Best Crypto Loans – How to Get a Crypto Loan in 2022
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
As with traditional assets, your cryptocurrency tokens can also be used as collateral to obtain a loan.
This not only presents you with an efficient way to put your idle digital coins to use, but you will also be able to secure financing without having to go through any credit checks.
This guide reviews the best crypto loans in the market right now – based on interest rates, fees, collateral requirements, and other important factors.
Table of Contents
Due to the rising popularity of digital asset investments, there are now many platforms that offer crypto lending services.
However, not all sites are created equal. As such, below you will find our top picks for the best crypto loans in 2022.
Keep reading on to learn more about which crypto loans provider is best for your financing goals.
Selecting the right crypto lending platform requires you to look at the list of supported digital assets, fee structure, withdrawal options, and security offered.
On top of this, you should also evaluate the specifics that apply to the lending agreement, such as the LTV ratio and interest rates payable.
In this section, we take an in-depth look at which platforms offer the best crypto loans in 2022.
If you are looking for an easy way to take advantage of your idle cryptocurrencies, then AQRU has you covered. You can use this platform to earn interest on your digital assets by simply depositing them into your account – which AQRU then lends out to other retail investors.
And in doing so, AQRU is able to provide you with an attractive yield of 12% on stablecoins and 7% on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The interest earned will be added to your account on a daily basis.
Moreover, you can choose to withdraw the funds in cryptocurrency or fiat money at your convenience. Notably, unlike the majority of platforms that offer such services, AQRU does not require you to hold a certain balance in order to start earning interest.
Furthermore, the minimum deposit requirement is just €100 (or the crypto-equivalent) – meaning, you can make returns on your digital assets with little upfront commitment.
In recent years, there have been a plethora of new yield farming crypto platforms that offer yield farming services.
That said, bear in mind that AQRU is a custodial platform. Meaning, it will take full control of your assets once you deposit them. However, AQRU uses Fireblocks to offer you added protection on your wallet.
In addition to this, since there is no lock-in period involved, you will be able to withdraw your digital coins whenever needed. The provider also comes with a beginner-friendly and intuitive mobile app that lets you track your earnings on the go.
Pros
Cons
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
Binance supports the borrowing of many cryptocurrencies and stablecoins by accepting a wide range of digital assets as collateral. This includes not only large-cap popular coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, but also DeFi tokens such as Aave, Algorand, Compound, Uniswap, and more.
However, the noteworthy disadvantage here is that you will not be able to take out loans in fiat currencies like US dollars or British pounds.
That said, Binance offers a high level of flexibility when it comes to accessing the best crypto loans. You can set a duration of 7, 14, 30, 90, or 180 days when borrowing through this platform, and on top of this, it is also possible to repay in advance.
The maximum LTV you can procure is 65%, but this varies depending on the digital asset you use as collateral as well as the duration of the term.
Once you agree to the terms and conditions, the borrowed funds will instantly be added to your Binance wallet – without any delay. The interest starts accumulating after you borrow the assets successfully and is calculated hourly, depending on the loan terms.
Binance is highly popular among traders and investors for the plethora of services it offers – which includes instant crypto purchases, trading, credit cards, earning accounts, staking, liquidity farming, and more.
Pros
Cons
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
BlockFi is another platform that offers services such as trading accounts, interest on digital assets, and crypto loans at competitive rates. This provider lends you US dollars by charging you interest as low as 4.5%.
However, the minimum amount that can be borrowed is set at $10,000. BlockFi allows you to collateralized Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and PaxG to obtain a loan.
This selection is, of course, quite narrow when compared to the likes of Binance. The amount you can borrow in US dollars depends on how much you can collateralize and the LTV that you can secure.
At the time of writing, BlockFi offers LTVs of 50%, 35%, and 20% – and you will have to pay an interest rate of 9.75%, 7.9%, 4.5%, respectively.
On top of this, BlockFi also charges an origination fee of 2%. Note that the interest rates might also vary depending on your location.
