The Monolith card is no longer available, and the page walks through what that means for former holders and what to look at instead.
Available in US
The Monolith card was a crypto debit card that ran on a non-custodial wallet: your crypto stayed with you, and the card spent a converted balance from it. That programme shut down on 8 October 2024, and the app was pulled from the stores in February. So the question this review has to answer is no longer “should you get one?” but “if you used to have one, what now?” I went through the official closure notice and the supporting public information, and this is what I found.
The conditions described here are current as of October 28, 2026.
Verdict
The Monolith card is not something you can sign up for today. Monolith, the company behind the programme (the Lithuanian entity UAB “Belela”), stopped issuing cards and closed user accounts in October 2024, citing rising regulatory pressure in the EU and the UK. The score below reflects that. There is no active product to score against, only a closed programme and a redemption process for whoever still had a balance with the card issuer, Solaris.
If you are reading this because you had a Monolith card and are wondering what to do next, jump to the holders section. If you are looking for a live crypto card to use, the alternatives section is the useful part. The score, for what it is worth on a closed product, sits at 1.8 out of 10.
| Criterion | Mark | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Who can get it | 0 / 10 | Service closed 8 October 2024; cards deactivated, accounts closed |
| Cost | 5 / 10 | Closed; historically top-up 1%, up to 2% in total, FX 1.75% outside card currency, no monthly fee (unofficial, historical) |
| Top-up options | 2 / 10 | Top-ups through Monolith are no longer possible; historically ETH, TKN, DAI, DGD, DGX, MKR, SAI, USDT (unofficial) |
| Reliability and complaints | 1 / 10 | Closed due to increasing EU and UK regulatory requirements; balance held by issuer Solaris, refund via Solaris Redemptions within 14 days; app removed from stores |
| Everyday use | 0 / 10 | Cards deactivated 8 October 2024, app removed from stores |
| Total | 1.8 / 10 |
The audience note attached to my research is a useful one to flag: a small number of former holders are still in the middle of getting leftover balances back through Solaris, and that is the population this page is most directly useful to. Everyone else should treat Monolith as a case study, not an option.
What happened to the programme
Monolith published a closure notice that ties the shutdown to “increasing regulatory requirements in the EU and UK.” The notice does not name MiCA, the EU’s markets-in-crypto-assets regulation, directly, but the timing lines up with the end of the transitional period for crypto-asset service providers. The cards were issued by Solaris, a German e-money institution, and Solaris is now the one holding whatever balance is left on the deactivated cards.
Here is the timeline as the official notice lays it out, in plain order:
- 8 October 2024: services closed, cards deactivated, user accounts closed.
- 17 February (the notice does not state the year; the surrounding context points to 2025): the Monolith app was delisted from the app stores.
- 28 February 2025: an update on the TKN to TOKEN token swap, with the substantive details promised for April 2025.
- Entity behind the brand: UAB “Belela” (Lithuania, virtual currency deposit and exchange operator, code 305982313), with the site copyright held by Token Group Ltd under licence to UAB “Belela”.
- Successor app: Token.
The card itself, when it ran, was a debit card. The closure notice does not state the network or the card form (physical, virtual) on the cards that were active before the shutdown. Third-party coverage from Coin Bureau in March 2023 described it as a Visa debit card, and earlier coverage pointed to Contis Financial Services Ltd as the issuer before Solaris took over. Those details are unofficial and historical, so I would not lean on them, but they are consistent with what we know about Solaris-issued programmes in Europe.
The card currency, when balances are paid back, is EUR or GBP. That is a small but useful detail: if you had a balance, the refund is paid out in the currency the card was denominated in, not in USD or crypto.
One thing the notice does not say is whether the closure was a Monolith decision, a Solaris decision, or a forced one from a regulator. The phrase “increasing regulatory requirements” reads like a company-side explanation rather than an enforcement action, and the successor app (Token) suggests the team is continuing in some form. But the card programme itself is finished, and there is no sign of a successor card being prepared under the Monolith brand.
If you already have the card
If you are one of the people who held a Monolith card before 8 October 2024, there are two separate things to think about: the crypto, and the leftover fiat on the card.
