, there are more solutions than ever. The difficulty lies in breaking through with a touchpoint: one where the voluntary action of adopting bitcoin, even at the rewards level, is effortless.
A bitcoin rewards credit card, done right, might be the best catalyst that’s been missing.
“There’s a few ways to educate people about bitcoin — you can do it front on, full frontal Bitcoin Standard. Or there’s the idea of getting something in people’s hands and letting it take on a life of its own. The important thing is it’s really hard to get people to do new things.” — Will Reeves
Credit cards are ubiquitous. They’re familiar. They’re the dominant way people spend. That makes a bitcoin rewards credit card a more effective Trojan horse than merchant gift card or prepaid debit card rewards.
And the Fold Credit Card, as an on-ramp, won’t have fiat or crypto distractions. It won’t take them to a crypto casino. Instead, it will be a first step towards integrating bitcoin into their everyday personal finances — earning, saving, and getting paid in bitcoin — without compromising connectivity with the world around them.
Fold is the path of least resistance for living on bitcoin.
“Today, over 50% of all transactions on Fold through our trades are related to using bitcoin as a means of payment, whether that’s converting bitcoin to pay a bill or funding a debit card purchase.” — Will Reeves
More Americans are recognizing the legacy system isn’t working in their favor — and bitcoin is right in front of them.
We’re at the tipping point where the economic incentives, ease of entrance, and amount of educational resources are so great that it’s hard not to be bullish on adoption.
No one is going from zero to a full bitcoin-native standard. But the more people see and use bitcoin as money, the more high-agency individuals will come to participate in the broader ecosystem.
So the flywheel effect that the Fold Credit Card can help kickstart should be celebrated as a victory for bitcoin, despite being a fiat product.
The ‘store of value, then medium of exchange’ perspective is too narrow. It’s happening all at once. Bitcoin is money. And the first public bitcoin financial services company is actively pushing to make that realization easy for the average consumer.
“Together, we’ve taken on one of the biggest challenges facing Americans today: how to build financial freedom in a time of inflation, declining savings, and shrinking purchasing power.
[The] ringing of the bell doesn’t just celebrate how far we’ve come — it signals what’s next:
A bright orange future where Bitcoin powers a new American Dream, one that’s open, accessible, and within reach for all.” — Will Reeves
Disclaimer: This article is sponsored content and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Bitcoin Magazine. The information provided is for promotional purposes and should not be considered financial advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before making any investment decisions related to Bitcoin or other financial products mentioned herein.
