10 Best Crypto Lending Platforms

When it comes to cryptocurrency lending, tons of factors equate to a good earning profile. Also, the borrowing part of the lending ecosystem is almost always missed out on. Therefore the article covers concepts of lending, borrowing, and process steps for the 10 best crypto lending platforms.

Summary

Note – Interest rates and other values mentioned above and in the article are subject to change.

What is Cryptocurrency Lending?

The method of lending crypto assets or fiat currency to the person who wants to borrow it at an agreed-upon interest rate constitutes crypto lending. Therefore, it has the same execution as that of investments and loans in a traditional banking system. 

• Lenders: They are usually someone who has an accumulation of cryptocurrency and is looking for a way to earn passive income.
• Borrowers: They are usually someone who requires a loan against their crypto asset. Getting a loan helps them to retain their asset without selling them.
• Lending Platform: The platform which allows users to lend or borrow crypto assets.

Where to Lend your digital assets?

1. Centralized Finance (CeFi) Platforms

The platform which acts as a middleman in the execution of the lending process comes under this. It means that the lenders and borrowers give up their respective asset and collateral to this platform until the time borrowed amount is settled in full.

Both parties will not have control over their assets. Moreover, a KYC process is standard on these platforms, meaning that anonymity is not possible. 

2. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Platforms

These platforms have code-based contracts known as Smart Contracts to execute lending. The contract executes when the specified demands are fulfilled, and this process is automated. Thus, one does not need to undergo the KYC process, and since it works on a set of rules, it is pretty transparent.

How does Crypto Lending work?

Let’s have a look at lending at an operational level.

Pros and Cons of Crypto Lending

Pros	Cons
It is readily available to anyone who is holding crypto.	Security is a big hurdle.
The process is not as long as traditional systems.	Centralized platforms are vulnerable to online attacks.
High interest rates and reward incentives.	The Crypto market is volatile.
Highly diversified in nature.	Over collateralization of assets.

Best Cryptocurrency Lending Platforms

Here is a list of some of the best crypto lending platforms

BlockFi 

BlockFi, founded in 2017, is a credit service-based crypto platform that supports trading, earning interest, and borrowing. To learn more, read the BlockFi review.

Features	Description
Accessible	Across Web and mobile platforms(iOS and Android).
Security	2FA Allow listing is a feature provided that restricts the transfer of crypto to addresses other than mentioned.
Tokens Supported	All major tokens are supported, and more are underway.
BlockFi Interest Rate	Interest Rates are variable with each asset. The APYs for all 3 tiers for each asset is set and the interests earned are calculated W.R.T. tiers.
BlockFi Flex Interest	It allows you to select the crypto in which you want to earn interest.
Collateral Accepted	BTC, ETH, LTC or PAXG
Tokens for Borrowing	USD or Stablecoins (USDC, GUSD, PAX)
BlockFi Borrow Interest Rates	4.5% – 9.75%, depending on LTV. International rates are higher.
Maturity of BlockFi Loans	12 months
BlockFi Origination Fee	2%
LTV	20% (Only for BTC), 35%, 50%
Eligibility for Loans	Anyone who is a user.
Prepayment Penalties	If repayment happens before 12 months, the rest of the interest is not needed to be paid.
Loan Handling and Interest Payment	Domestic Users (USA): Handled by Scratch. Wire transfer to scratch or initiate from Scratch platform. International Loans: Handled in-house. Wire transfer payment or stablecoin payment accepted.
BlockFi Liquidation of Collateral	80% or above this collateral will be liquidated.
Minimum Loan	$10,000
KYC	Required.
BlockFi Fees	~1% administration fees is deducted from monthly interest payment.

Also, read BlockFi Credit Card Review | Are you Getting the Best Card?

Celsius Network

Celsius Network is a crypto lending platform that aims to make the earning and borrowing processes simpler. It is said to be conceptualized in the Summer of 2017. The lending and borrowing on the platform are easy to use. 

