As the crypto market grows, so has decentralized finance (DeFi), which is becoming an integral part of the landscape. Crypto lending, in particular, has gained traction, allowing investors to earn passive income on their crypto holdings.
Imagine leaving your crypto assets idle in wallets after a crypto investment when you could have been earning. With crypto lending, investors and traders can earn profit from idle crypto assets as they wait for the pump.
Having tested 20 crypto lending sites, we have compiled a list of the 8 best platforms that will help you get the most out of your assets. In this article, we will delve into the world of crypto lending, what it is, how it works, and provide comprehensive reviews of the top 8 crypto lending platforms, among others.
In a hurry? Here are our top picks for the best crypto lending platforms to use:
To make it easier for you to choose the right crypto lending platform, here is a brief overview of the key features of the top 8 crypto lending platforms.
YouHodler is a prominent player in the crypto lending platform. It also features a crypto savings account, crypto trading, and a wallet, making it an all-round DeFi platform. It has a user-friendly interface, allowing a great user experience for crypto lending, borrowing, and trading.
The perks of YouHodler surpass interest on lending, as you can earn by also depositing and “HODLing.” By opening a YouHodler savings account and depositing a minimum of $100, you can earn a passive return of up to 12%. On the other hand, YouHodler offers an attractive interest rate for crypto lenders, which ranges from 1 to 10.5% with a weekly payout.
Although YouHodler offers more than 50 popular cryptocurrencies as collateral for coin loans, which can be paid in fiat, crypto, or stablecoin, its downside is a high APR for borrowers. Further, the minimum deposit is high, which could be lower. Nevertheless, YouHodler has excellent ratings and reviews, higher than its competitors, making it a reputable crypto lending platform in the DeFi space.
You can read our full YouHodler review for an in-depth guide.
Sign Up on YouHodler
Nexo is a favorite destination for crypto lending activities and is home to approximately 40 million users. Nexo stands out for its instant credit lines and quick access to funds while securing crypto holdings. Moreover, its competitive interest rates make it rank high in the lending ecosystem.
Nexo’s features include 16% interest per year on crypto and stablecoins. This allows for seamless wealth building with over 35+ assets available for lending, with BTC, USDT, and USDC having leading rates.
Additional features of Nexo include daily payments, which makes it stand out from other competitors offering weekly or monthly interest payouts. It also has loyalty tiers: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Base, with varying interest rates. Platinum members earn the most on leading crypto, up to 16%, while the Base tier offers up to 12%.
Furthermore, the platform is reputable, with clients earning interest since 2019. Also, it has thousands of reviews and an excellent rating on TrustPilot. The only drawback highlighted by users is the learning curve, which can be a hassle for beginners.
Sign Up on Nexo
Crypto.com is a lending platform offering both fixed and flexible terms with attractive interest rates. It was launched in 2006, offering its DeFi services to 80 million customers worldwide.
Besides crypto lending, Crypto.com offers other products, including trading and DeFi products like wallets. With 21+ cryptocurrencies and stablecoins available and interest rates between 0.1 and 12%, Crypto.com has one of the most appealing returns in the market. Additionally, it has two tiers, Standard Rate and Private Members, with the latter earning an extra 2% p.a. in rewards, distributed in CRO.
To provide the best lending experience for users, Crypto.com hosts a calculator, which is used to calculate rewards. You only need to select a token, amount, CRO lockup, and term, which range from flexible to 1 and 3 months, to calculate your reward.
However, the drawback to using Crypto.com is that it has fewer crypto options available for lending or borrowing. It also has a modest rating from users.
Sign Up on Crypto.com
OKX is a well-known crypto exchange and one of the largest centralized exchanges (CEXs). Although popularly known as an exchange platform, it has now ventured into crypto lending services.
Instead of HODL, you can earn by lending 160+ tokens on the platform. Its support of a wide variety of cryptocurrencies makes it stand out in the market as a preferred destination for borrowers and lenders.
Furthermore, its loan products are extremely competitive, with crypto assets like LPT and API3 having an estimated APR of 365%. You can also choose between its flexible and fixed rates, depending on your needs and commitment level. Interest is accrued daily, meaning you don’t have to wait for a week or a month before getting returns.
However, the downside of the crypto lending platform is that it doesn’t operate in the United States, Canada, and some other countries. Also, it has a meager 2.8 rating on Trustpilot.
Sign Up on OKX
Binance, which was founded in 2017, has become synonymous with centralized exchanges. As a major player in decentralized finance, users can lend their cryptocurrencies on Binance and earn interest.
Its reputation precedes it, with investors having massive confidence in the security of their assets. Additionally, its competitive edge includes the ability to lend over 180 crypto assets and gain highly competitive APYs of as much as 38%. This is more apparent in specific lesser-known tokens, which have higher gains.
