The usual way to use crypto in everyday life is a chain of steps: sell on an exchange, withdraw euros to your bank, wait for the transfer and then pay with your card. It works, but it involves an exchange account, a bank transfer and, sometimes, questions from your bank about where the money came from. Gift cards are a shorter route for expenses you already have: you pay the store's card in crypto and spend it in that store. This guide compares both paths honestly.
Two routes from crypto to a purchase
| Sell and cash out | Gift card bought with crypto | |
|---|---|---|
| Steps | Sell on exchange → withdraw to bank → pay by card | Pay the card in crypto → use the code in the store |
| Accounts needed | Exchange account with verification, bank account | The store account where you redeem (for online brands) |
| Costs | Trading fee, spread, withdrawal fee | 3% fee included in the price, plus your network fee |
| Time | From hours to days, depending on the transfer | Usually minutes after the payment confirms |
| Where you can spend | Anywhere | Only in that brand and country |
Neither route is better in every case. Cashing out is more flexible; gift cards are more direct for specific spending.
When gift cards make sense
- Recurring expenses: groceries at Carrefour, Lidl or Alcampo, fuel at Repsol, a Netflix or Spotify subscription.
- Planned purchases: furniture at IKEA, a laptop at MediaMarkt, clothes at Zalando; cards go up to 2000.
- Online shopping: an Amazon gift card for the store of your country covers almost anything.
- Digital spending: games, apps and subscriptions on Steam, PlayStation, Apple or Google Play.
When cashing out is better
- You need to pay rent, bills or a person, not a shop.
- The amount is far beyond what you will spend in a single brand.
- You want the money in your bank for flexibility.
Using stablecoins as your "spending account"
Many people keep a part of their crypto in USDT or USDC precisely for spending. The value stays close to the dollar, so 100 € of shopping costs about the same next month as today, apart from the euro-dollar rate. Combined with a cheap network, it works like a current account you top up from your volatile holdings when you choose. You can pay, for example, MediaMarkt with USDT or Amazon with USDC.
A practical monthly routine
- Decide how much of your crypto you want to spend this month.
- List the brands where that spending happens anyway.
- Buy one card per brand at the start of the month, on a low-cost network.
- Keep the order IDs in a note so you can find each code again.
- Redeem online codes immediately; keep in-store codes on your phone.
Counting the real cost
To compare both routes fairly, add up everything. When selling, count the exchange's trading fee, the difference between buying and selling price (the spread), the withdrawal fee to your bank and any card fees afterwards. With a gift card, count the 3% fee already included in the price and the network fee for sending your payment. Depending on your exchange and the amount, either route can come out cheaper, so it is worth doing the sum once with your own numbers rather than assuming.
Taxes: do not skip this part
Spending crypto is not the same as not selling it in the eyes of the tax authorities. In Spain and many other countries, exchanging crypto for goods or for a gift card can count as a disposal, and any gain since you bought the crypto may have to be declared. Gift cards do not avoid that. Keep a record of what you spent, when, and the value at the time, and check your local rules or ask an adviser.
What gift cards will not do
They will not make your purchases anonymous, they cannot be converted back into cash, and a card can only be used in its brand and country. Choose the region carefully; our guide on gift card regions explains how.
To see which everyday categories are covered in your country, read what you can buy with crypto in Spain and Europe, or go straight to the catalogue.