A closed crypto card programme and the choices that remain for its former users
Available in USMonolith is no longer a working card product. The programme closed on 8 October 2024, every card was deactivated, and accounts were shut down. If you landed here looking to sign up, that ship has sailed. If you are a former holder wondering what to do with leftover money, this review walks through what happened, what the company told its users, and which alternatives might take its place in your wallet.
I went through the closure notice, the redemption instructions, and the historical third-party write-ups. The story is straightforward: a small European crypto card that ran into regulatory pressure and quietly shut its doors. The interesting question, for anyone affected, is what to do next. That is what this review is for.
The conditions described here are current as of October 28, 2026.
Verdict
Monolith gets 1.8 out of 10 in this review, and the score reflects what the programme is now, not what it once tried to be. The card cannot be ordered, the app is gone from the stores, and the only thing left to do is reclaim money from the issuer if you had any. Anyone looking for a fresh crypto card should look elsewhere.
| Criterion | Score | Why it scored this way |
|---|---|---|
| Who can get it | 0 / 10 | The service closed on 8 October 2024, cards were deactivated, and accounts were closed |
| Cost | 5 / 10 | Closed; unofficially historically a 1% top-up fee, up to 2% in total, 1.75% conversion outside the card’s currency, no monthly fee |
| Top-up options | 2 / 10 | Top-ups through Monolith are no longer possible; historically ETH, TKN, DAI, DGD, DGX, MKR, SAI, USDT |
| Reliability and complaints | 1 / 10 | Closed citing rising EU and UK regulatory demands; balances held by issuer Solaris, with a 14-day redemption window through Solaris Redemptions; app removed from stores |
| Everyday use | 0 / 10 | Cards deactivated on 8 October 2024, app delisted from stores |
The audience this review is written for is the former holder who needs to redeem a leftover balance through Solaris. There is no new customer story here, and I would not recommend anyone try to open a Monolith account today.
What happened to the programme
Monolith ran a debit card programme built on top of a non-custodial crypto wallet. The company behind it, UAB “Belela” in Lithuania, operated the card under licence with Solaris, a regulated European card issuer. The card’s main draw was that your crypto stayed in your own wallet, controlled by your seed phrase, and the card simply spent whatever you converted and loaded onto it.
That programme is over. On 8 October 2024, Monolith announced it was closing. The card was a debit card issued by Solaris, but the notice does not state the network or physical/virtual form factors. The card currency was EUR or GBP; that detail matters now only for the redemption payout, which must be made “in the card’s currency (EUR or GBP).”
The company’s stated reason was “increasing regulatory requirements in the EU and UK.” The notice does not name MiCA, the EU’s markets-in-crypto-assets regulation, but the timing lines up with the tightening that has hit other small European crypto card programmes. The app was delisted from app stores on 17 February. The page does not state the year, but context points to 2025. In April 2025, details of the $TKN to $TOKEN token swap were promised, and the company signalled that the successor app would be Token.com. The Monolith brand effectively moved on without the card.
If you held a Monolith card, the practical effect of all this is: the card does not work, the app is gone, and any balance that was on the card at the time of closure is held by Solaris, not by Monolith. The crypto in your non-custodial wallet, on the other hand, is still yours, because you hold the keys. Those two pieces of money need to be dealt with separately.
A note on what the card once was, drawn from third-party sources and not confirmed by Monolith itself. Historically the card was a Visa debit card, originally issued by Contis Financial Services Ltd, and later by Solaris. The card was available in the EEA across 31 European countries and reportedly could not be used in the USA or Asia. There was no monthly fee or shipping fee if the card was used in the country where it was registered. The top-up fee was 1%, avoidable by topping up with DAI; there was also a 1% “community contribution” avoidable by topping up with TKN, and up to 2% per top-up otherwise. Outside the card’s currency, the FX fee was 1.75%. There was no crypto/fiat exchange fee. There was no cashback. These details are from Coin Bureau’s March 2023 coverage and earlier web reporting, and they describe the programme as it existed, not as it stands today.
If you already have the card
The card no longer works, so the question is what to do with the two things that may still belong to you: crypto in your self-custody wallet, and any fiat balance that was sitting on the card at the moment of closure.
Crypto held in the non-custodial wallet is unaffected. Monolith never had custody of those funds. The user holds the 12-word seed phrase and can import it into another wallet, such as MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or Coinbase Wallet, and the assets show up there. If you did not save the seed phrase when you set up the wallet, the closure notice says it would have been visible in the app under Settings, then “Back up Seed.” If the app is no longer installed and you did not record the phrase, recovery is much harder, and you may need to look for any backup you made at the time. Anyone with the seed phrase controls the wallet; anyone without it does not.