Celsius Crypto Lending

Celsius Borrow Process

Features	Description
Accessible	Sign up using Mobile App (iOS or Android) or the website.
Celsius Network Security	2 Factor Authentication. Biometric Security supported. Audits by Nyman Libson Paul(NLP). Security complies with ISO standards.
CEL Token	Utility token on Celcius with lower rates in loans and discounts on repayments. Trading of CEL tokens is present on multiple exchanges like IDEX, Liquid, Uniswap, and more.
Tokens Supported	All primary tokens supported, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.
Celsius Interest Rate	~ 17% APY. Variable according to assets.
Minimum Balance	Not required.
Celsius Minimum Withdrawal Limit	$1
Celsius Withdrawal Limit	Withdrawal >$150,000 may take 24-48 hours. $600,000 limit per 24 hours.
Reward Payment	Earn rewards as soon as you transfer funds. Reward payment day: Monday. Earn in-kind: Transfer assets and earn more in that asset category. Earn in CEL: Transfer assets and earn more in CEL. (Unavailable to US Users)
Celsius Interest Rates (Borrow)	25% LTV:1% 33% LTV: 6.95% 50% LTV: 8.95% Low rates and discounts with CEL tokens and loyalty tier.
Fiat Borrowing	Supported, USD. Banks may charge a transaction fee.
Borrow Tokens	TUSD, GUSD, PAX, USDC, MCDAI, USDT, USD
Collateral Token	40+ crypto assets supported.
Minimum Loan	Stablecoin: $500 equivalent USD: $15,000
Loan Terms	6, 12, 18, 24, 30 or 36 months. Minimum term interest payment of 6 months. The loan can be canceled anytime without any fees after 6 months of maturity.
Celsius Network KYC	Required.
Celsius Fees	No fees.

Highlight: Celsius provided rewards for holding CEL tokens. Therefore you get bonus rewards plus loan interest discount. 
Note: Coin transfer should only be done via the native blockchain and not the 3rd party transfer method.

Binance

Binance is one of the largest crypto exchange platforms globally. To learn more, read Binance Review.

• Binance Earn is the product for the investment of crypto assets and providing multiple services to earn a passive income.
• Crypto Loans is the product where you can borrow loans for trading or staking.

Binance Crypto Lending

It has two ways of earning interest on crypto assets. 

1. Flexible Savings
2. Locked Savings

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Crypto Loans

Borrowing on Binance happens through Crypto Loans.

Features	Description
Accessible	Across all platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
Tokens Supported	All popular tokens.
Interest Rate Calculation	Hourly calculation Rate is determined by the time a loan is made. Variable rate depending on crypto tokens.
Duration	07,14,30,90,180 days available
Initial LTV	65% (BTC) It is different for different tokens.
Payment	Need to be completed before the due date.
Penalty for Overdue	07-14 days: Overdue duration 72 hours 30,90,180 days: Overdue duration 168 hours Interest charged 3x hourly interest.
Failure of repayment	Liquidation of the collateral to cover the loan.
Binance KYC	Required.
Eligibility	Registered User of Binance.
Binance Liquidation Fees	2% of the total borrowed amount if liquidation happens.
Minimum and Maximum Amount	Variable

HODLNAUT

Hodlnaut is a fairly new company in the cryptocurrency market, with its lending and borrowing platform being launched in April 2019. It has only been growing ever since. To learn more, read Hodlnaut review.

Features	Description
Accessible	Across the Web.
Hodlnaut Security	2FA. The platform runs on secure AWS and is protected by Fireblocks. SSL Encryption.
Tokens Supported	BTC and ETH, WBTC + Stable coin (DAI,USDC,USDT)
Hodlnaut Interest Rate	BTC: 7.5% APY ETH: 7.5% APY Stable Coins: 12.7% Annual rates include compounding.
Interest Payout	Weekly in the form of assets deposited.
Duration/ Lock-in Period	No lock-in period.
Interest Applicability	Starts right after the deposit of the asset.
Hodlnaut Loan Start Range	$50,000
Loan Preferences	Loans are mostly given to vetted institutions that are regulated entities in Singapore. This results in low risk. Furthermore, the terms and conditions also differ depending on the borrower’s profile.
Flexible LTV (Loan to Value)	25% – 70%
Hodlnaut VIP fixed-term loan	High yield interest but is variable in nature.
Hodlnaut VIP fixed-term loan eligibility	Lock-in period: 1,3,6 months Deposit: 100 BTC equivalent or more in a single asset class. Hold balance till the term ends.
Cover Tie-up	Nexus Mutual’s Custody Cover, in case of lost crypto. Funds payout in ETH. (Not to be confused with insurance.) The final decision stays with the company. Payable service.
Hodlnaut KYC	Required.
Hodlnaut Fees	Only withdrawal fees (A bit on the higher side)

