Do you want to earn interest on crypto and let your money work for you? While one of four Americans has been thinking about buying gold, many others are buying cryptocurrencies.
Many people think you have to be a trader to earn money from crypto, but that’s not necessarily true. Did you also know that to earn interest on crypto, you can choose a stable asset that doesn’t change in value?
4 Steps to Earning Interest With Your Crypto
You’ll need to open a savings account to earn interest on crypto assets. It’s a simple, four-step process that anyone can follow.
Open a Crypto Account
First, you’ll need to open a crypto account. Look for a crypto company that offers savings accounts with reasonable annual interest rates.
There are a few types of crypto companies. A crypto exchange, like Gemini, allows you to trade cryptocurrencies.
Gemini also has a program called Gemini Earn, which enables you to earn interest rates of more than 8% APY on your assets.
BlockFi is another crypto company worth looking into. With a BlockFi Interest Account, you can earn passive income from your crypto assets.
It will deposit your interest into your account monthly. Depending on the type of asset and your tier, you can earn as much as 7.50% APY.
Savings accounts aren’t the only way to earn interest with crypto. For example, you can also make money with crypto staking.
Some cryptocurrencies use a proof-of-stake (POS) model to help secure the network and maintain decentralization.
You can earn crypto rewards by staking your assets and lending them to the network. Bitcoin doesn’t use proof-of-stake.
Instead, it uses Proof-of-Work, requiring miners to solve complex mathematical problems to help confirm transactions on the network in exchange for crypto rewards.
The Proof-of-Stake model is a bit different. By staking your assets, you show that you have skin in the game. You must lock your crypto for a while.
Therefore, all stalkers have a vested interest in ensuring the network continues operating as it should, so its value doesn’t decrease.
In return for staking, you will earn rewards. These rewards come from transaction fees, just like the rewards the Bitcoin network pays its miners.
However, staking can be a complicated process, especially for newbies. In addition, you must typically lock your assets for a minimum period, like a 3-month period, until you are eligible to earn rewards.
With a crypto savings account, you can usually make a withdrawal request to withdraw your money to a crypto wallet at any time, whenever you need it, like with Gemini Earn.
Furthermore, you can earn interest on a virtual currency that does not allow staking, like Bitcoin.
Compare Rewards
The next step is comparing rewards for your cryptocurrency holdings. Cryptocurrency platforms and lending platforms will typically offer lower interest rates for specific cryptocurrencies.
For example, the highest interest rate you can earn on Bitcoin at BlockFi is 3%, based on its current rates. However, you can make as high as 7.50% on the USD Coin. That’s more than double!
Many platforms will offer higher rates for their native cryptocurrency. For example, Gemini Earn provides an interest rate of just 2.75% on Bitcoin.
However, for the Gemini Dollar, its native coin, you can earn an interest rate of 7.15%, although other cryptocurrencies earn even more.
That’s because crypto companies are interested in getting you to buy and hold their native tokens, which help support their ecosystems.
Of course, you should also compare the interest rates on different platforms. Different companies will offer different interest rates on popular digital assets like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.
If you prefer to hold Bitcoin instead of the USD Coin or the Gemini Dollar, find the crypto platform that offers the highest rate.
Purchase Cryptocurrencies
The next step is purchasing the actual crypto. The exact process for this will vary from one platform to another.
However, you will typically have to connect your bank account, credit card, or PayPal account. Then, you’ll have to select a crypto and decide how much of it to purchase.
Which crypto should you purchase? We recommend that you stick to either popular cryptocurrencies or stablecoins.
Major coins include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other well-known names that have been around for a while.
These are the coins with the most investors and the best plans, and they decide the future of crypto. Since they’ve been around for a while, their value is less likely to go to zero.
On the other hand, altcoins are newer coins with a less stable outlook and fewer investors. It’s easier for these coins to lose 50% or more of their value in a single day.
Therefore, investing in them poses a significant risk. Even if you manage to get a reasonable interest rate, you may still lose money if the cryptocurrency loses value.
Stablecoins are coins pegged to the price of the dollar (or any other currency). The USDC, USDT, and Gemini Dollar are good examples.
Their value does not change. Therefore, you can be sure that the interest you will earn will be pure profit.
Even with Bitcoin and Ethereum or other significant digital assets, there is always a chance that a decrease in the asset’s value could wipe out your profits.
Earn Interest
Finally, after you’ve decided which coins to purchase and bought them, it’s time to earn interest. You can do that by staking your crypto or transferring the assets to crypto interest accounts on the platform.
Remember, the longer you hold the coins, and the more you invest, the more interest you will earn. When you start earning, ensure you know all the relevant laws about paying taxes on crypto.
Best Crypto Savings Accounts
The following crypto savings accounts are the best for crypto investors who want to earn interest. These companies are legit and safe to use.
- Gemini: Gemini offers competitive interest rates on a wide range of cryptocurrencies. It’s available in every US state, including NY and Hong Kong. Most of its crypto is offline, while the portion it holds online has insurance.
- Nexo: Nexo allows you to earn up to 16% on your crypto. It offers payouts on a daily basis and a wide range of coins.
- Crypto.com: The Crypto.com exchange allows you to earn up to 14.5% in interest rewards. With the Crypto.com debit card, you can also earn cash back on the spending of your crypto funds on groceries and everyday items.
Next Steps
By investing in cryptocurrency and putting it in a crypto savings account, you can earn interest on crypto at an interest rate many times higher than the national average.
Another way to make money with crypto is by opening a crypto IRA account. Invest in a Bitcoin IRA today.
FAQ’s
Are you still confused about crypto savings accounts? Here are answers to some of the most common questions we see from our readers.
Yes, but there are still risks involved, especially if you invest in assets that are not stablecoins.
The cryptocurrency market is very volatile, and the prices of assets can change from one day to another; new crypto regulations may also go into effect at any time, which can hurt the crypto market.
Staking your crypto holdings involves locking them for a period of time to help the network run smoothly.
Stakers earn rewards, just like those depositing crypto into savings accounts, although they can potentially earn much higher interest rates.
Altcoins and stablecoins usually have higher interest rates, while major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin typically have lower rates.
However, it varies based on the crypto company, so make sure to compare rates beforehand before making your initial investment.