Your crypto is in your wallet, not on the card
Monolith ran a non-custodial wallet. That meant the keys were yours, not the company’s, and that part of the arrangement is not affected by the closure. The official guidance is to take your 12-word seed phrase and import it into another wallet. MetaMask, Trust Wallet and Coinbase Wallet are the three named in the closure notice. If you have not saved the seed phrase, the notice says it can be shown in the app under Settings, then Back up Seed. Take it from there.
This is also the moment to remember the basics: a seed phrase is the unencrypted form of the private key, so anyone who has it controls the wallet. Treat it like a password to a bank vault. Do not type it into a website, do not paste it into a chatbot, and do not store it in a notes app on a phone that syncs to the cloud.
Your leftover card balance is with Solaris
Any fiat balance left on the card at the moment of deactivation is now held by the issuer, Solaris. The official route for getting it back is the Solaris Redemptions support page. The process laid out in the notice:
- Submit a request on the Solaris Redemptions page.
- Use the subject line “Redemption funds of Monolith customer”.
- Provide payout account details in EUR or GBP.
- If the email you use to contact them is different from the one on the Solaris account, attach a colour scan of your ID.
- Solaris aims to respond within 14 days.
There is no mention of a disputes route, no compensation scheme, and no fund-protection angle. The closure notice is explicit on that: Lithuanian deposit insurance and the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme do not cover crypto activities or funds in a non-custodial wallet. The card balance, in other words, is a normal e-money claim against the issuer, not a deposit.
Things the official notice does not say
A few things that a worried holder might want to know are not in the closure notice, and I do not want to pretend they are:
- Spending limits and ATM cash withdrawal limits, which used to be in the public materials, are not stated on the closure notice.
- The exact reason behind the closure, beyond the general regulatory framing.
- Whether there is a customer support line in any particular language or at particular hours; the notice points to Solaris for balances and to a Monolith Telegram channel and email address for the TKN/TOKEN swap questionnaire.
For the support picture as it stands, that is what is on the page: Solaris Redemptions Support (form and email) for card funds, and Monolith via Telegram and email for the TKN/TOKEN questionnaire.
What can go wrong
Crypto card closures are rarely clean. The Plutus closure, which used the same issuer (Solaris), drew Trustpilot complaints about slow refunds, and that is a useful reference point for what to expect on timing, even though Monolith’s own trust profile does not show up in any search I ran. There is no Monolith-specific Trustpilot page, and a search of complaint channels for the brand returned only unrelated card shutdowns.
The risks that do exist here fall into three buckets.
The redemption process itself. A 14-day response window is an aim, not a guarantee, and the Plutus experience suggests the actual wait can stretch. If the email you contact Solaris from is not the one on file, you will need to send a colour copy of your ID, and any mismatch in name, address or account details can lengthen the process. The straightforward advice is to send complete information the first time, including a clear IBAN or UK sort-code account that matches the ID document, and to keep a record of the message thread.
The seed phrase and the wallet. A non-custodial wallet is only as safe as the seed phrase. If the seed phrase was never written down and the app is now gone, the crypto is functionally lost; there is no one to ask for help. The 12 words are the whole access. This is also where the standard self-custody risks live: phishing sites that mimic MetaMask or Trust Wallet prompts, clipboard-hijacking malware that swaps a copied address, and the irreversible nature of blockchain transactions. If you are moving a non-trivial amount, send a small test transaction first.
Regulatory drift. The closure is in part a story about MiCA, even if the notice does not say so. MiCA’s stablecoin rules took effect on 30 June 2024; the broader crypto-asset service provider rules applied from 30 December 2024; the transitional (grandfathering) period for providers already operating under national law runs until 1 July 2026 or until a CASP authorisation is granted or refused, whichever comes first. A programme that was live in October 2024 sat right at the edge of those dates, and that is consistent with the language about “increasing regulatory requirements.” For former holders, this is mostly background, but it is worth knowing: the rules that ended this card are the same ones reshaping every European crypto card programme, which is one of the reasons the alternatives section below has fewer obvious replacements than you might expect.
