BlockFi Lending
Centralized lending, aka: CeFi lending, is taking off alongside the DeFi craze as an amazing way to earn passive income in the crypto market. Blockfi is a CeFi lending company in the crypto space that has solidified itself in allowing crypto hodlers to earn stable passive income on their crypto assets. The stable interest rates on centralized lending platforms are what make them appealing to park crypto assets or stable coins to accrue interest monthly and even weekly.
Use our partner referral link to gain up to $250 Bitcoin Bonus for your first deposit.
BlockFi Mission
BlockFi was founded in 2017 by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez and their mission: “To bridge the worlds of traditional finance and blockchain technology to bring financial empowerment to clients on a global scale.” In layman’s terms, Zac and Flori created the company with the vision of bringing simple products and credit services to markets where people don’t currently have these opportunities. It goes beyond traditional banking and their mission is to reach out and offer services to everyone using cryptocurrency. BlockFi does this and more by offering market-leading rates with the added bonus of institutional-quality benefits to their clients. Its values consist of pragmatic pioneering in changing the status quo and integrating new technology and high standards, treating their clients with tailored products for support, and the foundational building block that transparency builds trust.
BlockFi has its pros and cons. The BlockFi platform is for all users beginner to advanced but should be used for medium to long-term hodlers!
Safe with BlockFi
Compliance
As mentioned in the pros and cons list, BlockFi is one of the few US based, regulated, interest-earning platforms for cryptocurrencies. This is important for platform users to understand because BlockFi is regulated under US law and institutionally backed but not by the FDIC or SPIC. BlockFi is backed by some big names such as Morgan Creek Capital, Valar Ventures, CMT Digital, Castle Island Ventures, SCB 10x, Avon Ventures, Purple Arch Ventures, Kenetic Capital, and HashKey to name a few. BlockFi has a rock solid foundation with more than $2 billion in assets under management by companies like Gemini, BitGo, and Coinbase. It also uses preventative measures to not only ensure the protection of your assets but also that funds are available by:
- Carefully lending with loans backed by up to 50% collateral to reduce risk.
- Keeping reserve assets with third party companies mentioned above.
- BlockFi keeps a sizable amount of collateral aside, which allows clients to withdraw with ease.
Security
Security is a serious concern for users and also a top priority for BlockFi. BlockFi has expanded security to multiple layers focusing on risk management, and transparency for users. Some features BlockFi has incorporated onto their platform are identity verification, email address authentication and two-factor authentication. The best way for users to ensure the highest security is to use a passphrase for a password, and enable 2FA. To enable 2FA on your BlockFi account, log into the client dashboard and click on the Settings tab at the bottom ->Security and then enable two-factor authentication. Step-by-step instructions will assist you to complete the process. Here is a video to learn more about the process.
Once your deposit at Blockfi is made, the funds are being managed through one of BlockFi’s custodians. BlockFi relies on three custodian services, considered the best available on the market. They include, Gemini, Fidelity, and BitGo.
How does BlockFi work?
BlockFi is a simplistic lending platform that allows users to deposit crypto assets and start earning interest immediately. BlockFi works by providing its users services in: interest earning crypto savings accounts, and USD loans collateralized by crypto. We will briefly cover USD loans collateralized by crypto later on in the article.
- Interest earning savings account AKA: BlockFi Interest Account (BIA): This works by having a user deposit any specified amount of cryptocurrency onto the platform which in turn, BlockFi lends it to other users who borrow and pay interest. In simpler terms, you deposit your money, they lend your money out, people who borrow pay interest, you earn part of the interest for lending and BlockFi takes part of the interest for providing the service.
- Crypto backed USD loans: The best analogy to describe how this works is to use a pawn shop reference. You need a loan for XXX so you go to a pawn shop for some cash. You need to bring the pawn shop something of value and they loan you money for half the value of the item. The item loaned is called “collateral”. On top of keeping your crypto as insurance for themselves, they also charge you interest on the total amount of money you borrowed over however long it takes you to pay the loan back. If you pay it off, you get your cryptocurrency back. If you don’t pay the loan back they keep your collateral.
Interest Rates for a BlockFi Interest Account
Interest rates for both services are different. So depending on which service users take advantage of, it’s important for users to understand the potential interest they can earn.
Interest Earning Savings Account or (BIA):
The interest rate a user will earn for this service is broken into a three tiered system in BlockFi. The tiers are dependent on the total amount of each crypto held in the wallet. Each token will be in it’s own tier based on the amount a user holds. For example, here is how it would work for a user in multiple scenarios:
- A user deposits 1 BTC: This user would be a tier 2 hodler earning 2% APY according to the chart. WRONG. A user with 1 BTC would actually earn 5% APY on the first 0.5 BTC and 2% on the other 0.5 BTC.
- A user deposits 25 BTC: Again, the user would earn 5% APY on the first 0.5 BTC, then 2% APY on the next 19.5 BTC and 0.5% APY on the other 5 BTC.
Here is the most recent interest rate chart according to Blockfi.com/rates:
See how much you can Earn over time!
Users can use the calculator to see interest earnings over time. The calculator is indicative and for informational purposes only. Any actual earned interest will be payable in cryptocurrency and rates can vary as explained above. On the left side of the calculator users select the crypto you hold, enter the amount, and then enter the number of years users would earn interest for. The right side of the calculator displays the output of USD interest per year, total amount of crypto earned (converted from USD to whichever crypto chosen) and the last line displays the total USD interest a user would earn over x amount of years selected.