Fiat balance on the card is a different story. The card was a debit card issued by Solaris, so leftover card funds are held by Solaris, the regulated issuer, not by Monolith. The redemption process is to submit a request on the Solaris Redemptions page with the subject line “Redemption funds of Monolith customer.” You need to provide payout account details in EUR or GBP and a colour copy of your ID if the email address you use is not the one Solaris has on file. Solaris says it aims to respond within 14 days. Support is via the Solaris Redemptions Support form and email; the company has not stated languages or hours.
If you had TKN in your wallet, there is a separate $TKN to $TOKEN swap pending. An update from 28 February 2025 promised details in April 2025, and the successor app is Token.com. Monolith said the questionnaire for that swap would come through Telegram and email, though it has not stated hours or language coverage. If you held TKN, this is the channel to watch.
The notice does not mention disputes or compensation. There is no claims process in the sense of a class action or a regulator-led scheme; there is only the Solaris redemption route for card balances. Anyone whose claim is more complicated than a straightforward payout is in a quieter corner of the page, and it is worth noting that related Solaris-issuer closures, such as Plutus, drew Trustpilot complaints about slow refunds. That is context, not a prediction about how your case will go.
Historically, the card had a daily cash withdrawal limit of £350 (€378) and a daily spending limit of £7,500 (€8,113), according to the same third-party source. The ATM fee itself was not stated. Those numbers describe a card that no longer exists, and the only reason to know them is to gauge what kind of product it was. Both the limits and the absence of a stated ATM fee are unofficial historical figures.
What can go wrong
The biggest risk in this story is the simple one: assuming the money is gone, or assuming it is safe, when neither is quite true.
For users with crypto in the non-custodial wallet, the risk is the usual self-custody risk. The closure notice reminds users that Lithuanian deposit insurance and the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme do not cover crypto activities or funds in the non-custodial wallet. That is the standard rule for self-custody: there is no central counterparty to step in if the seed phrase is lost, the device is compromised, or a clipboard-hijacker swaps an address at the moment of pasting. A user who did not back up the seed phrase before the app was delisted is in a difficult position, because the in-app recovery path is closed off.
For users with fiat on the card, the risk is delay and documentation. The 14-day window Solaris aims for is a target, not a guarantee, and third-party reports about other Solaris-issued card programmes suggest the actual wait can stretch further. Submitting a request with the wrong currency, the wrong email, or an unclear payout destination would also slow things down. Anyone who moved countries after the card was issued should be ready to explain the change.
There is a third risk worth flagging. The notice mentions the $TKN to $TOKEN swap and Token.com as the successor app, but does not lay out the full migration path. Users who held TKN and were waiting on the April 2025 details should be careful about any unsolicited messages claiming to handle the swap. The legitimate channel is the Monolith Telegram and email questionnaires; anything else deserves a second look.
The closure itself is a reminder of a structural issue in the crypto card category. Programmes like this depend on a licensed issuer, in this case Solaris, and on a card network licence. When the regulatory or commercial relationship with either breaks down, the front-end brand can vanish overnight. That is what happened here. The card programme is not a bank account, and the money on it is not a deposit; the closure notice is explicit that Lithuanian deposit insurance and the FSCS do not apply.
Public records for Monolith do not show specific user complaints. There is no Monolith Trustpilot page, and wider searches return only reports about unrelated card shutdowns. This thin public record is worth keeping in mind when reading the small print.
What to take instead
Monolith is closed, so this section is about replacements rather than direct competitors. Three names come up: Cardex, MSX, and Whop Cards. They are very different products, and the choice between them depends on what you actually need from a card.
Cardex positions itself as a single card for more than 200 countries, with no country list or exclusions published. The App Store listing is Naira-focused, which suggests a Nigerian audience, and the card currency is Naira per that listing. Cardex issues debit cards on Verve, Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay, with both virtual and physical forms. The selling point is a real-time crypto-to-fiat conversion at the moment of payment, using an “AI-Powered Conversion Rate” that scans global exchanges and picks the best rate. The site does not state a fee percentage, only that conversion happens. Funding is from USDT, USDC, and BTC wallets; the networks are not stated. There is no stated cashback. Cardex scores 5.6 out of 10 in this review. It is interesting if you want a multi-network, multi-currency setup, but the lack of a clear fee schedule and the Naira-centred listing make it worth testing carefully.
MSX is harder to read because the official page did not give me much to work with. The score is 6.4 out of 10, and the rest of the row is mostly “not stated.” If you are considering MSX, plan to do your own research on the issuer, the country coverage, and the fees before signing up.