Highlights: It has good customer support with a rating of 4.4 and easy withdrawals.
Note:

• It doesn’t support fiat currencies at all, hence no provision for buy/ sell.
• Users can download the app for iOS devices.
• For an individual, it is an excellent platform to HODL the cryptocurrency rather than borrow. 

YouHodler

Youhodler is a FinTech platform that provides crypto lending and exchange services. To learn more, read the YouHodler review.

Features	Description
Accessible	Across Web and mobile platforms(iOS and Android).
YouHodler Security	CCSS Compliant 3FA supported.
YouHodler Insurance	~ $150 million
Tokens Supported	Major tokens are supported, and more token support is underway.
YouHodler Interest Rate	Interest Rates are variable with each asset.It is compounding interest.
Collateral Accepted	Top 20 coins
YouHodler Minimum Deposit	$100
Maximum Amount for Interest generation	$100k worth of crypto in your portfolio.
Interest Payout	In terms of assets deposited.
Tokens for Borrowing	USD or Stablecoins (USDC, GUSD, PAX)
Borrow Interest Rates	4.5% – 9.75%, depending on LTV. International rates are higher.
Loan Duration	30,60,180 days. Loan Fee payment before the end of the duration will keep the loan open.
YouHodler LTV	90% – 30 Days 70% – 60 Days 50% – 180 Days
Interest Payment	Crypto, Bank Wire, Credit Card, From your wallet, Close now feature.
Liquidation of Collateral	80% or above this, collateral will be liquidated.
Minimum Loan	$100
YouHodler KYC	Required.

Note: YouHodler has a service charge for many of its services.

Kucoin Lending

Kucoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange established in 2017. Kucoin Lending provides an easy-to-use platform for lending and borrowing crypto assets and invites new investors to lend their assets in a low-risk environment. To learn more, read Kucoin Review.

KuCoin Crypto Lending

Kucoin Borrowing Process

Features	Description
Accessible	Across all platforms: Web, Android, and iOS.
Tokens Supported	All popular tokens.
KuCoin Interest Rate	0 – 0.2%
Duration	07,14,28 days
Order when borrowing	FOK: Executed immediately and completely or not at all. IOC: Executed all or part immediately, and any unfilled portion will be canceled.
KuCoin Borrow Limit	You can borrow up to 9 times the principal in the margin account.
Payment	Need to be completed before the due date.
Penalty for Overdue	If the Debt Ratio is >95%, System sends a liquidation alert. If the Debt Ratio touches 97%, the system will automatically liquidate the collateral.
Automatically Renewed Rule	Triggers itself on the Borrower’s side due to insufficient funds to pay off a loan The system borrows assets = remaining debt principal+interest. Fail: It will fail if the debt ratio is greater than 96%.or the token has been delisted from the market.
KuCoin KYC	Not Required.
Kucoin Fees	5% of accrued interest as fees.10% as an insurance fund.

Note:

• If there is a failure in auto-renewal, the system will start to partially liquidate the coin of the highest value estimated in BTC until it repays off the debt.
• When a borrower’s debt crosses the 100% mark, all withdrawal and trading activities of that account are suspended.

Crypto.com

Crypto.com is a crypto application that provides products savvy to the field of cryptocurrency. You can buy/ sell or earn/ borrow, opt for a wallet facility, and trade in the native exchange. To learn more, read Crypto.com Review.