The best crypto loans available at BlockFi are offered for a 12-month term, which gives you plenty of time to pay back the sum borrowed. You can also elect to make an early repayment if needed.
Pros
Cons
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
Nexo is another service to consider for obtaining the best crypto loans at attractive interest rates. The platform allows its customers to receive credit in exchange for collateral – and you can deposit one of the 20+ supported cryptocurrencies for this purpose.
Nexo also sets itself apart by letting you borrow over 40 fiat currencies, including US dollars, euros, and British pounds, against your digital assets. You will also be able to withdraw the money directly to your bank account.
However, unlike the other platforms reviewed so far, Nexo determines your interest rate depending on the loyalty tier you belong to. This is calculated based on the number of NEXO (native digital token of Nexo) coins you hold in your account.
If you do not own any NEXO at all, you will end up paying an APR of 13.9%. On the other hand, if 10% of your portfolio balance is made of NEXO, you can bring the APR down to 0%.
The LTV, once again, depends on the digital asset you want to put up as a security deposit. On Nexo, the LTV is further determined by the price of your chosen cryptocurrency, its volatility, and market liquidity.
At the time of writing, the platform offers a 90% LTV for stablecoins such as USDT, 70% for PaxG, 50% for Bitcoin and Ethereum, 15% on NEXO tokens, and between 30-33% for all other supported crypto coins.
Pros
Cons
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
The last platform we review in this guide is YouHodler, which offers some of the best crypto loans in this market. You can borrow US dollars, euros, British pounds, Swiss francs, or Bitcoin by putting any of the 40+ supported cryptocurrencies up as collateral.
It is possible to withdraw the loan funds instantly to your bank account via a wire transfer.
The platform also offers a highly competitive LTV ratio of 90%, with minimum loan amounts starting at just $100. However, the LTV available will depend on the contract duration you seek.
For instance, a 90% LTV is provided only for a term of 30 days. If you want to extend the loan period to 60 or 180 days, the LTV further reduces to 70% and 50%, respectively.
In terms of YouHodler interest rates, the amount you are liable to pay will depend on various metrics, such as your collateral, your receiving currency, and the duration.
You will also be able to repay the loan using your security deposit. In this case, YouHodler will automatically sell the digital assets and use the proceeds to cover the compensation. The rest of the funds will be added to your wallet.
Pros
Cons
Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product.
A crypto loan might make sense to those of you that are holding an allocation of digital assets and want to liquidate the coins without forfeiting ownership. As you know by now, there are a number of platforms that let you do this – each offering different terms and conditions.
Choosing the right platform for your needs requires you to have a better understanding of the jargon involved – such as LTVs, collateral, repayment periods, and more.
So, in this section, we will focus on how you can obtain the best crypto loans by knowing what core information to look out for.
As we mentioned earlier, one of the most significant advantages of the best crypto loans is that you do not have to complete a credit check process to borrow funds. This is possible due to the high ratio of collateral required by lending platforms.
In other words, you are offering your cryptocurrencies as a security deposit in order to obtain a loan. How much you will need to pledge, as we discussed earlier, in our reviews will vary from one platform to another.
With the increasing popularity of decentralized lending services, the platforms that offer the best crypto loans will also provide you with a variety of options when it comes to receiving asset.
For example, Nexo and YouHodler let you borrow funds in fiat money as well as digital coins.
This offers you an easy alternative to traditional financing services, where you have to apply for loans in fiat currency and wait for approval. Instead, with such platforms, you will be able to procure funds instantly and move them to your bank account with ease.
On the other hand, you can also receive digital assets when taking out a crypto loan and then use the tokens for staking or earning interest via a savings account.
The market demand for crypto staking platforms has created a lucrative opportunity where users can turn their investments into profits.
The APR or Annual Percentage Rate tells you how much interest will be charged on the crypto loan you take out. While the majority of platforms provide you with annual rates, some, like Binance, also calculate this on an hourly basis.
Needless to say, the best crypto loans come with low-interest rates.
The LTV ratio determines how much crypto collateral you need to post in order to take out a loan. In other words, it tells you the amount you can borrow when compared to the value of the digital assets you pledge.
