US-based crypto lending platform BlockFi just launched savings accounts for Bitcoin and Ethereum, with a whopping 6% annual interest rate.
The interest is paid each month in crypto and is then compounded to produce a 6.2% annual percentage yield. Banks in the US pay roughly 2% on savings accounts.
BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIA) are backed by Gemini, a regulated and insured crypto custodian. Users will begin earning interest right away, after depositing a minimum of one Bitcoin or 25 Ether. The service is available across the US, with the exception of New York, Washington and Connecticut.
BlockFi’s lending platform has supported Litecoin for months and recently added XRP. But so far, the company has not announced if or when it will offer its savings accounts for those digital assets.
According to BlockFi CEO Zac Prince, the program launched in private beta in January, and already holds more than $10 million in assets from retail, corporate and institutional crypto investors.
“The launch of BIA is another significant step in BlockFi’s goal of becoming the go-to provider of financial services for crypto investors. Lending and borrowing is readily available at the institutional level, and we’re excited to leverage our relationships and capital markets expertise to provide utility and yield on digital assets for all crypto investors.”
BlockFi is backed by a long list of investors including Galaxy Digital, Susquehanna, Akuna Capital, Fidelity, Recruit Strategic Partners, Coinbase Ventures, CMT Digital, SoFi, ConsenSys Ventures and Morgan Creek Digital.
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