Crypto.com Lending

Crypto.com Credit Process

Features	Description
Accessible	Across mobile platforms (iOS and Android).
Crypto.com Security	Multi-Factor Authentication. Whistlisting is mandatory. ISO/ IEC 27701:2019, CCSS Level 3, ISO/ IEC, 27701:2013, PCIDSS v3.2.1 Level 1
Crypto.com Insurance	Holds cryptocurrency insurance of about $360M
Tokens Supported	Major tokens are supported everywhere. However, some tokens have restrictions in certain areas.
Eligibility for Earn	All users except citizens and residents of Hong Kong SAR, Switzerland, or Malta.
Holding Term for Crypto Earn	Three options: Flexible, 1 month, 3 months.
Interest Earn	After the deposit, interest starts accruing immediately except for flexible terms.
Repayment Deadline	12 months from the start of the credit term.
Borrow Tokens	TUSD, PAX, USDC or USDT
Collateral Token	Multiple cryptos are supported.
Eligibility for Crypto Credit	All approved users except for citizens and residents of France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Malta, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom, or the United States of America.
Collateral Health	Denotes the risk of the collateral getting liquidated.
Liquidation of Collateral	Collateral Health is critical, and LTV goes beyond 85% of the threshold.
Minimum Loan	100 USD equivalent stablecoin.
Maximum Loan	1,000,000 USD equivalent stablecoin.
Crypto.com KYC	Required.
Crypto.com Fees	No fees.

Note:

• Crypto.com also provides Crypto.com lending, which is different from crypto credit as lending is supported on the exchange while credit is supported on the mobile app.
• More or less, the dynamics are the same except for multiple loans supported on Crypto Lending and the provision of taking out crypto loans in BTC.

Nexo

Nexo is a cryptocurrency platform that provides instant crypto loans. It is centralized and aims to remove inefficiencies wrt to lending in the crypto world. In addition, it extends its lending to 40+ Fiat currencies across 200 jurisdictions. To learn more, read Nexo Card Review.

Nexo Crypto Lending and Borrowing

Features	Description
Accessible	Across Web and mobile platforms (iOS and Android).
Nexo Security	Military Grade Security and 256-bit encryption. ISO 27001:2013 Compliant. Funds are stored in cold storage. 24/7 Customer Support.
Nexo Insurance	$375M
Tokens Supported	Major tokens are supported, and more token support is underway. Does not support wrapped coins.
Nexo Interest Rates	Cryptocurrency: 4%-5%  Fiat Currencies: 4%-6%  Stable coins: 8%-10% +2% on all (When paid in Nexo) Nexo: 7%
Terms for Earning Interest	Fixed Terms: 1 and 3 months. Flexible Terms: No lock-in.
Token Supported for Loaning	40+ Fiat currencies stable coins: USDT or USDC. They can be swapped easily for crypto of your choice.
Borrow Interest Rates	Ranges from 13.9% to 6.9% depending on loyalty tier.
Maturity of Nexo Loans	12 months
Eligibility for Loans	Nexo account necessity. Deposit funds onto the Nexo account. Loans in fiat currency require Basic and Advanced verification.
Multiple Loans	Possible depending on Credit Line amount.
Liquidation of Collateral	Threshold value: 83.3%, above this, collateral will be liquidated.
Minimum Loan	$5000 in stablecoins. $500 in fiat currencies.
Maximum Loan	$2,000,000 equivalent stablecoin.
Nexo KYC	Required.
Withdrawal Fees	Some free withdrawal depending on loyalty tier, after that network fee applicable.

AAVE

Aave is an open-source market protocol for lending and borrowing which is decentralized and non-custodial.

The protocol operates as a set of multiple smart contracts in place, having the following entities in general.

1. Lenders: Provide liquidity to the pool by depositing crypto assets.
2. Borrowers: Borrow the funds from the pool and pay the interest incurred.
3. Interest Rate: Decided algorithmically, the lesser the funds in the pool, the higher the interest rate for the borrower.
4. Reserve: Takes the deposited crypto assets and stores them as an Ethereum equivalent as total liquidity. This is a preventive measure so that the lender can always withdraw assets at any time.

