If you’re holding SOL, you can now use it as collateral to borrow and pay with USDC using your Solflare Card. You borrow the USDC against your SOL via the Card Borrows feature.
Being a (long-term) crypto holder, you’ve probably thought of ways you could actually spend your crypto. Maybe on your day-to-day expenses or some bigger one-time payments.
But the thing is – you don’t want to sell. Especially at a loss during a bear market or to miss out on potential gains when the market is hot.
For SOL holders, paying with USDC is now possible without having to sell your SOL. Instead, you can use it as collateral and spend USDC with your Solflare Card, while your SOL stays in position (and even earns yield).
In this guide, we’ll walk through how the Card Borrows feature works in Solflare, how to set it up, and how to use it safely.
Card Borrows is a feature that lets you spend USDC using your Solflare Card without selling your SOL.
Instead of converting your SOL into USDC before making a payment, you can deposit your SOL as collateral and set how much you’re comfortable borrowing against it.
When you make a purchase, the required amount of USDC is automatically borrowed at the time of payment to complete the transaction.
Your SOL stays in place the entire time.
Note: To use the Card Borrows feature, you need to own a Solflare Card. Open your Solflare wallet and sign up for your card!
Let’s say you go to pay $50 with your Solflare Card.
At the moment of payment:
There’s no borrowing happening in advance. When you pay, USDC is borrowed automatically to cover the transaction.
While your SOL is being used as collateral, it can earn a supply yield (powered by Kamino), which continues to accrue while your collateral is deposited.
The supply APY rate varies, depending on market conditions, but the key idea is that your assets aren’t idle. You are actually earning money while collateralizing your SOL.
Unlike with traditional borrowing from banks, with Card Borrows you’re not taking out a fixed amount upfront. Borrowing only happens when you spend.
This means interest only applies to the amount you’ve actually used and there’s no unused balance sitting in the background.
You decide how much you want to borrow relative to your SOL.
This is set using a parameter called loan-to-value (LTV) — which simply means: how much you’re borrowing compared to the value of your collateral.
LTV is expressed as a percentage, typically between 10% and 50% of your collateral.
For example:
In Solflare, this is handled with simple controls and visual indicators, so you can monitor your position health without needing to think in technical terms.
Card Borrows is powered by Kamino, one of the leading lending protocols on Solana. But you don’t need to interact with it directly. Everything regarding using this feature is handled inside your Solflare wallet.
There’s:
Start by opening your Solflare wallet.
Navigate to the Card section, where you manage your Solflare Card and related features.
If you haven’t set up your card yet, you’ll need to complete that first before using Card Borrow.
Select the “borrow” mode in the dashboard.
To enable spending without selling, follow the instructions in the “Borrows” feature.
Next, you’ll choose how much you want to be able to borrow relative to your deposited SOL. This is called an LTV (Loan-to-value) and is usually shown as a percentage (for example, 10% to 50%).
Choosing a lower percentage = more conservative, lower risk
Choosing a higher percentage = more borrowing power, but less buffer
If you’re unsure, starting on the lower end gives you more flexibility.
This is also where you choose the card spending mode.
To enable spending without selling, you’ll need to deposit some SOL as collateral.
This is what your borrowing is based on.
Choose how much SOL you want to deposit. This amount stays locked as collateral while you use the feature.
Once you’ve set your collateral and borrowing limit, confirm the setup.
From this point on, your Solflare Card is ready to use with Card Borrow enabled.
There’s nothing else you need to do before spending.
After you’ve done the setup, you just continue using your card as usual.
You don’t need to pre-borrow anything.
When you make a payment with your Solflare Card:
From your perspective, it works just like if you are spending USDC from your “account”.
You can and should visit the app from time to time to check your position health and adjust if necessary.
When you use SOL as collateral, your borrowing power depends on the value of that SOL.
If the price of SOL changes, your position changes with it.
That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on your position health in the app
Solflare shows this clearly using simple indicators, so you can quickly understand where you stand without needing to interpret technical metrics.
You can always go back into the app to:
Everything is visible and managed from the app.
Keep in mind: Borrowing against collateral carries risk, including liquidation if your position health drops below the required threshold. Supply and borrow APY rates are variable. This is not financial advice.
If you’ve been holding SOL for a while, you’ve probably had moments where you needed liquidity but didn’t want to sell.
That’s exactly the gap Card Borrow is designed to fill.
Instead of choosing between keeping your position and covering everyday expenses, you can do both — hold your SOL and still use your card when you need it.
The setup is simple, and once it’s in place, everything happens in the background.
You don’t need to think about borrowing or managing multiple steps. You just use your card as usual.
If you’re curious how it feels in practice, the easiest way to understand it is to try it with a small amount and see how it works.
Pay with USDC directly from your wallet (even when you don't have it), at over 100 million locations worldwide!
No.
Interest only applies to the amount of USDC you’ve actually used. If you haven’t made any purchases, there’s no borrowing and no interest.
You can choose how much you want to borrow relative to your collateral, typically between 10% and 50%.
This means if you deposit SOL, you decide what portion of its value you’re comfortable using for spending.
If the value of your SOL drops, your collateral health decreases.
If it falls too much, you may need to:
Solflare shows your position health clearly so you can monitor it and take action if needed.
If the value of your SOL drops and your borrowing level gets too high, your position can become unhealthy.
In that case, part of your collateral may be automatically sold to cover the borrowed amount and bring the position back to a safe level.
This is a standard mechanism used in systems where assets are used as collateral.
Solflare helps you avoid this by showing your position health clearly in the app and providing visual indicators so you can take action early — like adding more collateral or repaying part of what you’ve used.
If the loan-to-value reaches 75% of the value of your collateral (set by Kamino, typically ~75% LTV), your position may be liquidated to cover the debt.
No.
Even though Card Borrow is powered by Kamino, everything is handled directly inside the Solflare app.
You don’t need to create an account or interact with anything outside your wallet.
Yes.
Your SOL can earn a variable supply yield while it’s being used as collateral. This is powered by Kamino and depends on market conditions.
Yes.
You can repay your borrowed USDC at any time, either partially or in full, directly from the Solflare app.
You can withdraw your SOL as long as your position remains within a healthy range.
If you have an outstanding balance, you may need to repay part of it before withdrawing.
Not exactly.
Instead of taking a fixed loan upfront, Card Borrow only accesses USDC when you spend. There’s no idle debt — borrowing happens dynamically based on your card usage.
Card Borrow is especially useful for:
Like any system that uses collateral, there is some risk.
If the value of your SOL drops significantly and your borrowing level is too high, your position can become unhealthy.
This is why it’s important to:
Disclaimer: Solflare is a non-custodial wallet: you alone control your private keys and assets at all times. We never take custody of, hold, or have access to your funds. All borrowing, lending, and transaction decisions are made and executed solely by you.Borrowing against collateral carries risk, including liquidation if your position health drops below the required threshold. Supply and borrow APY rates are variable. This is not financial advice.
