Binance vs Nexo

Every Binance card transaction liquidates your crypto at the point of sale, converting it to BRL. This creates a capital gains tax event on every purchase. If you bought BTC at $20,000 and spend when it is at $60,000, you owe tax on the $40,000/BTC gain proportional to the amount spent.

Nexo in credit mode borrows against your holdings instead. No crypto is sold. No taxable disposal occurs in most jurisdictions. Your BTC stays in your portfolio, continuing to appreciate, while you spend a credit line backed by that collateral. When you repay the loan (from fiat income, stablecoin deposits, or selling at a time of your choosing), you control the timing and tax impact.

This structural difference matters more than any cashback rate. Consider a user holding $50,000 in BTC purchased at $20,000. Spending $2,000/month through Binance creates 12 taxable disposals per year, each triggering capital gains at 15-37% depending on jurisdiction and holding period. At a 20% effective rate on 150% average appreciation, the annual tax cost is approximately $2,880. The same $2,000/month through Nexo in credit mode creates zero taxable events - the tax cost is $0.

Nexo also offers a debit mode that sells crypto like Binance, giving users the flexibility to switch per-transaction. For stablecoin holders where there is no appreciation to tax, debit mode works identically to Binance's model but without FX fees or cashback caps.

Both cards advertise 2% cashback. The net take-home diverges dramatically.

Binance charges 0.9% conversion on every transaction plus 1-2% FX on international purchases. Nexo charges 0% FX and 0% conversion for Gold and Platinum tier members.

Binance loses money on every international purchase. The 2% cashback minus 2.9% in combined fees (0.9% conversion + 2% FX) produces a -0.9% net return. Every $1,000 spent internationally costs $9 more than using no card at all. Over a year of $1,000/month international spending, that is $108 in pure losses.

Domestically, Binance nets 1.1% but caps at 250 BRL/month (approximately $45). Annual maximum: roughly $264 at $2,000/month domestic spending. Above $2,250/month, the effective rate drops because additional spending incurs the 0.9% conversion fee with zero cashback offset.

According to SpendNode's side-by-side data, Nexo at 2% with zero fees produces a clean 2% return with no cap. At $2,000/month, Nexo earns $480/year - 82% more than Binance's capped $264. At $3,000/month, the gap widens: $720 versus $264 (Nexo earns 2.7x more).

Nexo launched Zero-Interest Credit (ZiC) in January 2026, allowing Gold and Platinum loyalty tier members to borrow against BTC and ETH at 0% APR for fixed durations. This eliminates the traditional cost of crypto-backed credit - the interest rate - while preserving the tax benefit of not selling.

A long-term BTC holder spending $3,000/month through Nexo ZiC earns $60/month in NEXO cashback with zero interest cost and zero taxable events. The same person using Binance in Brazil earns $22/month (after the cap), creates 12 annual tax events, and loses money on any international purchase. The annual gap: $720 (Nexo) versus $264 (Binance) in cashback alone, before accounting for tax savings.

ZiC requires maintaining adequate loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. If your collateral value drops (BTC price decline), you may need to add collateral or face partial liquidation. This is the primary risk of the credit model that Binance's simpler sell-at-POS model avoids. However, the LTV risk is manageable with conservative borrowing ratios (keeping utilization below 50% of your portfolio value).

Both cards pay cashback in their native tokens. Binance pays in BNB. Nexo pays in NEXO tokens (or 0.5% in BTC as an alternative).

NEXO token carries higher concentration risk than BNB. BNB has deeper liquidity, broader utility (Binance Smart Chain gas, exchange fee discounts), and a much larger market cap. NEXO is primarily useful within the Nexo ecosystem for loyalty tier benefits and interest boosts. A 30% decline in NEXO price effectively turns your 2% cashback into 1.4% realized value. The 0.5% BTC alternative provides more stable rewards but at one-quarter the rate.

Binance's BNB rewards also face price volatility, but BNB's broader utility means it can be deployed in DeFi, used for exchange fees, or sold with minimal slippage. NEXO's utility is more limited outside the Nexo platform.

For users who want maximum reward stability, Nexo's 0.5% BTC option provides the safest per-dollar return. For users comfortable with exchange token exposure, Nexo's 2% NEXO rate is four times higher.

Nexo serves the EEA and UK with a Mastercard supporting Apple Pay. Binance serves Brazil only with a Mastercard supporting Apple Pay and Google Pay. There is no geographic overlap.

Binance supports 10 spendable assets (BNB, BTC, ETH, SOL, ADA, LINK, XRP, USDT, USDC, FDUSD) - the broadest asset support in this comparison. Nexo supports 5 (NEXO, BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC) but compensates with dual-mode spending flexibility.

ATM policies differ. Binance provides 2 free withdrawals per month, then $1.50 each. Nexo charges a flat 2% ATM fee with no free tier. For cash-dependent users, Binance's policy is better within the 2-withdrawal limit ($3.00 saved per month versus 2% on any amount through Nexo).

Spending limits: Nexo at $20,000/month versus Binance at approximately 50,000 BRL/month ($9,000). Nexo's higher ceiling accommodates larger monthly spend without hitting limits.

Using the Binance card for any international purchase from Brazil. This is mathematically guaranteed to lose money. The 2% cashback minus 2.9% total fees (0.9% conversion + 2% FX) produces a -0.9% net return on every cross-currency transaction. A Brazilian user spending $500/month on international purchases loses $54/year. Over two years, that is $108 - money literally lost by using the card instead of any 0%-fee alternative. How to avoid it: Reserve the Binance card exclusively for domestic BRL purchases. For any international spending from Brazil, use a no-FX-fee card like RedotPay or Gate.io. Even a 0% rewards card with 0% fees outperforms Binance internationally.

Assuming Nexo's 0% APR Zero-Interest Credit is available to all users from day one. ZiC requires Gold or Platinum loyalty tier status, which depends on your NEXO token holdings relative to your portfolio balance. New Nexo users without NEXO tokens start at the Base tier, where credit mode APR is significantly higher (up to 13.9%). At 13.9% APR, a $2,000/month spending pattern accumulating $12,000 in credit-line balance costs approximately $1,668/year in interest - far exceeding the $480/year in cashback earned. How to avoid it: Before committing to Nexo's credit mode, check your loyalty tier in the app. If you are at Base or Silver tier, either acquire enough NEXO to reach Gold/Platinum first, or use debit mode (which charges no interest but creates taxable disposals like Binance). The 0% APR advantage is real but tier-gated.

In the EEA or UK with appreciated crypto: Nexo is the clear choice. The credit-line model avoids taxable disposals, 0% FX keeps costs flat, and Zero-Interest Credit (at Gold/Platinum tier) makes the 2% cashback nearly free. Annual earnings at $2,000/month: $480 versus Binance's capped $264.

In Brazil: Binance is your only option between these two. The 2% domestic cashback nets 1.1% after conversion fees but caps at 250 BRL/month. Never use it for international purchases.

Tax-conscious holders in any Nexo-served market should strongly prefer the credit mode over any card that sells crypto at point of sale.

Outlook: Nexo is expanding ZiC eligibility and may extend 0% APR to additional assets beyond BTC and ETH in 2026. Its dual-mode model gives it a structural advantage that pure prepaid cards cannot replicate without fundamental redesign. Binance has not announced plans to expand beyond Brazil, increase the 250 BRL/month cashback cap, or reduce its FX fees. The gap between these two products is likely to widen, not narrow, as Nexo's credit features mature and Binance remains constrained to a single market with capped rewards.