Nexo vs. BlockFi vs. Celsius- 6 months later
Last year I decided to invest in stablecoins in order to earn yield from Nexo, BlockFi, and Celsius. 6 months into my venture, I am extremely impressed and happy with the results. Last night, I checked my interest earnings over the past 6 months on these three platforms compared with a (ahem) high yield online savings account. On online bank’s website, the online savings account option states: “Earn more interest than your average savings account- and watch your money grow.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry- a 1/2 percent interest in a high yield saving account doesn’t mean my money is growing. It’s actually shrinking if you think that our inflation rate is over .5%. After pulling up my interest earnings on all three cryptocurrency platforms, I immediately realized why crypto is the future of money: I could finally save money and earn interest…Let that sink in…I could finally save money and earn interest. Needless to say, I have found that I use all three accounts for different reasons and am elated with how well it’s been working.
1.Nexo- I use Nexo as a slush fund wallet that gains interest. I am very happy that they have added an exchange directly on their mobile app. It seems that there are no fees to use their exchange which is amazing, but it’s strange that you still have to use another Changelly to trade NEXO tokens! I initially invested in NEXO tokens when I first joined the platform. I was disappointed with the results and performance of this coin, but it is now one of my best performing coins that I have ever purchased. So the tokenomics that Nexo’s management has put in place have been very effective and lead to positive results in this bull market. I wish that I could earn extra interest via Nexo tokens, but alas this is not allowed in the US. I am also very impressed (for the most part) with how easy it is to move crypto off of Nexo. It’s by far the easiest platform of the three for moving your crypto from.
I should say that it’s easy to move crypto from unless it’s XRP during an SEC investigation. I hate to say this as a NEXO token holder, but in January when the XRP news came out that the SEC was placing charges against them, I wanted to panic sell my XRP and move it to an exchange (this is prior to the Nexo exchange launching). I was unable to move it and the transfer never got processed. It took 3 weeks and five emails to finally be able to move the XRP. Unfortunately, by that time XRP was no longer listed on the major US exchanges. I got vague responses from tech support and it didn’t give me confidence in their customer service. Luckily, XRP prices haven’t tanked, but I think that this experience will prevent me from having too much trust moving forward in this platform.
2.BlockFi- My BlockFi account is primarily used as a crypto accumulation account. I initially put in USDC and opted for the earn interest in Bitcoin feature. Since Bitcoin’s price has gone up nearly 5x from when I started, that means that my interest from the first month was 5 times higher than what I was expecting! And since BlockFi has a built in exchange, I dollar cost average (DCA)some of my USDC into BTC, ETH, PAXG, and now Chainlink daily. My Bitcoin stack has increased from zero to a much more respectable amount. If you are interested in learning more about my DCA strategy, please check my other article: How I am using BlockFi and Celsius to build my Bitcoin stack
I still like BlockFi’s interface and the app works 99% of the time. Sometimes, the app crashes and I have to log back in and use the authenticator (and turn back on biometric ID) which is annoying, but it’s not a big price to pay considering I am earning 8.6% interest on my stablecoins paid out in Bitcoin. Some of the new features that BlockFi has added recently are the ability to purchase and earn interest on ChainLink (@ 5.5 APY) and they are now allowing customers to sign up for the first ever Bitcoin rewards credit card that gives 1.5% Bitcoin rewards! I try not to withdraw funds or crypto from BlockFi because their withdrawal rules are the most inconvenient and limited in scope.
3.Celsius- If BlockFi is my slow and steady growth platform for building my Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Chainlink stacks, and Nexo is my liquid trading platform, Celsius is my buy and hold platform. I like to use Celsius as a savings account where I park my stablecoins and let them earn interest. Celsius pays the highest interest, doesn’t require ownership of their CEL token for preferred rates, and pays interest in like cryptocurrency (i,e. USDC earns USDC). Like Nexo, if I could earn interest in CEL tokens, I’d be extremely happy and would earn more, but this isn’t allowed in the US.
Withdrawing from Celsius is not easy as it requires 24 hours to initially get your withdrawal address approved. Also, the exchange that they are partnered with has inexcusably high fees so I have no interest trading on the platform. Finally, I like that interest is paid weekly and that it gets paid on Monday. It’s nice to have something to look forward to on a Monday.
I am very happy and satisfied that I took the leap of faith and got involved with these platforms. I am continually moving more fiat into these platforms and my comfort level is increasing daily. BlockFi is gaining credibility and is looking to get listed on the stock market and both Nexo and Celsius CEOs are very vocal and in the spotlight which makes me think that the space is growing.
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