The loans are not matched per lender or borrower; rather, it depends on the funds available in the pool. 

Moreover, since smart contracts are coded contracts, anyone can buy the collateralized asset in case of failure of repayment at a discounted price.

AAVE Protocol: An Overview

Aave Crypto Lending

Aave Borrowing

Features	Description
Accessible	Web Application
AAVE Security	Security Audits are held by 3rd Party auditors and reports made public. Funds are stored on non-custodial smart-contract on Ethereum Blockchain. Bug Bounty offers great incentives.
Tokens Supported	Ethereum based tokens are supported, including stablecoins.
AAVE Markets	Aave V1 Market, Aave V2 Market, AMM Market, Aave Polygon Market. Each market has features with different advantages.
AAVE Token	ERC-20 compatible token. Taken as 1:1 ratio with the underlying asset which is deposited. Snapshot feature to support the gas-less transactions and one transaction approval/ transfer.
Duration/ Lock-in Period	No lock-in period.
Interest Earned Availability	Tokens are distributed to the holders by increasing their wallet balance.
Borrowing Rates	Stable rates: The rates do not change for the short term but may get rebalanced as per market change in the long term. Variable Rates: Changing rates are lower than stable rates but can change with factors like deposit, withdrawal, repayments, or liquidation.
Debt Tokens	Interest accruing tokens. For stable rates: Stable debt tokens.For variable rates: Variable debt tokens.
Minimum or Maximum Deposit	No limit on either. However, small deposits may incur a transaction fee that could be higher than the expected earnings.
Risks involved.	Smart contract risks such as code bugs and liquidation risks.
AAVE Transaction Fees	As per Ethereum, Blockchain transactions depending on network status and transaction complexity.
Liquidation Condition	When the Health Factor goes below 1, the loan can be liquidated.
AAVE Flash Loans and interest	Flash loans are possible with depositors getting a share of 0.9% of the flash loan volume.
KYC	Not required.
AAVE Governance	Improvements and policy changes etc., related to risk parameters are discussed and voted upon by the holder holding the AAVE token.

Note: AAVE is a protocol-based crypto lending platform. It has many native terminologies that one must try to understand before jumping directly into lending or borrowing.

CoinRabbit

CoinRabbit is an instant lending and borrowing platform with hassle-free steps. Further, it is a centralized platform and lets users take loans for an unlimited period. It has several advantages, including:

• low minimum loan amounts
• No boundaries on the maximum loan amount
• No monthly payments
• Instant lending service without any credit checks

To get detailed information, read our CoinRabbit Review

Features	Description
Accessible	Only web platform
CoinRabbit security	Funds are secured with the help of the ChangeNow crypto exchange.
Tokens supported for loan	USDT, USDC
Collateral	BTC, ETH, BCH, FIRO, NANO, DOGE, XRP, DGB, XMR, and 13 Ethereum Token
Minimum Loan Rate	Only 5%
Minimum Loan Amount	95 USDT
Maximum Loan Amount	9999999 USDT
Minimum Lending Amount	$100
Maximum Lending Amount	$100,000
KYC	No
Earn Interest	10% APY
Terms for Earning Interest	Unlimited
Loan Extending Capability	Available
Withdrawal Lending Amount	Partially or Full
Multiple Deposits	Yes
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees	None

Best Crypto Lending Platforms: Conclusion

There is a huge growth in options available for cryptocurrency services. Do Your Own Research (DYOR) stands true when opting out for a particular platform or service. Therefore, it is necessary to understand all ways you can earn passive income on your assets. Hence, you can go with Hodlnaut or Nexo, if you’re looking for high-interest rates and security.

Moreover, if you don’t want to withdraw your funds out of your trading account, then Binance or KuCoin can be your go-to platforms. In addition, if you wanna do a complete deep dive in DeFi, the head for all the vast features of AAVE.

Frequently Asked Questions