The announced yields represent the exchange increasing interest for USDC holders by more than 2,500% since it was lowered significantly last June.
Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced users will be able to earn 4% interest on USD Coin through a product the company compared to an alternative to a fiat savings account.
In a Tuesday blog post, Coinbase said its users could earn 4% annual percentage yield, or APY, by lending out their holdings for the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). The crypto exchange seemed to be targeting banks with the offering, claiming it has a better return than a typical savings account in the United States.
However, Coinbase said the loaned USDC is not protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation — unlike typical savings accounts in the U.S. — nor is the exchange offering a crypto interest account that provides “attractive rates on customers’ assets.” While most savings accounts in the United States provide returns of less than 1% on the dollar, many other crypto platforms provide an interest rate of roughly 8% for lending U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins.
“While the high interest rates are appealing, they can present varying levels of risk,” claimed Coinbase. “You may find that your assets are loaned to unidentified third parties and subject to their credit risk, which could result in a total loss of your crypto holdings.”
The exchange originally offered 1.25% yields on USDC from October 2019 to June 2020, when it unexpectedly announced rewards for users holding the stablecoin would drop to 0.15%. The 4% yields represent Coinbase potentially increasing interest for USDC holders by more than 2,500%.
At the time of publication, USDC is the 8th largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of more than $25 billion. Tether (USDT) remains the most popular stablecoin on the crypto market, coming in 3rd with a $62.5 billion market cap.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
Prisma price tanks 25% after nearly $9 million exploit
Prisma Finance (PRISMA) is being exploited, and the attacker has so far pulled $9 million in Ethereum from the borrowing protocol. Prisma asked vault owners to take the necessary steps to protect funds from the ongoing attack in an official tweet on X.
Meme coins gain traction after SEC’s partial win in Coinbase lawsuit: DOGE, SHIB, BRETT, POPCAT, BODEN
US SEC pocketed a partial win in its lawsuit against Coinbase, ushering a correction in crypto prices on Thursday. Despite the broad pullback, prices of meme coins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Solana-based BRETT, POPCAT and BODEN increased.
Ondo moves $95 million worth of OUSG assets to BUIDL as tokenized fund attracts $245 million since debut
Ondo Finance (ONDO) announced on Wednesday that it's shifting about $95 million worth of its OUSG's underlying assets to the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
XRP price stuck below $0.65 resistance, Ripple lawsuit could suffer from Coinbase defeat
XRP price falls slightly to $0.61 on Thursday after its landmark programmatic sales ruling in July, which gave Ripple a partial victory against the US SEC, failed to reverberate in a similar legal battle between the regulator and crypto exchange Coinbase.
Bitcoin: BTC may have recovered, but is it out of the woods?
Bitcoin’s (BTC) upward momentum has shown a significant decline for the past two weeks or so. This development led to a bearish signal on the weekly and an uncertain outlook on the monthly.