BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

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waltman300
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by waltman300 »

Is there any other alternative to blockfi besides the ones already listed?


I hear people talk about defi a lot. So those are like places that i could do similar to these blockfi/celsius etc?
dru808
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by dru808 »

Voyager uses Celsius for its interest payments.
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parval
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by parval »

waltman300 wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:15 pm Is there any other alternative to blockfi besides the ones already listed?


I hear people talk about defi a lot. So those are like places that i could do similar to these blockfi/celsius etc?
Defi is a different animal, BlockFi et al are all Cefi. You can call up someone if anything goes wrong (unless you send to wrong address, but that's all of crypto)

You can technically lend in a similar fashion but the risk profile is completely different. Even if you use Aave, the rates on stablecoins are much more variable, you run smart contract risk, need to manage a wallet, etc etc

Lastly unless you're running 100k+ plus deposits, gas prices are honestly too high in Defi for any near term rewards.

If you want to learn more about Defi, start here: https://medium.com/instadapp/how-to-get ... 49da0c43f5
waltman300
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by waltman300 »

Is there any country or state restrictions with defi?
Gadget
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by Gadget »

waltman300 wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:15 pm Is there any other alternative to blockfi besides the ones already listed?


I hear people talk about defi a lot. So those are like places that i could do similar to these blockfi/celsius etc?
Ledn and Celsius are the next most trustworthy Cefi options after Blockfi. With maybe Voyager closely after those 2.

Nexo is another option, but I don't get a good vibe from it. No one knows what country it is from, and they are evasive in all answers about country and license.

Defi is a completely different animal that takes more of a learning curve than Cefi. You can earn more interest in Defi at places like Comp, Aave, Curve, etc, but they all likely carry more risk.
dru808
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by dru808 »

waltman300 wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 12:10 pm Is there any country or state restrictions with defi?
No, it’s decentralized
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waltman300
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by waltman300 »

So with defi.. you can't earn interest on stablecoins right? I am talking about usdt/usdc etc...
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BrandonBogle
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by BrandonBogle »

waltman300 wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 12:26 am So with defi.. you can't earn interest on stablecoins right? I am talking about usdt/usdc etc...
You can. Aave on the Polygon network gets a decent rate when you include their rewards. Polycat offers a farm for USDC paired with MATIC, but you have to keep impermanent loss in mind. The 1,000+ APY they offer helps offset any IL.

If anyone does decide to use Polycat, please reach out to a referral. Nothing scraped off what you earn, but whomever refers you earns 1% of what you do. That adds up. Again, it’s a bonus over what you make vs. skimming off your profits.
Gadget
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by Gadget »

BrandonBogle wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 7:35 am
waltman300 wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 12:26 am So with defi.. you can't earn interest on stablecoins right? I am talking about usdt/usdc etc...
You can. Aave on the Polygon network gets a decent rate when you include their rewards. Polycat offers a farm for USDC paired with MATIC, but you have to keep impermanent loss in mind. The 1,000+ APY they offer helps offset any IL.

If anyone does decide to use Polycat, please reach out to a referral. Nothing scraped off what you earn, but whomever refers you earns 1% of what you do. That adds up. Again, it’s a bonus over what you make vs. skimming off your profits.
Polycat has a built in pyramid scheme rewards system? That doesn't sound sustainable...

I wouldn't recommend anyone new to the crypto space jumps right in to the yield farming options. The Cefi options like BlockFi, Ledn, and Celsius are easiest to understand. AAVE and COMP are good defi options. But yield farming crypto pairs for liquidity is a different ballgame that is likely to turn off most people looking for earning simple interest on stablecoins. It has way more risks, even if it has the highest interest rates currently.

I'd recommend for most people asking these questions to only pick something that earns interest on USDC.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by BrandonBogle »

Gadget wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:50 am
BrandonBogle wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 7:35 am
waltman300 wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 12:26 am So with defi.. you can't earn interest on stablecoins right? I am talking about usdt/usdc etc...
You can. Aave on the Polygon network gets a decent rate when you include their rewards. Polycat offers a farm for USDC paired with MATIC, but you have to keep impermanent loss in mind. The 1,000+ APY they offer helps offset any IL.

If anyone does decide to use Polycat, please reach out to a referral. Nothing scraped off what you earn, but whomever refers you earns 1% of what you do. That adds up. Again, it’s a bonus over what you make vs. skimming off your profits.
Polycat has a built in pyramid scheme rewards system? That doesn't sound sustainable...

I wouldn't recommend anyone new to the crypto space jumps right in to the yield farming options. The Cefi options like BlockFi, Ledn, and Celsius are easiest to understand. AAVE and COMP are good defi options. But yield farming crypto pairs for liquidity is a different ballgame that is likely to turn off most people looking for earning simple interest on stablecoins. It has way more risks, even if it has the highest interest rates currently.

