Here’s What You Need to Know About Crypto Banks
As of February 2021, more than 100 million people worldwide are using cryptocurrency. That’s a little under three times the population of Canada.
With so many people hopping aboard the cryptocurrency train, it’s easy to feel lost. We’re used to the old financial system — go to a bank, wait three hours, get rejected for a loan, then try again. But could cryptocurrency-focused banks change that?
The answer is yes. By the end of this 6-minute read, you’ll know precisely why crypto banks are the future of finance.
What is cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is a digital currency backed by high-level cryptography instead of a central authority. Generally, the users of a cryptocurrency are the ones who govern it. You can use crypto to buy and sell goods, keep records, and mint digital assets. Many crypto enthusiasts also trade crypto as a form of investment and income.
Crypto transactions are recorded on a database called the blockchain. This ledger is updated across thousands of computers worldwide at the same time, ensuring security and trust in the coins.
What is a crypto bank?
Crypto banks are financial applications and companies that let users buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency. That includes crypto payments, crypto savings accounts, cryptocurrency lines of credit, or even simple crypto custody. Let’s break each of those down:
Crypto custody
The most basic service a crypto bank can offer is crypto custody. Like how your regular bank account holds fiat currency, a crypto bank account has possession of your various digital assets. Typically, any platform you use to purchase crypto — like Coinbase Exchange or even PayPal — will offer some kind of custodial wallet service. The difference between a crypto bank account wallet and a regular crypto wallet is that the former is usually FDIC insured.
For this reason, casual crypto users might prefer custodians like Coinbase and PayPal to take care of their crypto assets.
Crypto payments
Cryptocurrency is meant to be digital money. Unfortunately, that also means that most of the things you can buy with crypto have to be purchased online. At least until recently — the crypto debit card is minting cryptocurrency banks across the board.
A crypto debit card lets you spend your digital currencies (like Bitcoin, Ethererum, Litecoin, etc.) in physical locations. Every time you pay with debit, the corresponding amount is deducted from your crypto wallet.
The Crypto.com VISA Card can have anywhere from 1% to 8% crypto-back rewards. The Nexo Debit Card boasts 256-bit encryption for ultra-security. Binance’s card has $0 administrator fees and rewards up to 8% as well.
Crypto savings accounts
Savings accounts in most financial institutions just barely beat inflation. The world of digital assets is highly different.
The concept is the same: crypto banks will borrow money from your savings account, lend it out to other people, they pay you interest in return. Except instead of barely zero rates, you can look forward to an APY of between 8% and 12%.
Nexo offers up the highest interest are on stable coins like $USDC at 12%. Crypto.com also offers 12% crypto interest accounts for stable coins and 4.5% interest on Bitcoin.
Crypto lines of credit
An increasingly popular service provided by crypto banks is a line of credit. By putting their cryptocurrency up as collateral, users can earn money from their digital assets without liquidating.
Crypto.com will let you borrow 50% of the value of your digital asset; no credit check needed. Nexo will offer borrowers a 5.9% APR for their deposits of Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and more. Financial institutions can use Ripple to do cross-border loans much more efficiently.
The Top 3 Crypto Banks
Nexo
Each loan is covered by a custodial insurance policy of $100 million, provided by BitGo and Lloyds of London. Customers can use Nexo card to access their line of credit worldwide, receive instant cashback on all purchases, and make purchases in local currencies without incurring fees. Your Nexo account will pay out up to 12% interest on a large selection of Crypto and Stable coins.
Stable coin interest: Up to 12%
Bitcoin interest: Up to 8%
Line of credit APR.: 5.9%
Coinbase
You can use the Coinbase Visa card to spend directly from your Coinbase account, without the need for moving funds to another bank account. Before completing ATM withdrawals or purchases, your cryptocurrency is converted to U.S. dollars. With the Coinbase card, you can also earn rewards for daily purchases – you can earn 1% back in BTC or 4% back in Stellar Lumens (XLM).
Stable coin interest: 1.25%
Bitcoin interest: 4%
Line of credit APR.: 8%
Crypto.com
Thousands of digital assets are available for purchase and sale on the Crypto.com app, and the platform has lower fees than most of its competitors. You can earn cryptocurrency on all your purchases with Crypto.com’s VISA card. As well, you can exchange cryptocurrencies on the platform. Additionally, you can make interest on your digital asset by holding it in an interest-bearing account on Crypto.com.
Stable coin interest: 12%
Bitcoin interest: 4.5 %
Line of credit APR.: 8-12%
Cryptocurrency Is The Future of Finance
More than ever before, people are bypassing the traditional methods of wealth creation and banking. Who needs a credit check when you have enough Bitcoin to cover your entire loan? The world of cryptocurrency is one of endless opportunities. Especially for people who know how to leverage the markets to their favour.
People like marketing genius Dan Hollings, who has spent five years and $3 million perfecting the strategy you need to turn the cryptocurrency markets into a passive income machine. Curious to learn how he did it? Find out HERE
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best bank for cryptocurrency?
There aren’t many banks specifically for cryptocurrency, other than Vast Bank, so you’ll have to pick one that happens to do what you want it to do. If you need a loan, Nexo might be your best bet. If you’re looking for high returns on a crypto interest account, go to Crypto.com. If you’d instead just get a place to store your digital currency, Coinbase is a strong choice.
What is a crypto bank?
Any application or institution that helps people buy, sell, or hold cryptocurrency. These ‘banks’ can offer loans, custody, payment processes, and more. They’re different from standard wallets in that they can sometimes facilitate real-life purchases, or they’re FDIC-insured.
