Crypto lending platform BlockFi in a press release on November 7 stated that it will reopen the BlockFi Yield, an interest-bearing digital asset account, by the end of 2022 to US accredited investors.
The Beta version will be available to first select US investors starting at the end of the year. The product will afterwards be available to all US clients at the start of 2023 allowing investors to earn interest on digital assets.
The BlockFi Yield offers competitive interest rates on digital assets with no minimum investment requirement. To access the product, however, US investors will require to complete an investor accreditation process.
So far BlockFi has paid out more than $600 million in interest since it began offering BlockFi Yield.
BlockFi had initially suspended the product in the US
In February this year, BlockFi stopped offering BlockFi Yield to US clients after the US SEC accused the firm of failing to register the product. BlockFi was fined a total of $100 million by the SEC and state regulators which BlockFi agreed to pay. BlockFi has also agreed to stop opening new US accounts.
The charge against BlockcFi came right on the heels of the collapse of Voyager and Celsius, which necessitated scrutiny of the crypto space.
To remain operational in the extended crypto winter, BlockFi laid off about 20% of its workforce, reduced marketing expenses, reduced the salaries of executives, and also removed non-essential vendors. BlockFi also secured $250 million from the currently embattled FTX exchange, as reported in previous news here, in revolving credit.
In preparation for the reopening of the product to US customers, the founder and COO of BlockFi, Flori Marquez, said that the crypto lender is working on having the product registered with the SEC before offering it to the public.