What to take instead
Monolith’s distinctive feature was a self-custody wallet feeding a Visa debit card, with no custody on the company side. Nothing in my current research matches that combination exactly, because the regulatory environment has shifted. The three options below are the most relevant live alternatives, none of which is a perfect replacement and each of which makes different trade-offs.
Young Card
Score: 5.7 / 10.
Young Card’s pitch is straightforward: a crypto card with a token-based cashback that scales by Club tier. The official information is thin: the website does not state who is eligible, what the card looks like at the network level, what the fees are, or how the card is funded. The cashback structure is the one place where there is something concrete: Essential tier pays 0.1% in YNG tokens, Gold 1.8%, Platinum 3.6%. Bronze and Silver tiers are not stated.
If the token-based cashback matters to you, Young Card is the closer fit. If you wanted Monolith for the self-custody model, it is not, because the funding model is not stated on the public materials and the cashback token is a custodial setup by definition.
Cardex
Score: 5.6 / 10.
Cardex positions itself as a global card. The marketing claim is “one crypto card, 200+ countries,” and the public materials do not list a country-by-country exclusion list, which is unusual for this category. The App Store listing is Naira-focused, and the card currency shown in the listing is the Nigerian naira, so the product is most likely to fit a Nigerian user or anyone happy to transact in naira.
The card is a debit card on Verve, Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay networks, available in both virtual and physical forms. The interesting feature is the “AI-Powered Conversion Rate” claim: at the moment you pay, Cardex says it scans global exchange rates and picks the best one. No fee percentage is stated for that conversion. Funding is from USDT, USDC and BTC wallets, with the specific networks not stated. No cashback is mentioned.
If your priority is a wide country reach and a real-time conversion rather than a fixed fee, Cardex is the most distinctive option here. If you are not transacting in naira or in stablecoins, the fit is weaker.
International Visa Card
Score: 6.7 / 10.
This is the strongest of the three on paper, and the one with the most detailed public information. The card is a US-issued Platinum Visa, available now as a virtual card paying in USD; a physical card is listed as “Coming soon.”
The eligibility rules are spelled out. The card and account are not available to residents or legal registrants of Belarus, mainland China, North Korea, Cuba, India, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela or Vietnam. FATF grey-list countries are reviewed case by case. Purchases are blocked in North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela. The rule is by residence or registration, not by citizenship, so nationality alone does not block you, but where you live does.
The pricing is the clearest part. Virtual card issuance is a one-time $5; there is no maintenance fee. There is a subscription layer: Classic is free, Pro is $9.00 a month, Max is $19.00 a month. Card use in USD is free on all plans; in foreign currency, you pay the Visa exchange rate plus a 2% FX fee. Deposits of any kind are free. The catch is that the card is denominated in USD, so for anyone whose income is not in dollars, that 2% FX line is the real cost to watch.
Funding is the most flexible of the three: deposit USDC or USDT into the USD account at a 1:1 rate, free, and the platform also supports USD, EUR, SEPA, SWIFT and FedNow deposits. Networks for the stablecoin deposits are not stated. There is no cashback.
If you live somewhere in the eligible set, are comfortable with a USD-denominated card, and want a single platform that mixes traditional rails (SEPA, SWIFT, FedNow) with stablecoin deposits, International Visa Card is the most capable of the three. If you are a US resident or a national of one of the blocked countries, it is closed to you.
How the three compare
| Alternative | Score | Cashback | Card currency | Funding | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Card | 5.7 / 10 | YNG token, by tier (0.1%–3.6%) | Not stated officially | Not stated for the card itself | Not stated |
| Cardex | 5.6 / 10 | Not stated | Naira per App Store listing | USDT, USDC, BTC (networks not stated) | “200+ countries”; no exclusion list |
| International Visa Card | 6.7 / 10 | None stated | USD | USDC, USDT 1:1 free; USD, EUR, SEPA, SWIFT, FedNow | Long exclusion list by residence; not by citizenship |
None of these gives you what Monolith did. Monolith was non-custodial; these are all custodial platforms that hold your funds. Monolith’s card ran on a self-custody wallet, and the regulatory environment that closed it is the same one pushing new entrants towards custodial structures, with stronger KYC and clearer fund safeguarding. If the non-custody angle is what you liked about Monolith, the honest answer is that the closest thing to it today is to use a non-custodial wallet for storage and a separate, regulated card for spending.