Furthermore, the crypto exchange and lending platform has various lending options. The most popular are Auto-Invest and Simple Earn, with Auto-Invest allowing you to set up an automatic investment plan and earn daily.
Additionally, the platform is simple and easy to use, adding to its appeal. However, new users might have to wait for a longer period before verification and earning. Moreover, despite being one of the key players in the crypto space, its rating on Trustpilot is poor, which regulatory scrutiny has contributed to.
Read our Binance review for an in-depth guide.
Sign Up on Binance
CoinLoan combines lending, borrowing, and exchange, making it a one-stop solution for crypto needs. It offers no lockup on flexible accounts but requires a minimum deposit of $100, which some might not be comfortable with. Nevertheless, many other lending platforms require such a fee, so it’s not necessarily a deal-breaker.
With CoinLoan, you can easily earn up to 12.3% APY across multiple assets and stablecoins. 22+ crypto assets can be deposited, including leading ones like BTC, ETH, SOL, and DOT. An additional perk you stand to enjoy and a competitive edge for CoinLoan is that it charges no fees or commissions on deposits or withdrawals.
It is also flexible and will provide you with options to pick between 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of lock-in. This is more than many lending platforms will offer. Additionally, it has 24/7 support and is rated “Great” on Trustpilot.
However, a more prominent con remains its minimum deposit of $100.
CoinRabbit is a popular lending platform for stablecoins. Users can lend and earn 5% APY interest on five Stablecoins: USDT, USDC, USD Coin, USDT (BSC), and BUSD. CoinRabbit also supports several cryptocurrencies for borrowing, with 180+ cryptocurrencies available for borrowers at 13.8% APR and more.
You will need a minimum deposit of $100 to start accruing daily interest. Afterward, you can partially or fully withdraw your asset at any time. There are also no platform fees, and funds are never locked.
CoinRabbit has become a favorite among users who value ease and anonymity, as it does not require KYC or credit checks. Assets are also safe as they employ cold wallet storage, saving assets from hacks. It also has a favorable rating on Trustpilot.
However, a downside to using CoinRabbit is that users have limited options on assets to deposit for interest, with only stablecoins offered.
AQRU is a notable player in the crypto lending space and completes our list of the 8 best lending sites and platforms. It allows users to invest, exchange cryptocurrencies, and lend.
Through AQRU, you can earn as much as 10% APY interest through its Real-World Receivables, which is the highest on the lending site. However, it needs to be fixed for 45 days. Also, you can draw confidence from the fact that it is rated “Great” on Trustpilot.
The lending site offers two categories of cryptocurrencies that can be deposited for lending, which include stablecoins and crypto staples. Each category has three options, with the former including Real-World Receivables, Maple USDC, and Flex USDC. These have the highest APYS, ranging from 1 to 10%.
Its crypto staples include Maple ETH, Flex ETH, and Flex BTC, with APYs ranging from 0 to 2%.
Although the lending site is highly secure, as it offers multi-layered deposit insurance, its APYs are low compared to other competitors.
Crypto lending is a financial practice within the crypto ecosystem. The practice revolves around individuals lending their digital assets to others (borrowers) in exchange for interest. The crypto or lending platform makes up the third participant in this ecosystem, which already includes the lender and borrower.
This concept is similar to conventional banking, where interest is received on deposits. It is like depositing money in your bank, either through a savings account or a fixed deposit, which then accrues interest.
However, a key difference between crypto lending and traditional banking is that the former has a significantly higher interest rate. The difference is striking, with interest rates for savings accounts ranging from 0.01% to 2%, which is a pittance compared to crypto lending’s APY of 0% to 20% or more, depending on the asset.
In summary, crypto lending is a cornerstone of decentralized finance (DeFi). It allows lenders to generate passive income, while borrowers can access funds without selling their assets.
Crypto lending is a straightforward process that involves three parties: lenders, borrowers, and the lending platform. The liquidity flows from the lender to the lending platform, then finally to the borrower.
The crypto lending process begins with the lender, and as a result, they are often offered enticing interest rates. The interest rates, which can be paid daily, weekly, or monthly, differ depending on the token, deposit terms, and lending platform.
After assets are deposited, the lending platform becomes a liquidity pool, with loans disbursed to borrowers once they meet loan requirements. To access loans, borrowers will have to pledge collateral, which is usually their crypto holdings held in smart contracts.
Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of agreements written directly into code. They are automatically executed when predefined conditions are met, which is when borrowers meet the loan terms. Traditionally, the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is 50%, meaning a borrower can get a loan of 50% of their total collateral to be paid within a timeframe along with an interest fee.
There are several factors you need to consider when choosing a crypto lending platform that aligns with your financial goals. This is crucial, considering the rising popularity of crypto lending platforms.