Whop Cards is the most developed of the three for English-speaking readers. It is a Visa card that works anywhere Visa is accepted, online or in stores, and the virtual or physical form is not stated. The card can also be issued to team members, which is unusual. For consumers, Whop Cards is available in 31 US states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Businesses get 41 states. Unsupported consumer countries are Belarus, China (Mainland), Cuba, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam; corporate coverage excludes Russia and Belarus. Whop says there are “no extra fees,” and the card spends from a Whop balance; pending balance is usable as soon as a payment arrives, and standard withdrawals use settled funds. The starting data is backed by stablecoin collateral from a linked wallet, though Whop does not state which coins or networks. Cashback is 5% at select merchants, currently Uber, with more planned; the payout currency and conditions are not stated. Whop Cards scores 5.2 out of 10.
| Card | Score | Card form | Networks | Funding | Where it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardex | 5.6 / 10 | Virtual and physical | Verve, Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay | USDT, USDC, BTC | 200+ countries (list not stated) |
| MSX | 6.4 / 10 | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated |
| Whop Cards | 5.2 / 10 | not stated (also team cards) | Visa | Stablecoin-backed Whop balance | 31 US states (consumers); 41 US states (businesses) |
If you are coming from Monolith, the closest feel is probably Whop Cards, because both products use a Visa debit card and a balance model. The big difference is the country list: Whop is a US product, while Monolith was a European product. Cardex is the wider-net option if you want a card that travels, but the fee structure is less clear. MSX would need more digging before any commitment.
Who I would recommend it to
The short answer is no one, and I mean that literally. There is no one I would recommend the Monolith card to today, because the Monolith card does not exist as a product you can sign up for.
For former holders, my recommendation is to separate the two pieces of money and deal with each on its own track. The crypto in your non-custodial wallet is yours; it should be moved to a wallet you control, using the 12-word seed phrase, and the destination wallet should be one you have used before and trust. MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Coinbase Wallet are the three the closure notice names. Anyone with TKN should look out for the official Monolith Telegram and email channel for the $TKN to $TOKEN swap, and ignore any other message claiming to handle the conversion. The fiat balance on the card belongs to Solaris; the path back to you is the Solaris Redemptions form, with the right subject line, the right payout account in EUR or GBP, and a colour copy of your ID if the email differs from the one Solaris has.
For anyone reading this in 2026 who is not a former holder, the recommendation is to look at the alternatives. Whop Cards is the most developed option for a US reader; Cardex is the one with the widest country footprint if you can stomach the thin fee disclosure; MSX would need more homework. None of them is a direct Monolith replacement, because Monolith was a self-custody-linked card and the alternatives are not all built that way. If self-custody is the thing that drew you to Monolith in the first place, you should look at how each alternative handles the wallet side before signing up, and not assume the on-ramp is the same.
The one audience I would still point at the Monolith brand is the holder who needs the redemption instructions, and that audience is exactly the people this review was written for. For them, the verdict is not about the score, it is about the steps.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Monolith card?
The Monolith card was a debit card linked to a non-custodial crypto wallet, run by UAB “Belela” in Lithuania and issued under licence with Solaris. The card was closed on 8 October 2024 and is no longer available.
How does the Monolith card work?
The card drew on a fiat balance that the user topped up from crypto in a self-custody wallet. The user kept the seed phrase and the crypto, while the issuer held the card balance. The programme is now closed.
Is Monolith a bank?
No. Monolith was a crypto card programme operated by UAB “Belela” in Lithuania, with the card itself issued by Solaris. The closure notice is explicit that Lithuanian deposit insurance and the UK FSCS do not cover the wallet funds.
Who owns Monolith?
The card programme was operated by UAB “Belela” in Lithuania, a virtual currency deposit and exchange operator with company code 305982313. The site copyright is held by Token Group Ltd under licence to UAB “Belela”, and the successor app is Token.com.
How do I get a Monolith card today?
You cannot. The programme closed on 8 October 2024, cards were deactivated, accounts were closed, and the app was delisted from stores on 17 February (year not stated on the notice; context points to 2025).
How do I redeem my leftover Monolith card balance?
Submit a request on the Solaris Redemptions page with the subject “Redemption funds of Monolith customer”, payout account details in EUR or GBP, and a colour copy of your ID if the email differs. Solaris says it aims to respond within 14 days.
How do I get my crypto back from the Monolith wallet?
Your crypto is in a non-custodial wallet controlled by your 12-word seed phrase. Import that phrase into another wallet such as MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or Coinbase Wallet, and the assets will appear there. If you never backed up the seed phrase, the in-app path is closed.
Is the Monolith card safe?
Historically, the wallet was self-custody, which is safe only as far as the user can protect the seed phrase. The closure notice is explicit that Lithuanian deposit insurance and the UK FSCS do not cover crypto activities or wallet funds, so the safety net is the user’s own backup, not an insurance scheme.
Is the Monolith card worth it?
As a new product, no, because it does not exist. As a redemption process, it is workable: the Solaris Redemptions page and the seed-phrase import path are the two routes former holders have, and both are documented on the closure notice.
Where can I use the Monolith card?
You cannot, because the card was deactivated on 8 October 2024. Historically the card was a Visa debit available in the EEA, and according to a third-party source it could not be used in the USA or Asia, but that is no longer relevant given the closure.
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