What are your rewards worth after the price moves?
Rewards paid in crypto change value after they land. Model any price path and see the difference from CAD cashback.
A year of $20-a-month crypto rewards is worth $240 only if the coin ends where it started. If the price falls 40% by mid-year and 60% by year end, the same rewards are worth about $165. Credits bought during a dip recover more if the price comes back, while a staked balance takes the whole move.
Figures as of November 3, 2026.
Scenario
Assumes each month’s reward is credited at that month’s price and held to the end. Prices move in straight lines from start to midpoint to end; real prices do not. Fees, spreads and tax are ignored. This illustrates arithmetic, not a forecast or advice.
How does the scenario tool work?
You choose a monthly reward value, a number of months and two points on a price path: the coin’s change at the midpoint and at the end. The tool draws a straight line from today’s price to the midpoint and from the midpoint to the end, credits each month’s reward at that month’s price, and values all the coins you have accumulated at the end price. A staked balance, if you enter one, is valued at the start and end prices.
Which reward assets does this apply to?
Shakepay pays bitcoin, Crypto.com pays CRO, ether.fi pays ETHFI after a 7-day lock, and MetaMask pays mUSD. For mUSD, think of the price path as USD/CAD: a stablecoin holds its value in US dollars but moves in Canadian dollars. For CRO and ETHFI, remember the token belongs to the same company that sets the reward rates.
How should I read the result?
“Rewards as advertised” is what the card’s marketing implies. “Worth at end” is what you would have if you held every reward to the end of the period. The dashed line in the chart is the same spend paid as CAD cashback. If the solid line ends below the dashed one, crypto rewards cost you money in that scenario; if above, they gained.
What the tool does not do
- It does not predict prices; the presets are hypothetical.
- It ignores fees and spreads when you sell rewards, and tax on rewards or sales.
- Real prices zigzag; a straight-line path understates how bumpy the ride can be.
What monthly reward should I enter?
Your spend times the card’s reward rate, after caps: $1,500 at Shakepay’s 1% is $15 a month; the same spend at ether.fi Core’s 3% is $45 before its FX margin; at Crypto.com Ruby Steel’s 1.5% it is $22.50 up to the cap. The rewards column of the rewards vs fees calculator divided by 12 gives the figure for any tier.
Why add a stake here?
If the reward coin is also the coin you staked for a tier, both move together. Entering the stake shows the combined result: on Crypto.com’s staked tiers, a CRO fall hits the CA$650 to CA$650,000 stake far harder than it hits a year of rewards.
| Rewards credited | $20 a month for 12 monthsCAD value on the day each reward lands |
|---|---|
| Coin price path | -40% at month 6, -60% at month 12 |
| Rewards as advertised | $240.00 |
| Same rewards at the end price | $164.77loss of $75.23 |
| What the year was worth | $164.77Compare: the same spend with CAD cashback is worth exactly the advertised amount. |
Open this example in the calculator →Computed 2026-11-03.
What this means for you
If a reward is paid in a coin you would not otherwise hold, convert it on a schedule and record each conversion. If you would hold it anyway, treat rewards as small monthly purchases.