Our team researched the mechanics and risks behind crypto lending and created multiple crypto interest accounts to back up our recommendation.
Crypto interest accounts pay 8%–12% a year compared to <1% with savings accounts; we estimate they are riskier than savings accounts but safer than traditional investments
Things to know:
We have considered different key factors (ease of use, including transferring money in/out, returns (the higher the interest the better), and risk (of loss from loan risk, hacking, etc.) in deciding which provider is the best
We focused on large providers which have many customers and a proven track record
The Best Overall: BlockFi
Zac Prince and Flori Marquez developed BlockFi in New York City in 2017. Valar Ventures (supported by Peter Thiel), Winklevoss Capital, Galaxy Digital, ConsenSys Ventures, Morgan Creek Digital, and others have all invested in the company, which has raised around $508 million.
Why it’s the best:
- With a 4.5% APY on BTC and up to 9.5% on stablecoins, the BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) is one of the most competitive cryptocurrency interest accounts on the market.
- BlockFi is a fairly attractive option for individuals that have a beginner to moderate level proficiency with digital assets. Since the platform now offers direct ACH deposits, you only need minimal cryptocurrency literacy to start earning interest.
- BlockFi offers 43x more than “high-interest” savings accounts with Ally Bank (0.2%) and 4.7x than WealthFront (1.82%).
- Interest is compounded daily and deposited to your account monthly, and there are no account maintenance fees or required account minimums.
- BlockFi uses Gemini as a primary custodian, meaning Gemini handles and oversees the funds. As part of their partnership, Gemini keeps an overwhelming majority of the crypto holdings in cold storage and insures their hot wallets through Aron.
- BlockFi has great customer support. It offers live chat, email, and phone customer support, and many emails are answered within 24 hours.
Runner Up: Celsius
One of BlockFi’s largest competitors, Celsius, offers better Bitcoin interest rates for their customers.
Why we like Celsius too:
- Earn high reward rates on deposited cryptocurrency
- Use your cryptocurrency to borrow cash or coins
- Send and receive cryptocurrency without fees
- Loan approvals are instant and there are no credit checks. You also won’t have to pay any origination fees.
- You can earn up to 17.78% APY by keeping your digital assets on deposit with Celsius. As of writing, the platform pays interest on 25+ cryptocurrencies, 10+ stablecoins, and one Gold token (PAXG).
- There is no minimum balance or fees to earn on your crypto deposit. And payouts are made on a weekly basis on Mondays.
- All funds that are deposited with Celsius are held with its partner custodian Fireblocks. Fireblocks also provides custody insurance against the loss or theft of your private keys.
Also great: Nexo — Best for daily interest
Not interested in waiting a month to see an interest payout from your cryptocurrency savings account? Nexo offers daily simple interest payments and short lockup times of around 24 hours.
What’s great about Nexo:
- Offers between 6% and 12% APY for a variety of digital assets, including BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, EOS, XLM, TRX, and XRP.
- Best for those who already hold a stablecoin or alt-coin and beginners who are new to cryptocurrency savings accounts
- It’s a unique cryptocurrency interest account offering because it offers daily payouts, as well as upwards of 12% for popular fiat currencies like USD, EUR, and GBP for international users.
- Nexo’s longevity in the space has earned it some credit towards being a legitimate cryptocurrency interest account pioneer.
- Nexo’s cryptocurrency interest account rates are competitive with BlockFi, Celsius.
- However, Nexo has a streak of poor customer service; several Reddit threads and Twitter posts request more transparency or involvement from the company’s leadership teams in addressing customer concerns.
- Nexo’s security infrastructure is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified. So, your funds are probably safe on Nexo; deposits are likely as safe on Nexo as competitors like BlockFi and Celsius.
- Nexo is a European-based company. As such, our European readers may be more comfortable with Nexo than a United States-based platform. In contrast, U.S. readers may prefer companies that are obligated to operate within U.S. regulations and jurisdictions like BlockFi and Celsius.
Final thoughts
We specifically like BlockFi due to their status as a crypto lending market leader, ease of use and deposits/withdrawals, and high interest rates compared to well-known companies that are newer to the crypto lending space like Coinbase and Gemini. It could also be a good idea to spread deposits out across multiple crypto lending platforms for diversification.