BlockFi is a wealth management platform that allows people to earn interest on and borrow crypto assets. Today, BlockFi received a Money Transmitter License from the state of Washington, making them the only regulated crypto lending service in the area.
There are tons of ways to lock up your crypto to earn interest in the decentralized finance space, but BlockFi is going about doing this in a centralized manner. Right now, BlockFi is offering up to 8.6% interst annually for locking up assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Gemini’s stablecoin, GUSD. These rates are competitive compared to DeFi options and users might feel comfortable that their operation is regulated and not experimental technology.
A Money Transmitter License is administered by FinCen and allows companies to be in the business of handling money. BlockFi has been capable of offering Washington citizens crypto backed loans since 2018, but they weren’t allowed to deposit crypto and earn interest.
Wherever there is demand for borrowing, there is opportunity for people to earn interest by lending cash or crypto and tons of projects are working hard to make passive interest accessible to everyone.