BlockFi Review

BlockFi App Features

The BlockFi lending platform and app offer a wide variety of features for retail and institutional digital asset investors. Their main products and services are:

• BlockFi Interest Accounts: Retail & institutional interest accounts for over 30 cryptocurrencies.
• BlockFi Wallet: A secure crypto wallet to store hundreds of assets and earn yield.
• Trading: The BlockFi app offers an in-built trading platform that will allow you to buy or sell hundreds of different digital assets.
• Crypto Loans: Borrow USD against your crypto collateral with rates as low as 4.5% APR.
• BlockFi Prime: A institutional 24/7 trading desk that offers personalized lending solutions.

FTX Acquisition of BlockFi

BlockFi was recently acquired by Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX after their collapse due to the Three Arrows Capital (3AC) liquidation crisis. This means that BlockFi will be operated & owned by the best and most well-regulated digital asset team in FTX and Alameda Research.

FTX and BlockFi signed a deal outlining that they will pay a minimum of $240 million to buy out the lending platform and its underlying assets. FTX also extended them another line of credit up to $200 million to help BlockFi battle the Three Arrows Capital insolvency. You can read more about it in this tweet by Zac Prince, the CEO of BlockFi.

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Is BlockFi Safe?

Yes, BlockFi is a safe cryptocurrency interest account to use after FTX's acquisition of the platform and its liabilities. BlockFi Lending LLC is also regulated and licensed throughout the United States, which means it adheres to the highest of regulatory standards.

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BlockFi Crypto Interest Account Rates

The BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) offers 15 cryptocurrencies that allow you to earn up to 15% APY in crypto paid out daily. You can see each coin and its interest payout on the BlockFi platform below.

• Bitcoin (BTC): 2.00% APY
• Ethereum (ETH): 2.00% APY
• Binance Coin (BNB): 3.00% APY
• Avalanche (AVAX): 5.00% APY
• Solana (SOL): 5.00% APY
• Chainlink (LINK): 3.00% APY
• USD Coin (USDC): 7.00% APY
• Gemini Dollar (GUSD): 7.00% APY
• PAX Dollar (PAX): 7.00% APY
• Binance USD (BUSD): 7.00% APY
• Tether (USDT): 7.00% APY
• PAX Gold (PAXG): 7.00% APY
• UniSwap (UNI):  0.10% APY
• Dai (DAI): 7.00% APY
• Near Protocol (NEAR): 7.00% APY

The BlockFi Interest Account rewards are paid at the beginning of every month on the first business day. The interest earned will automatically compound and continuously increase your Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

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Fees

BlockFi does not charge any fees when you deposit any asset on their platform. They do however charge a $25 flat fee (slight variation depending on their coin or token) to withdraw from your BlockFi interest savings account.

BlockFi would also take a small fee when they distribute yield to users. They would earn a higher yield dealing directly with the staking Smart Contracts on Ethereum and other networks, then pay out a slightly smaller yield to users and clip a fee.

What is BlockFi Prime

BlockFi Prime is the institutional arm of the BlockFi platform that offers a full suite of products for high-net-worth investors, institutions, and family offices. With Prime, customers get access to white-glove services to negotiate terms and rates for lending, borrowing, market-making, and many other working capital needs.

You can contact the team at BlockFi Prime for more information if you are interested in learning more about their institutional capabilities.

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BlockFi Credit Card

The BlockFi Rewards Credit Card is a card that offers 1.5% back on any purchase you make. The reward is paid out in your choice of cryptocurrency, which means you can use it to stack assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and others. The BlockFi Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card charges no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.

To apply for a BlockFi Credit Card, you will need to have a 690-850 Credit Score, which is good to excellent. This product is only available in the United States and not in other jurisdictions like the United Kingdom, Europe or Austraila.

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Final Thoughts

Overall, BlockFi has proven itself to be one of the few trusted centralized lending services providers in the digital asset ecosystem. They are run by a highly regarded team and have never paused withdrawals or had any operational issues like their counterparts at Celsius.

Their platform is secure, easy to use, offers high yields on a wide variety of coins, and is definitely the best place to earn interest on digital assets.