Card Borrows lets you spend USDC without selling your SOL by using it as collateral. Here’s how it works and what to know before using it.
The Solflare Card runs on USDC. But what if the majority (or all) of your funds are in SOL?
The trade-off between holding and using crypto has always been a big one. You want to be able to pay with your crypto, but you also don’t want to sell it at a loss or miss out on potential gains.
Good news. There’s a way to keep your crypto while being able to spend it. It’s called Card Borrows in Solflare.
What Is Card Borrows?
Card Borrows lets you use your SOL as collateral to borrow and spend USDC with your Solflare Card, without selling your SOL.
Instead of converting your SOL into USDC in advance, USDC is automatically borrowed against your collateral at the moment of purchase and used to complete the purchase.
Here’s how it works:
- You deposit SOL as collateral inside the Solflare app
- You choose how much you’re comfortable using (typically between 10% and 50% of your collateral value)
- When you pay with your card, USDC is automatically used to complete the transaction
- You repay later
All of this happens inside the Solflare app.
Spend When You Need To, Not Before
The Card Borrows feature doesn’t require you to pre-borrow funds or hold a balance you’re not using.
USDC is accessed only at the time of a card payment. That means:
- you don’t carry unused debt
- interest only applies to what you actually borrow and spend
- your available capacity stays flexible
In practice, your card works as usual — but your SOL stays in position.
Using Card Borrows
Here are some of the benefits of the borrowing feature and how it actually works under the hood.
Your SOL Keeps Working
Once you deposit SOL as collateral, it starts earning supply yield right away. As long as it is deposited, it continues to earn the yield.
The APY rates on your deposited SOL are variable and depend on current market conditions. There’s no fixed rate, but the key idea is that your SOL isn’t sitting idle.
Card Borrows is powered by Kamino, one of the leading lending protocols on Solana. You don’t need to interact with Kamino directly or manage anything outside the wallet.
Everything, from depositing SOL to monitoring your position and repaying, happens in the app directly.
You control how much you use
When setting up Card Borrows, you choose how much of your SOL’s value you’re comfortable using. This can typically be between 10% and 50%.
A higher percentage increases your available spending power, but also requires closer monitoring.
Inside the app, your position health is clearly shown with simple visual indicators, so you always know where you stand.
What happens if your position changes
Because your SOL is used as collateral, its value can move with the market.
If the value of your SOL drops significantly while you have an outstanding balance, your position health can decline. If it gets too close to the limit, you may need to:
- add more SOL, or
- repay part of the borrowed USDC
Solflare helps you stay on top of this with clear indicators and notifications, so you can take action early and keep your position in a healthy range.
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.
Repaying your debt and withdrawing your SOL
You can repay your borrowed USDC at any time.
There’s no fixed schedule; you can repay everything at once, or repay partially whenever it suits you. Keep in mind that interest on your borrowed USDC actually grows your debt, so keep track of your position health. If the LTV gets too high (over 75%), your position could get liquidated.
Once repaid, your available capacity automatically opens up again.
Also, you can withdraw your SOL whenever you want, as long as your position stays within a healthy range. If you have an active balance, you may need to repay part of it first before withdrawing.
Get Started
Open your Solflare wallet app, go to the Cards tab, and enable Card Borrow.
Start conservatively at first. Your SOL stays in place. Your card keeps working.
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.