Who I would recommend it to
I would not recommend the Monolith card to anyone, because no one can sign up for it. The product is closed, and the company behind it has not announced a successor card.
For former holders, the recommendation is the one the closure notice gives: move your crypto out of the Monolith wallet by importing the 12-word seed phrase into another wallet, and submit a redemption request to Solaris for any fiat balance left on the card. Use the subject line the notice specifies, send payout details in EUR or GBP, attach a colour copy of your ID if the email you use is different from the one on file, and keep a copy of everything you send.
For people looking for a live crypto card, the alternatives are weaker than Monolith was on the self-custody dimension and stronger on the regulatory side, because the licences behind them are clearer. International Visa Card is the most fully-featured of the three; Cardex is the most geographically wide; Young Card is the most interesting on the rewards side. None of them is a Monolith replacement, and that is the right way to read this market in 2026: the rulebook changed, and the products that survived are built around it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Monolith card?
The Monolith card was a crypto debit card connected to a non-custodial wallet. The company behind it, UAB “Belela” in Lithuania, closed the programme on 8 October 2024. The card itself was issued by Solaris, and any remaining balance is now redeemable through the Solaris Redemptions support page. The brand is no longer accepting new customers.
How did the Monolith card work?
The card spent from a non-custodial wallet. Cardholders held their own 12-word seed phrase, and the card drew on a converted balance from that wallet at the point of payment. There was no custody on the company side, which meant there was also no central party to recover funds for you if you lost the seed phrase.
Is Monolith a bank?
No. Monolith was the trading name of UAB “Belela” in Lithuania, registered as a virtual currency deposit and exchange operator. The card was issued by Solaris, a German e-money institution. The closure notice specifically states that Lithuanian deposit insurance and the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme do not cover crypto activities or funds in a non-custodial wallet.
Who owns Monolith?
The site is held under copyright by Token Group Ltd under licence to UAB “Belela” (Lithuania, company code 305982313). Token is the successor app. The closure notice does not go into individual ownership or backers.
Is the Monolith card available in the United States?
The programme is closed, so it is not available anywhere. Historically, the card was an EEA product, and Coin Bureau’s March 2023 coverage said it could not be used in the USA or Asia, though that detail is unofficial and historical rather than from the current notice.
How do I top up the Monolith card?
You cannot. Top-ups through Monolith are no longer possible. Historically, top-ups were done in ETH, TKN, DAI, DGD, DGX, MKR, SAI or USDT, with a 1% top-up fee that was avoided by topping up with DAI and a separate 1% community contribution avoided by topping up with TKN, up to 2% per top-up otherwise. None of that is active.
How do I get my money back from a closed Monolith card?
Submit a request on the Solaris Redemptions support page with the subject line “Redemption funds of Monolith customer”, include payout account details in EUR or GBP, and attach a colour scan of your ID if the email you use is different from the one on the Solaris account. Solaris says it aims to respond within 14 days. Keep a copy of everything.
Is the Monolith card safe?
The non-custodial wallet was safe in the sense that the keys were yours, but the closure notice states that Lithuanian deposit insurance and the UK FSCS do not cover crypto activities or funds in a non-custodial wallet. A self-custody wallet is only as safe as the seed phrase; lose it, and the funds are functionally gone. Standard risks apply: phishing, clipboard-hijacking malware, and irreversible blockchain transactions.
How do I delete my Monolith account?
Accounts were closed by Monolith on 8 October 2024, and the app was delisted from the app stores in February. If you have not already, the relevant step now is to import the 12-word seed phrase into another wallet (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or Coinbase Wallet are the three named in the closure notice) so you retain control of the crypto. The fiat balance, if any, is handled through Solaris.
Is the Monolith card worth it in 2026?
It is not a product you can buy in 2026. For a live alternative, International Visa Card scores the highest of the three I looked at (6.7 out of 10), with Young Card and Cardex as options depending on whether token cashback or a wider country footprint matters more to you. None is a like-for-like replacement for Monolith’s self-custody model.
Wallet cards put to the test – cryptocardtested
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