My Onchain Neobank Reviews: Krak, Peanut & Avici

Why is no one talking about Krak?

I thought it was just another crypto card. Turns out it’s one of the closest things I’ve seen to a real crypto-native neobank.

Standout features

• Registration + KYC in ~2 minutes (especially fast if you already have a Kraken account)
• Free virtual card (instant)
• Free physical card
• Mastercard (World Elite)
• Cashback: up to 2% (tiered based on your 30-day average balance across Krak + Kraken + Kraken Pro). Higher balances unlock higher rates. Cashback paid in EUR, GBP or BTC
• 0% FX fees
• Supports multiple fiat currencies including EUR, USD, GBP, CAD, CHF, JPY
• IBAN / local bank accounts in your own name (EUR & GBP)
• Bank transfers in supported currencies
• Deposits in USDC, EURC and other stablecoins
• Crypto deposits (BTC and many other assets)
• Fiat top-ups in seconds
• Multiple fiat funding methods (Easy bank transfer, Manual bank transfer, PayPal)
• Instant EUR/GBP withdrawals to bank accounts
• Auto Earn + Vaults (yield on fiat and crypto balances, with higher APYs available through Vaults)
• Cashback paid in either fiat or BTC
• Referral program: €10 for you and €10 for your friend (up to a limit)
• Smooth, polished UX from start to finish

Fees & limits

• Crypto-to-fiat conversion / spending spread: ~1% (variable)
• No monthly fees
• No transaction fees from Krak
• No ATM withdrawal fees from Krak side (third-party ATM operator fees may still apply)
• ATM limits (example figures reported by users):
  • Single withdrawal: ~$340
  • Daily withdrawal: ~$5,450

Availability

Currently available to verified personal accounts in the UK and EEA only. More countries expected later.

Bottom line

At some point crypto cards stop feeling like cards and start feeling like full banking products. Krak already feels much closer to the second category.

It’s one of the more complete “spend + send + grow” experiences currently available in the crypto space, especially for users who want real IBANs, multi-asset spending, and yield in the same app.

Peanut Review

Self-custodial bank account on the blockchain (the card is secondary)

Hard to ignore Peanut this week.

They made a lot of noise on X with their viral marketing campaign. Most people have already seen it by now.

I got access through the waitlist, did some research, and made a few purchases. Their philosophy became pretty clear after that.

They’re barely selling a card. They’re selling a self-custodial bank account on the blockchain — the card is simply one way to spend your money.

Infrastructure

• Simple onboarding (just a few minutes to sign up)
• Self-custody smart wallet secured by passkeys
• Peanut cannot freeze or seize user funds
• Smart wallet deployed on Arbitrum
• Free Visa Platinum virtual card
• Physical card coming later

Features

• Dedicated points system for gamification (not redeemable for cash)
• Gamification through achievements
• Free crypto deposits and withdrawals
• Free bank deposits and withdrawals via SEPA, ACH, and wire transfers (supports a very large number of countries)
• Free payment links and payment requests
• Unlimited crypto transfers without additional verification
• No hard transaction limits for users in the US, Europe, and Mexico
• Support for SEPA, ACH, Faster Payments, and SPEI
• QR payments in Argentina (Mercado Pago) and Brazil (Pix)
• Better FX rates than traditional bank cards in Argentina (around 2–11% advantage reported)
• Fast deposits across Solana, Base, Arbitrum, Tron, Polygon, and Ethereum
• Referral program with revenue sharing and multi-level rewards
• Referral rewards paid in real money (not points)

Fees

• Only the payment provider’s FX spread of around 0.5% to 0.8%
• No fees for deposits, withdrawals, QR payments, or transfers
• No hidden fees
• No monthly account fees
• Crypto-to-fiat conversion uses the payment provider’s FX spread (no additional Peanut fee)

Limitations

• Passkeys do not automatically sync between Apple and Google ecosystems
• If your passkey isn’t backed up, losing your device means losing access to your wallet
• After a card payment, there is a short waiting period before using collateral again
• Some local payment methods are currently available only in Latin America

Biggest advantage

Peanut’s biggest edge isn’t cashback or lower fees.

It’s geography.

In many countries, people still can’t access most crypto cards because of regulatory restrictions. Peanut appears to be building its product around global accessibility from day one — with bank transfers, local payment rails, QR payments, and support across a large number of countries.

If this strategy works, accessibility could become Peanut’s strongest competitive advantage. Not cashback.

Avici Review

Avici’s metrics have been quietly climbing despite not offering aggressive cashback or headline-grabbing incentives.

I decided to take a closer look at what Avici actually offers and why people keep using it.

What Avici offers

• Self-custody: your funds always remain yours
• KYC takes just a few minutes
• Choice between Visa Signature and Visa Platinum
• Both virtual and physical cards available
• Apple Pay and Google Pay support
• Card pricing
  • Virtual Signature: $30 (first year), then $20/year
  • Virtual Platinum: $15 for the first card, then $10 for each additional card
  • Physical Signature: $75 (includes the first year), then $20/year from year two
  • Physical Platinum: $50 (one-time fee)
• Paying in EUR from a USD balance resulted in an effective FX fee of ~1.1% in testing
• Personal IBAN in your own name
• EUR SEPA deposits arrive almost instantly and are automatically converted to USDC (€1 deposit fee)
• Documentation states that third-party bank transfers are supported, but the app currently indicates the EUR account can only receive payments from your own bank accounts
• Business accounts available
• Ability to spend against borrowed funds
• Stablecoin yield of ~3.2–5%
• SOL yield of ~4.4%
• Up to 10% reinsurance yield
• Buy US stocks through xStocks (NVIDIA, Apple, Tesla, and more)
• Access private market investments (OpenAI, Anthropic, and others)
• Buy gold and silver
• Buy BTC and other cryptocurrencies
• No Avici fees for swaps, card top-ups, or withdrawals to your wallet
• All virtual and physical cards share the same spending balance
• Individual spending limits can be set for each card
• Card top-ups can be made with different tokens (automatically converted into USDC)
• No ATM withdrawal fee with the Signature card
• Chargebacks available for disputed or unauthorized transactions
• Refunds are credited back to your card balance and can be spent again (but cannot be withdrawn to your wallet)
• Card statements available
• Web version available alongside the mobile app
• Limited-time $5 welcome bonus after card activation and KYC
• Demo Mode lets you explore the app before registering
• MetaDAO virtual card available
• Excellent UX
• Light and dark mode
• Available on both iPhone and Android
• Referral program
• Excellent customer support (replies within ~2 minutes in testing)
• Crypto deposits via Solana and EVM networks

What I’d like to see improved

• Lower the cost of virtual and physical cards (or make one card free)
• Faster card top-ups and withdrawals (sometimes took a few minutes)
• Native EUR balance support

Is there cashback?

Occasionally there are promotional campaigns, but there is currently no permanent cashback program.

Final thoughts

Avici is primarily interesting for people who want to manage their finances directly from a self-custodial crypto account. A personal IBAN, Business Accounts, investing features, and yield products make it much more than just another crypto card.

The UX, customer support, and Demo Mode were all genuinely impressive.

The biggest downside is the pricing of both virtual and physical cards. Paid cards are common across many projects, but lower pricing (or at least one free card) would make a clear difference. Promo codes that reduce the cost do exist, but you first have to find them.

Overall, Avici left a very positive impression. Everything tested worked as expected. According to the documentation, the ability to receive third-party payments alongside Business Accounts makes Avici particularly interesting for creators, freelancers, and small teams.