When paying with crypto isn’t about selling

Using crypto for everyday purchases is easier than it used to be. You can buy gift cards, top-ups, flights, or digital services directly, without going through banks or card networks. For many users, platforms like Cryptorefills already make this part simple.

The harder part is deciding when to sell. Crypto assets are often held with a long-term view, and selling them just to cover a short-term expense can feel unnecessary or poorly timed. Even when the purchase itself is small, the decision to sell can carry friction, doubt, or regret.

Buydl was built for these moments. It’s designed for users who want the convenience of paying today without being forced into a sell decision they’d rather postpone. This article focuses on how to pay with crypto without selling.
 

The core problem: Holding crypto vs. using crypto

Most crypto users understand the idea of holding. You buy assets you believe in, you hold them through volatility, and you avoid selling unless you have a good reason. In crypto culture, this mindset is often summed up by the word "HODL."

The problem is that real life doesn’t always line up with market timing. You might want to book a flight, pay for a service, or make a purchase at a moment when selling crypto feels unnecessary or poorly timed. The asset may be long-term, but the need is immediate.

This is where the idea behind Buydl comes from. The name is a deliberate play on “HODL.” Instead of choosing between buying something and holding your crypto, Buydl is designed to let you do both. You can complete a purchase while keeping exposure to the assets you want to hold.

At its core, Buydl exists to close the gap between believing in crypto long-term and needing liquidity in the short-term.
 

The simple idea behind Buydl

At its core, Buydl is a way to use the value of your crypto without selling it.

Instead of converting your crypto into something else, you temporarily lock it and use that locked value to complete a purchase. The crypto stays yours the entire time, and it’s not transferred, sold, or exchanged.

Once you repay the amount you used, your crypto becomes fully available again. Nothing else changes. The goal is flexibility: letting you make a purchase when timing matters, without forcing you to sell an asset you’d rather keep.
 

How Buydl works at checkout?

When you reach checkout on Cryptorefills, you’ll see Buydl listed as a payment option, alongside other methods. Selecting Buydl opens a simple panel that explains the transaction in plain terms.

First, you see how much your purchase costs in USDC. Buydl then shows how much crypto is required as collateral to cover that amount. You can choose a risk profile, which simply adjusts how much crypto is locked to keep things safer or more flexible. This is not a strategy choice, just a comfort setting.

Once you confirm, the crypto stays in your wallet but becomes temporarily locked. The purchase is completed immediately, and you receive your product as usual. Later, when you repay the amount used, the locked crypto is released and fully available again.

Behind the scenes, the process uses DeFi borrowing to create on-chain collateral and complete the checkout.
 

How to repay and unlock your crypto?

After completing your purchase with Buydl, your crypto remains locked until the borrowed amount is repaid. Repayment does not happen on Cryptorefills but directly on the DeFi protocol where the loan lives.

To repay, you connect the same wallet you used at checkout to Kamino Finance. Once connected, you’ll see your active position, including the borrowed amount and the locked collateral.

From there, you repay the borrowed USDC. As soon as the repayment is completed on-chain, the collateral is automatically unlocked and becomes fully available in your wallet again. There are no additional steps required on Cryptorefills.
 

Understanding the cost: How interest works

Using Buydl is not free. The cost comes from interest on the borrowed amount, similar to how borrowing works anywhere else.

When you use Buydl, you are effectively borrowing USDC against your crypto collateral on a DeFi lending protocol. At the moment, this happens on Kamino Finance. The interest rate you see at checkout is the current borrowing rate on that protocol.

Interest in DeFi is calculated over time, not as a fixed fee. The longer the position stays open, the more interest accrues. If you repay quickly, the cost is small. If you keep the position open longer, the cost increases accordingly. There are no penalties for early repayment.

The rate itself is not set by Cryptorefills. It changes based on supply and demand on the protocol: when many users are borrowing, rates go up; when liquidity is abundant, rates go down. This is why the estimated interest is shown clearly before you confirm the transaction.

In simple terms, Buydl gives you flexibility, and the interest is the price of accessing that liquidity when you need it.
 

