In the time since the big crypto boom in 2017, many companies filled the niche of crypto lending services. These services are fantastic solutions for those holding cryptocurrency for the long term looking to make some additional interest on their holdings.
With the multitude of crypto lenders out there, it is extremely important for them to set themselves apart with more than just advantageous lending rates, although those are the most attractive part of these services. Let’s dive into another crypto lending review.
About Celsius
Celsius just so happens to have been conceptualized on a napkin in the summer of 2017, and by March of 2018 had a very successful initial coin offering launching their CEL tokens.
The most recent round of investing into Celsius in June of 2020 made available Celsius’s services to all investors, and not just venture capitalists.
Celsius just so happens to have been conceptualized on a napkin in the summer of 2017, and by March of 2018 had a very successful initial coin offering launching their CEL tokens.
The most recent round of investing into Celsius in June of 2020 made available Celsius’s services to all investors, and not just venture capitalists.
Currently, Celsius has 8.2 Billion dollars in loans processed to over 730k users. Additionally, the entire Celsius community has over 21.3 Billion dollars invested through Celsius itself.
The company’s motto is that they are “built by HOLDers for HODLers”. For those who don’t know HODLing is to “Hold on for Dear Life” a term that originated in the altcoin markets to reinforce the idea of not selling while at a loss and keep holding the asset until it rises again.
Since Celsius being the creation of HODLers, values cryptocurrency and its goals, this is why Celsius shares 80% of their revenue with its community in the form of weekly rewards payments.
Celsius Features
Celsius, being a crypto lending website offers similar services to its competition, however, there are some key points where Celsius sets itself apart from the rest of the group.
The company offers three primary services, earning Interest, taking out loans, and CelPay which is a new way to transfer money. Celsius has some really impressive numbers on their services so let’s take a closer look at them.
Celsius App
In this modern-day and age, almost everything can be done through our cell phones.
Celsius offers the ability to purchase or earn through the Celsius app 24/7.
The Celsius app also offers CelPay which a digital wallet with which you can send and receive a variety of crypto to your friends in seconds.
This is similar to e-transfers that banks use through e-mail however it is based on the crypto network.
With over 100,000 installs, the app has seen a fair amount of usage and will be very helpful in helping you earn and monitor your crypto income.
Fees
One of the biggest selling points of any lending company is how many extra fees I have to pay as a user for those services. Celsius makes it a point to stress how they are here to help you make money and not take away your money.
Celsius has zero withdrawal fees, 0 origination fees, no minimum balances, and none of the banking nonsense that everybody is always so fed up with.
Earning Interest
The second most important feature in any crypto lending company is if they offer interest based on your holdings.
Celsius offers some of the highest interest rates and returns I have ever seen from any of these companies, it is further increased through their rewards program based on how many CEL tokens you hold in comparison to the rest of your portfolio.
In order to receive the best APY rate the platinum rewards level is needed which requires 25% of your portfolio to be CEL tokens. With the highest rewards tier, Celsius offers a whopping 17.78% APY on certain cryptocurrencies.
Let’s take a look at some of the more popular coins Celsius offers interest on and see how they compare.
| APY % | REWARD APY % | |
|---|---|---|
| ETH | 5.05 | 6.35 |
| BTC | 3.51 | 4.40 |
| MATIC | 13.99 | 17.78 |
| SNX | 13.99 | 17.78 |
| DAI | 10 | 12.65 |
| USDT | 10 | 12.65 |
| DOT | 8.86 | 11.2 |
| LTC | 4.08 | 5.12 |
| LINK | 3 | 3.77 |
| XRP | 2.5 | 3.13 |
For a more detailed breakdown of what your investment would look like over the course of a one-year return, Celsius offers a calculator that will break down all the current interest rates offered on the variety of coins they support.
This is a fantastic tool, forgetting some rough numbers and brainstorming ideas and thoughts of how to approach your interest earnings. Celsius stresses how important the average user is to them and the revenue return they funnel back to the user through a rewards system.
Even the lowest-earning coins provide an interest rate for above anything the bank can give you. Celsius prides itself on its rates vs competitors at their Platinum rewards level. they offer up to 7 times higher returns on bitcoin and 10 times higher Returns on Ethereum than the leading competitors.
