Crypto Banks
Opinion (Not financial advice)
(Not a promotion/ endorsement, purely opinionated and this opinion may not be shared by others in Lunar Station. This is not a paid advertisement. Always do your research before doing anything. I do not use any crypto service stated below. Every financial activity carries a risk).
Written by @RealScrout
The blockchain/ defi space is riddled with different projects/ currencies. Some are decentralised, some are centralised, and some are memes. However, other projects aim to (somewhat) re-imagine banking.
Online banking has only started taking off in the last decade, with completely online banks such as Monzo seemingly taking over with today’s youth. Why? Because the KYC is quick and easy, it’s always accessible, and the options are rather convenient (quick send times, ability to split bills and create savings jars with others).
What’s not to like?
*cough* No crypto *cough*
So what banking options are there available to the crypto savvy?
Some options are available to us and we will cover them briefly here today.
Plutus has built a “bridge between traditional and new wave financial systems”. They allow for crypto to be transferred into local fiat and have the ability to manage all your funds from the same application (working as both your traditional bank account and crypto wallet). It further offers a built-in decentralised exchange, allowing easy transfer between crypto-crypto and crypto-fiat. They also provide a physical bank card in conjunction with VISA, with rewards and the ability to spend with almost any merchant.
Rewards/ benefits:
Every time you top up your Plutus card to spend, you get up to 3% cashback on your deposit in PLUTON (PLU), which is the self-proclaimed world’s first decentralised loyalty token with a range of benefits. These include;
‘Access to Perks’ offers additional rewards, such as ‘double-dip’ (up to 15% reward) when purchasing at selected companies, including Nike, Amazon and Airbnb.[1]
Ability to stake the PLU for more rewards, including having a premium/ pro membership status and unlock more brands to get more rewards. When reaching a premium/ pro membership, you also unlock the ability to Buy/Sell crypto with 0% fee (i.e. for free).
PLU can also be converted into fiat, and another crypto, too, in case rewards aren’t your thing.
Lending/ borrowing:
It isn’t clear if Plutus offers the ability to lend; however, I may be completely wrong.
Security
Military-grade
Mobile app?
Yes
Nexo is another type of crypto bank, where they too offer a token (NEXO) but also have the option of borrowing (which we shall come to later).
Nexo offers a card, in conjunction with Mastercard, with the ability to pay, with crypto, at 40+ Million merchants worldwide. [2]
Rewards/ Benefits
Nexo offers 2% cashback on all purchases. They state that they don’t have any monthly/ annual fees and no FX fees either. They have an “unmatched” 12% per year yield interest on both stable coins (USDT, USDC etc.…) and fiat savings, with an additional 5% on other cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH.
They also hint at a way to avoid capital gains tax by using it platform as “ When you take a crypto loan and spend that loan, you avoid paying any capital gains taxes, which otherwise in many countries you have to pay when you sell your crypto.” [2]
Lending/ borrowing:
Nexo offers the ability to borrow with as low as 5.9% APR. (Borrow 1000 USDT, payback 1059 USDT). More details on this and how to borrow with Nexo is linked here.
Security?
Military-grade.
Mobile app?
Yes
These are two options for individuals who want to have both their fiat and crypto all in one place, with differing benefits. I’m sure that many excellent crypto banking services exist that are not mentioned here, so explore before choosing one.
COMMUNITY NOTE
Before signing up for a service, make sure to ask the Lunar Station Tg for further advice or referrals so you can get additional rewards when joining a crypto bank service.
Website: www.lunarstation.io
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/lunarstation_
Reference list:
[1] plutus.it. (n.d.). Plutus — Unlock the Potential of Your Cryptocurrencies. [online] Available at: https://plutus.it/perks [Accessed 23 Apr. 2021].
[2] Nexo. (n.d.). [online] Available at: nexo.io [Accessed 23 Apr. 2021].