How often will BlockFi pay out Interest?
Interest that a user accrues is paid out at the end of EACH month. On the BlockFi app, a user can see two types of interest: Total Interest Paid and Accrued Interest.
Total interest paid:
Represents the current approximate USD value of ALL interest payments that were made to the account from inception. The balance is denominated in the cryptocurrency deposited (more on this in a bit).
Accrued interest:
Accrued interest shown on the BlockFi app is an estimate based on the month to date interest accrual. This is basically what a user is earning in interest for the current month which by the month end will be added to your crypto and the accrued interest will restart for the new month.
Transactions
Once users have staked for their first payment, they can use the transaction tab to view all incoming and outgoing deposits, withdrawals, and interest payments. This is a great log to keep track of any and all trades, and interest payments with a timestamp! Remember each and every interest paying for lending coins on BlockFi is paid out at the first of each month. If you happen to deposit and stake in the middle of a cycle, users will be paid out at the month prorated.
Flex Payment Option
The flex payment option aspect of BlockFi is pretty neat. Let’s say a user is already earning interest on their 1 BTC and is about to get paid at the beginning of the new month. Then they can choose to be paid back in the same currency deposited or the user can elect to choose to be paid back in a different currency. This allows for diversification without having to ever deposit more crypto. You can find this option in Settings ->Interest Preferences.
Deposit Currency
Once you have deposited your choice of currency into BlockFi, you can choose the currency you’d like to hold and earn interest on in the main screen interface. This page is helpful because it shows you APY percentages of the cryptocurrencies.
Trade
BlockFi also supports the functionality of buying and selling cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. On the main screen once logged in there is a trade button next to the deposit that brings users to trading. The trade interface allows users to do exactly what it says, buy and sell. This makes it quick and easy for users to access their assets instantly and start lending new crypto assets or diversify holdings if needed.
Signing Up for a BlockFi Account
Signing up for BlockFi is simple and seamless and easily explained:
- Step 1: Visit the BlockFi Website. This link is a partner referral link from Staking Rewards, which allows you to gain up to $250 Bitcoin Bonus on your first deposit.
- Step 2: Users can create an account by giving their credentials such as: first name, last name, and email address. BlockFi will prompt you to use a very secure password/phrase, so please do so for security purposes.
- Step 3: Users need to verify their information through the KYC/AML process by providing proof of identity and if a US resident, users must provide their SSN. This step can be approved in mere minutes. If the process takes more than 48 hours be sure to reach out to [email protected].
- Step 4: Users can add funds using the Deposit tab. Users can deposit into their account from their crypto wallet or bank account. Deposit $100 or more to claim a referral bonus.
- Step 5: Start earning interest!
BlockFi Exclusive Partner Offer
At Staking Rewards we are glad to offer anyone an exclusive partner offer when signing up for BlockFi. Sign up using our referral link, and get up to $250 in Bitcoin Bonus.
- Click ‘Create your account’.
- Complete registration and the identity verification process.
- Transfer crypto into your account by either connecting a bank account, or sending it via a wallet-to-wallet transaction.
- Ensure you retain the required amount to earn your free BTC! Refer to chart.
- You will receive your free BTC on the 15th of the eligible month which is 2.5 months from the month of your eligibility. More info in our terms below.
Top Perks
Borrow Against Your Portfolio
Outside of earning interest on holdings, BlockFi offers you the ability to borrow against your portfolio. You can avoid selling your crypto when you need cash by borrowing funds in USD against your crypto assets. Interest rates for borrowing USD are as low as 4.5%. Borrowing does come with risk. You do have the potential to lose your collateral, crypto assets, if the price of the crypto collateral drops significantly. This means that the value of your interest account can no longer support the loan balance.
Rewards Credit Card
BlockFi is launching its own Bitcoin rewards credit card that lets users earn 1.5% back on every purchase. The BlockFi card has no annual fees, no foreign transaction fees, users just earn bitcoin back on every purchase. Your Bitcoin rewards will be added to your BlA which starts earning interest right away! The card started shipping in Q2 of 2021 to US residents in qualified states and will soon be available to folks outside the US.
Overall Conclusion
BlockFi is a great way for amateur and even veteran crypto enthusiasts to hold and reap rewards over the long haul. Their webapp is seamless and rewards are processed on a monthly basis for users to see, along with their assets and USD value. BlockFi does give users peace of mind with their security and financial compliance with regulatory systems. The user-friendly app and sign-up procedure is a huge plus for BlockFi, along with the security features such as 2FA, allowlisting, ID verification, and biometric scanning to add additional layers of security to their assets.
BlockFi also has a great backing, with big names investing such as Winklevoss Capital, Avon Ventures, Morgan Creek Capital and more. A few drawbacks to BlockFi are time delays with deposits and withdrawals. This doesn’t happen for everyone but has been part of my experience in the past. Another negative drawback with BlockFi is their rates seem to change fairly often, so be vigilant when calculating interest rates and be sure to study the guide above in the Interest Rates for a BlockFi Interest Account section. In closing, BlockFi gives users an opportunity to utilize many great services such as crypto backed loans, trading, interest accounts, and more that far outweigh the cons. Remember to DYOR and make sure if BlockFi is the right path for you and your crypto assets!
If you are a customer of Blockfi, please make sure to leave a review at http://www.stakingrewards.com/savings/blockfi. So you can help others to make the right choice for their Crypto Interest Account.