Example: How Buydl interest accrues in practice

To make the cost structure easier to visualize, here’s a simple scenario:

• You borrow $50 worth of USDC to complete your purchase.
• The borrow rate shown at checkout is 10% APR.
• You keep the position open for 2 weeks before repaying.

Here’s how the interest is calculated:

• 10% APR means you pay 10% interest over a full year.
• Two weeks is roughly 1/26 of a year.
• So the interest is: $50 x 0.10 x (1/26) = $0.19

Repaying quickly keeps costs extremely low. This example shows why Buydl is most effective for short-term liquidity, not long-term borrowing.
 

Rewards and earnings you might see on your collateral

On protocols like Kamino Finance, there are mechanisms where users earn fees or interest by supplying assets into certain vaults. Some of these vaults automatically generate returns on the assets they manage, and those returns can be passed back to users who participate.

What this means for Buydl users is that in specific situations, the collateral you lock might be eligible to earn some yield if it is held in a part of the protocol that accrues rewards.

However: This is not guaranteed as part of Buydl itself.

The exact yield depends on the protocol’s current rates and strategies.

It’s separate from the borrowed interest you pay and should not be assumed as a benefit of the feature.

In short, collateral can earn returns on the DeFi protocol in some configurations, but that is a protocol-level effect, not a built-in “reward” from Buydl.
 

What makes Buydl different from “pay later” or credit

Buydl may look similar to “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) or credit at first glance, but it works very differently.

With traditional credit or BNPL, you are borrowing based on a credit limit or future income. Someone else decides how much you can spend, under what conditions, and often for how long. The system is off-chain, opaque, and usually tied to identity, approvals, or fixed repayment rules.

Buydl works the other way around. You are not borrowing against future income, but against crypto you already own. You choose how much to lock, when to repay, and how long to keep the position open. There is no application, no approval process, and no credit profile involved.

It is also different from selling crypto to pay. Selling is final: once you sell, you exit your position completely. Buydl lets you access short-term liquidity while staying exposed to your assets, which can matter if you are holding for the long-term or waiting for a better moment to sell.
 

Buydl vs Credit cards vs Buy now pay later (BNPL)

When Buydl makes sense and when it doesn’t

Buydl is designed for situations where timing matters more than permanence.

It can make sense when you need short-term liquidity for a real purchase but don’t want to sell your crypto at that moment. This might be because you’re holding long-term, waiting for a better market condition, or simply prefer not to convert assets for a temporary need.

In many jurisdictions, using crypto as collateral rather than selling it may not be treated as a disposal, which can be beneficial from a tax perspective. However, tax treatment varies by country and personal situation. This is not tax advice, and users should always consult a qualified tax professional before relying on this assumption.

Buydl is generally better suited for short-term use. Keeping a position open for long periods increases the interest cost and may reduce its usefulness compared to other options.

It may not make sense if you already plan to sell your crypto, if you don’t need flexibility, or if the cost of borrowing outweighs the benefit of waiting.

In these cases, Buydl allows you to borrow against crypto and gain crypto liquidity without selling.
 

Current availability and roadmap

Buydl is currently live on the Solana network. Today, it supports two assets as collateral: SOL and cbBTC (Coinbase Bitcoin).

SOL can be used directly from a standard Solana wallet. cbBTC is a tokenized version of Bitcoin issued by Coinbase and available on Solana. Users can obtain cbBTC by converting BTC through Coinbase and withdrawing it to a Solana wallet or by using supported on-chain swap services that offer cbBTC liquidity on Solana. As with any asset, availability may vary depending on region and platform.

The expansion of Buydl will happen along three main directions.

First, more assets on Solana will be added as eligible collateral. This will give users additional choices depending on what they already hold.

Second, Buydl will expand to additional networks, including networks from the Ethereum ecosystem. This will allow users to access the feature without needing to move assets to Solana.

Third, Buydl will integrate with more DeFi protocols over time. This gives users more flexibility and more choice, including differences in rates and conditions depending on the protocol they prefer.

The goal of this roadmap is optionality, or letting users choose the assets, networks, and liquidity sources that best fit their needs.