NOTE: This is not trading or investment advise. These are my opinions.
Remember the good old days when you'd get 5%-10% interest per year just by keeping your money with a bank? Now, you'll be lucky if you can get 0.5% from your USD bank and in some cases your interest rate could be negative! What's the point of keeping your money with a bank if they're rewarding you with close to nothing for it? Here are some alternatives:
- Keep your money in a shoe box under your bed
- Using your dollars, buy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and keep them a high yield crypto savings account
I'm going with the second option, which I'll elaborate on. Refer to my article here for more on various cryptocurrencies and which ones are hot. In this article I'll cover the available options out there to get the most from your crypto and which ones are the best.
First, let's take a look at some key differences between a crypto wallet (such as Coinbase Wallet, Trezor, Atomic, or Ledger) and a crypto savings account like the platforms discussed in this article:
Interest
- Crypto Wallet: They do not offer interest to provide growth in your holdings, but some do offer staking.
- Crypto Savings: Allows you to increase the crypto value of your overall portfolio by paying interest, not necessary the the USD value.
Key Ownership
- Crypto Wallet: You have full control over the keys which protect your coins.
- Crypto Savings: Your coins are no longer protected by your keys and the platform can lend your crypto to others, invest/re-invest, etc.
Security
- Crypto Wallet: Cold storage is the most secure since it's a physical wallet rather than virtual. This can also come with multi-sig for a nearly un-hackable form of security.
- Crypto Savings: The security of your crypto is unknown, but we do know that most crypto savings platforms move 95%+ of their holdings to cold storage, thus creating a more secure environment for their customers.
Finally, here are the best Crypto Savings accounts. PS: I have personally used each one and successfully withdrawn funds. I'm not basing anything below on what I've read on other blogs.
Celsius
Pros:
- The best reputation of the savings-strict platforms available
- They have their own native cryptocurrency CEL
- Outspoken and visible leader
- The highest Bitcoin (BTC) interest rate on the market @ 6.2%
- Interest is compounded weekly
Cons:
- No ability to access your account from a browser, yet. Functionality should be coming soon.
Rating: 9/10
Coinbase
Pros:
- The most secure and financially-backed exchange in the industry
- Interest is compounded every second.
Cons:
- It's primary usage is as an exchange. Their savings model is very limited, but expect growth.
- USDC has a very low APY
Rating: 9/10
Nexo
Pros:
- They have their own native cryptocurrency NEXO
- The highest Ethereum (ETH) interest rate on the market @ 6.0%
- Interest is compounded daily
Cons:
- No negative experiences yet on my end, but I've heard their customer service could use improvement
Rating: 8/10
BlockFi
Pros:
- No account minimums
- Ability to choose how your interest is paid out (each specific coin or one coin for your entire portfolio)
Cons:
- Most withdrawals are not free!
- Interest is compounded monthly
Rating: 7/10