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According to an article by Forbes published April 23, 2019, crypto lending startup BlockFi has slashed its minimum bitcoin deposit required to earn monthly interest from one BTC to 0.5 BTC. The startup has also announced that it will expand its business to India.
BlockFi Slashes Required Amount of Bitcoin
BlockFi, a cryptocurrency startup backed by Winklevoss twins’ Gemini exchange has brought down its minimum bitcoin balance required to earn monthly interest after customers’ demand for a lower threshold. Users of BlockFi can now earn interest in bitcoin for as low as 0.5 BTC worth of deposit, BlockFi declared.
Further, BlockFi announced that it will expand its crypto interest-bearing account service to India due to “a huge amount of demand” over the last month. The startup’s lucrative interest service has proved to be a hit among crypto enthusiasts as it recently revealed that more than 10,000 customers have already signed up for it. The fintech startup offers an attractive interest rate of 6.2 percent per annum on both bitcoin and ether deposits.
BlockFi launched the first-of-its-kind service in the first week of March 2019. By storing bitcoin and ether in BlockFi’s crypto wallet, investors can receive a 6.2 percent annual interest in the form of monthly payments. Notably, the interest payout is done in the same digital currency that the user holds.
The company stated in a blog post:
“After launching [the bitcoin interest account], a lot of users reached out to our team asking that we drop our minimum eligible balance to earn interest.”
Adding:
“And as an added bonus, we’re applying this retroactively as of 1 April. That means if your bitcoin interest account bitcoin balance was between 0.5 and one bitcoin in April, you’re eligible to receive interest at the end of April. We expect to lower our minimum balance further in the near term.”
The company reportedly holds more than $53 million in crypto-assets from clients across more than 50 countries.
BlockFi Mulls Going Overseas
BlockFi co-founder and vice president of growth, Flori Marquez stated that after the U.S. the company’s top target markets are the U.K., Australia, and Germany. Marquez added that having clients in more than 50 countries speaks volumes of their trust in BlockFi and its potential to rebuild banking on the back of blockchain.
BlockFi started its crypto-backed loans service back in April 2018, joining the likes of other crypto lending platforms like SALT, ETHLend, Othera, Everex, and Unchained Capital.