For example:
The LTV ratio is applicable only when you are taking out a collateralized loan – and not for other types of crypto lending services, which we discuss below.
When looking for the best crypto loans, you might come across a variety of offers depending on your requirements.
As such, this section of our guide presents a quick overview of the different types of lending services that you will find online.
In most cases, the loan taker is required to put up cryptocurrency as collateral before borrowing funds. All of the platforms we discussed above offer such plans.
With digital assets being volatile, the LTV ratio you receive will always be less than 100% – typically between 50% to 90%. This difference provides lenders with breathing space if the value of your collateral decreases.
It is not yet feasible for an individual to obtain crypto loans without collateral through centralized services. In other words, you will have to pledge an asset – be it digital coins or fiat money – in order to borrow funds.
However, these days, a small number of platforms allow institutional investors to borrow funds without putting up collateral. However, in order to be eligible, you will have to go through an in-depth verification process in addition to credit checks.
The other alternative is to go through decentralized platforms and obtain a flash loan – which we explore in the next section.
In recent years, some DeFi platforms have started offering flash loans, which allow you to borrow funds without the need for collateral.
Let us explain:
As you can imagine, such types of crypto loans are not yet overly common. Instead, crypto flash loans are often preferred by traders who use the money to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities, such as the price difference of an asset on different markets.
Moreover, if you are looking for the best crypto loans, it is best to stick to reputable and credible platforms like the ones we have discussed in this guide.
Another aspect to factor in is whether you wish to use a custodial or non-custodial platform when searching for the best crypto loans.
Most centralized services, like the ones we covered above, take custody of your digital assets once you deposit them. This means that the provider sets the interest rates and LTV based on market conditions.
On the other hand, non-custodial crypto loans are offered by decentralized platforms via smart contracts, with minimal human interaction.
Depending on the platform you are using, certain digital assets might not be eligible for crypto loans.
To illustrate the point:
That said, if you do not have an accepted cryptocurrency in your wallet, you can also convert your digital tokens into another coin such as Bitcoin or Ethereum in order to secure a loan.
You can also adopt this strategy to obtain a loan with more favorable terms – such as a high LTV or low-interest rate.
If the concept of crypto loans seems interesting to you, you might be keen to know how the process actually works.
Below, you will find a walkthrough of how you can earn interest on your crypto funds via AQRU – a reputable lending platform.
To start earning interest on your digital assets via AQRU, you will first need to create an account with the platform. You can do this by simply visiting the AQRU website and clicking on the ‘Sign Up’ button.
To complete the account setup process, AQRU requires you to go through a KYC verification procedure. This only means that you have to answer a few questions regarding your experience in the cryptocurrency industry and upload a copy of your government-issued ID.
After successfully opening an account, you can move on to depositing funds. You can add Bitcoin, Ethereum, or a supported stablecoin. It is also possible to transfer British pounds or euros, but you will have to meet a minimum of €/£ 100.
On AQRU, after you deposit cryptocurrency, you will automatically start earning interest on the funds. If you have added fiat money, you can choose to invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or a stablecoin.
You will earn an interest of 7% on BTC and ETH and 12% on stablecoins such as USDC, USDT, and DAI.
The best crypto loans allow you to benefit from your investments without selling off your assets – which could trigger capital gains tax or cost you long-term gains should the market enter a bull run.
That said, before you take on this venture, there are some factors that you should pay close attention to:
In other words, even the best crypto loans are not 100% safe. Therefore, if you want to adopt this strategy, you need to be mindful of the terms and conditions of your loan agreement.
You can also consider diversifying across multiple platforms to minimize the risk.
The best crypto loans offer you an opportunity to access quick liquidity, letting you stay invested in the market while freeing your capital for other short-term needs.
Not only that, you will be able to get your hands on your borrowed asset almost instantly without having to go through credit checks.
On the other hand, if crypto loans do not appeal to you, platforms like AQRU also offer attractive interest rates on your digital assets. This is another hassle-free way to put your idle cryptocurrency investments to good use.