Additionally, it's important to mention that many of these crypto interest rate companies offer significantly reduced interest rates on larger volumes of Bitcoin. This means that the advertised rate of 5% return is only honored at 1 or less BTC.
Anything over one Bitcoin significantly reduces the earned interest rate dissolving any potential hopes of profits you may have. Celsius has approached this differently and offers a 3.5% APY return on twenty or more Bitcoins, proving it is a company interested in providing income solutions for regular people.
Borrowing Money
Most crypto lending services require a very large minimum loan, Celsius on the other hand starts loaning values as low as $500. As with most crypto lending services, there is collateral required end the application takes minutes with 0 paperwork.
The approval process is not based on a credit check, and the automated process makes it headache-free. These types of loans are fantastic solutions for those who are looking for a quick source of money and already have some cryptocurrency.
This type of loan lets you keep your cryptocurrency meaning you won't lose value by having to sell it, and still get a little bit of extra cash at a very low interest rate for whatever it is you may need.
Similar to the interest earnings calculator provided on their website, Celsius also offers alone and collateral calculators, so you don't have to go through pages of options to find out the requirements for the loan. Loans are available for multiple term lengths such as 6, 12, 24, and 36 months with a Loan to Value (LTV) ratio of 25%, 33%, or 50%.
Loan Interest Rates start as low as just 1% and with the Celsius platinum discount applied that can drop to 0.75% APR. The added benefit of the Celcius rewards program means that you can save up to 25% on your interest payments by choosing to pay with the native CEL token.
CelPay
Cryptocurrency is meant to be fast, reliable, and safe, CelPay by Celsius is all those. Celpay Allows you to send payments to friends and receive payments from others using a very simple and user-friendly interface.
It's as simple as choosing a recipient from your contacts, selecting a coin and value to transfer, adding a note, and sending it off.
This service feels exactly like what banking should be in our day-to-day life. With so much advancement in technology that was supposed to make our life easier, why is it that the banking system and money transfers have remained stagnant for so long?
Celpay challenges the status quo and offers a cheap, easy, and effective way to transfer money between a network of people.
CEL Token
Celsius released their own utility token in March of 2018, CEL. This token allows you to raise your holdings, earn better rewards, lower interest rates, and it all based on the ratio of your holdings to CEL tokens.
The ratio of Celsius tokens owned, compared to your own holdings places you within one of four tiers; bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.
Each tier has increasing rewards , and discounts for loan payments, and not to mention the rising value of CEL itself.
| CEL % OF PORTFOLIO | BONUS REWARDS | LOAN INTERESTPAYMENT DISCOUNT |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 5 - 10% | 5% | 5% |
| Silver | 10 - 15% | 10% | 10% |
| Gold | 15 - 25% | 15% | 15% |
| Platinum | 25 - 100% | 25% | 25% |
Remember that these tiered rewards systems are based on a percentage of your holdings, so anyone can access these rewards with some clever distribution of your total holdings.
CEL Tokens can be earned based on your current Holdings, or bought outright on certain exchanges. Supported exchanges include liquid, FTX, IDEX, Demex, Uniswap, and Totle.
Currently, roughly 75% of the total supply of 695,658,161 CEL token is in circulation with the remaining 25% being locked away for the time being. The total market cap of CEL is $1.4B and is the 52nd largest coin by market capitalization.
Conclusion
So as mentioned before with the number of crypto lending companies on the market right now, the question is why choose Celsius? Firstly, Celsius offers no minimum deposits, and no fees for deposits or withdrawals which is very unique as even the bigger competitors charge for withdrawals.
Secondly, Celsius allows you to choose how to receive or pay your interests. This means that you have the option of paying or receiving your interest payments in the same form as your holdings, or as CEL tokens.
Using CEL tokens is completely optional however holding the right amount of CEL coupled with your portfolio can lead to some pretty incredible rewards and discounts up to 25%.
Lastly, Celsius does not lock down your funds for any amount of time, which is a common requirement for most crypto lenders to lock down the highest APY possible. Celsius instead uses their native CEL tokens to offer optional and beneficial Rewards.
For these reasons, I believe Celsius is a fantastic choice for any retail investor among the many crypto lending services available. Celsius makes it a point to help out the average person, and proves this by returning 80% of its revenue to its users through the rewards program they offer.
Any company that can walk the walk after preaching how important the average user is and that crypto is meant for everyone earns a recommendation from me.