I'd recommend for most people asking these questions to only pick something that earns interest on USDC.
Oh I completely agree. Similar to discussions here about buying and holding VTI / VTSAX (Vanguard Total US) directly vs. trading options. Very different levels of complexity and not something one should just jump into.
TheCleverest
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by TheCleverest »

Say I drop 10k.

Would I have invested this money into equities instead? No.

Do I view it as a supercharged interest rate for my emergency fund? Yes.

Will I be devastated if it isn't as 'stable' as it is sold to be? Yes, if it went down by 10% it would be $100.

Do I understand that 'stable' is a marketing ploy? Yes.

Is there a deposit and redemption fee? Not that I'm aware of.

Does this mean my emergency fund probably shouldn't be that big to begin with? Ah, I suppose one could make that argument but it keeps me in the seat.

Do I believe it to be as risky as some others (ie I only get a 8.6% return and there is a real possibility of 100% wipeout)? No. That is the most important question.
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ensign_lee
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by ensign_lee »

dru808 wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:27 pm Voyager uses Celsius for its interest payments.
How do they achieve higher interest rates than what Celsius offers then? For instance, after your first 2 btc at Celsius, interest rate drops to 3.5%. But at Voyager, you get the 6.25% for your whole balance.
dru808
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by dru808 »

ensign_lee wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 11:41 pm
dru808 wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 11:27 pm Voyager uses Celsius for its interest payments.
How do they achieve higher interest rates than what Celsius offers then? For instance, after your first 2 btc at Celsius, interest rate drops to 3.5%. But at Voyager, you get the 6.25% for your whole balance.
I dont know, maybe voyager is supplementing some of the rate they pay :?:
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xraygoggles
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by xraygoggles »

So... you guys heard about the major oopsie right?

Instead of giving promo interest in stablecoins, they gave some people in Bitcoins.... The largest one I've seen online is 704 Bitcoin, instead of dollars. Apparently, some people were able to withdraw, and now BlockFi is sending emails to them threatening legal action...

Will they go insolvent? Probably not, but this sullies their reputation permanently, does it not?

https://www.coindesk.com/blockfi-botche ... d-payments
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txhill
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by txhill »

xraygoggles wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 12:08 am So... you guys heard about the major oopsie right?

Instead of giving promo interest in stablecoins, they gave some people in Bitcoins.... The largest one I've seen online is 704 Bitcoin, instead of dollars. Apparently, some people were able to withdraw, and now BlockFi is sending emails to them threatening legal action...

Will they go insolvent? Probably not, but this sullies their reputation permanently, does it not?

https://www.coindesk.com/blockfi-botche ... d-payments
It’s extremely concerning. They had a snafu just last month with how accrued interest was displaying (was way higher than should have been). Didn’t lead to any issues because it was before payout so they fixed it. But two errors like that is a red flag…
Prahasaurus
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

Post by Prahasaurus »

txhill wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 12:11 am
xraygoggles wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 12:08 am So... you guys heard about the major oopsie right?

Instead of giving promo interest in stablecoins, they gave some people in Bitcoins.... The largest one I've seen online is 704 Bitcoin, instead of dollars. Apparently, some people were able to withdraw, and now BlockFi is sending emails to them threatening legal action...

Will they go insolvent? Probably not, but this sullies their reputation permanently, does it not?

https://www.coindesk.com/blockfi-botche ... d-payments
It’s extremely concerning. They had a snafu just last month with how accrued interest was displaying (was way higher than should have been). Didn’t lead to any issues because it was before payout so they fixed it. But two errors like that is a red flag…
I can't stress this enough, you must be extra careful interacting with any centralized entity within the crypto ecosystem. Some are solid, like Coinbase. But others just haven't been around long enough to have much history, like BlockFi. If you look at the history of Bitcoin, you will see the major issues that resulted in loss of funds are almost always with centralized entities profiting off crypto.

When I loan on Aave, everything is totally transparent. Rates are variable and linked to supply and demand. Borrowers are over-collateralized. It's not risk free, obviously, but you have all the info available to everyone. With BlockFi and Celsius, it's very different. Their operations are opaque. You must trust their CEO and management. You often don't know exactly how they can generate those promised yields. It's a very different situation! People new to crypto think it's a good compromise, but I'm not so sure. I would rather leave my Bitcoin in a wallet than risk issues with most centralized entities.

I've always said when I do put my BTC somewhere to earn interest, it will be a decentralized option like BadgerDAO. I might make an exception with Coinbase, simply because of their long history and being a publicly traded company. I have used them for 7 years or so with no issues so far. But that will be the exception that proves the rule. And if I do use Coinbase, it won't be for large amounts.

The amazing thing is some here will point to this to show how unstable crypto is, but in fact it really shows the advantages of dealing with decentralized entities over traditional financial companies like BlockFi. The sooner everyone within crypto moves to DeFi, the better. Learn to use MetaMask people and put your coins to work within DeFi!
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Re: BlockFi Interest Account (8.6% APY) with Stablecoin

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