ARR (Annual Percentage Rate) and APY (Annual Percentage Yield) are two terms often confusing to borrowers and lenders. However, to understand the difference, think about “rate” and “yield.”
The former, which is “rate,” applies to loan seekers and is the rate owed to lenders, while “yield” is the interest earned on lenders’ savings. It is worth mentioning that in calculating APR, a simple formula is used without accounting for compounding interest, just the interest rate and any fee. APY, on the other hand, utilizes compound interest.
In a nutshell, APR highlights how much interest the borrower must pay until the whole loan has been repaid, while APY determines the annual yield or interest to be earned annually by lenders.
Crypto lending offers several benefits to both lenders and borrowers, some of which will be highlighted below.
Just like with all crypto activities, there are risks involved in crypto lending. Understanding them will help you better navigate the market.
Crypto lending rates vary and depend on several factors. These include the token being lent or borrowed, the lending platform, market demand, and the overall market conditions.
While visiting the platform remains the best way to determine crypto lending rates, here is some general knowledge on what to expect. Stablecoin lending rates could range from 2% to 10% annually, while more volatile tokens could command more at times. This also varies and could be as low as 0.1% to over 20% or higher.
Nevertheless, it is worth keeping in mind that lending rates are subject to change and can be influenced by market sentiment, liquidity, or something as mundane as the platform’s popularity.
Yes, collateral does play a key role in crypto lending. Collateral is the digital asset that borrowers use to secure their loans. The essence of this is to mitigate the lender’s risk if borrowers default on their loans or are liquidated.
Collateral is the certain amount pledged by the borrower, which is held in a smart contract until the complete repayment of the loan. In a scenario where borrowers fail to repay the loan, collateral can be liquidated to recover funds.
Collateralization ratios vary based on the platform and cryptocurrency. This means that higher-volatility assets may require higher ratios to account for potential price fluctuations. Nevertheless, collateral serves as a safety net, protecting lenders from defaults, and borrowers have reasons to repay their loans.
Getting around crypto taxes might be hard to navigate, which can be attributed to its novelty. Nevertheless, there are still some regulations in place regarding loans and interest.
According to the IRS, loans are generally non-taxable, which can be applied to crypto. So, for the most part, crypto loans may be treated similarly. However, the interest earned from taking out an investment loan is tax-deductible. In other words, the loan itself might not be taxable, but the profit made from it is.
Regarding whether crypto lending is taxed or not, according to the IRS, crypto income and gains are taxable. This means when cryptocurrency is earned from yields on crypto accounts, such as lending, it is considered taxable income.
While crypto lending is generally safe, it still faces the underlying challenges facing the crypto landscape, which include a lack of clear regulation, scams, and fraud. In addition, the safety of crypto lending also largely hinges on the crypto lending platform.
Crypto lending safety varies based on the platform and security measures put in place. Trusted and regulated platforms with robust security measures offer enhanced safety. Nevertheless, that doesn’t make platforms immune to risks like hacks, smart contract vulnerabilities, or borrower defaults, which have the potential to affect crypto lending.
Consequently, it is crucial to conduct thorough research about the platform and consult professionals before investing in a lending site. Research the crypto lending site’s reputation and check for a history of security breaches.
Summarily, while crypto lending offers opportunities, risks persist. Therefore, conduct thorough due diligence and don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.
Beginning your crypto lending journey revolves around five steps, including opening an account, verifying, making a deposit, purchasing crypto, and then lending. In this section, we will walk you through how to begin your crypto trading with YouHodler.
The first step is opening an account by entering the required information. Next, agree to the terms and conditions, then click on “Sign Up.”
After creating your account, the next step is to verify your identity. To do this, click “Verify your identity to unlock platform basic functions.”
You can now make a fiat deposit either through a bank wire or AdvCash. This fund will enable you to purchase crypto.
After making a deposit and purchasing cryptocurrencies, you can choose the one you wish to lend and earn interest on.
Crypto lending remains a great way for investors to earn passive income in the crypto landscape. Regardless of market volatility, investors can be confident about earning returns on their assets. This process requires locking funds, which can be flexible or for a specific period, with interest paid daily, weekly, or monthly.
To get the most out of crypto lending, we provided you with the best 8 crypto lending sites and platforms. You can choose from any of the lists based on their pros and cons and how best they meet your financial needs.
Nevertheless, inasmuch as crypto lending offers opportunities to earn passive income, it still comes with risks, including platform vulnerability and market volatility. So, conduct due diligence and consult with experts if need be.
Our dedication to helping the crypto community, including investors and general Web3 enthusiasts, underscores our commitment to the crypto landscape. As such, our review process focused on first-hand tests of the eight crypto-lending sites and platforms. During the review process, we discovered that the signup process, security, and interface meet the standard.
Additionally, we checked customer reviews about the lending platforms, which were positive.