Crypto lending firm Ledn announced on Sept. 12 that its interest-bearing Growth Accounts now support both of the crypto market’s leading stablecoins.
Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, Co-Founder and CSO of Ledn, said:
“We have listened to the industry’s demand for a new way to earn yield in a safer and more transparent manner … Ledn’s USD stablecoin Growth Accounts … combine high yield, industry-leading transparency, and prudent risk management practices.”
The expanded service will allow holders of Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT to earn up to 8.5% annual percentage yield (APY) on either stablecoin.
Ledn aims to address issues that led numerous competing crypto lending services to fall into insolvency and bankruptcy starting in mid-2022.
The firm will re-lend user assets through its retail loan book in order to generate yield. Though this approach is similar to the actions that other companies have previously taken, Ledn said that it will provide users with transparent data about its activities through two features: its Open Book Report and its new client dashboard.
Ledn also described its accounts as “legally ring-fenced” and safeguarded. Clients will be exposed only to counterparties that produce their interest, and Growth Account assets will be unaffected if Lend enters bankruptcy. Plus, Growth Accounts featuring one crypto asset will not be exposed to the risks of Growth Accounts featuring another asset.
Finally, users will be able to switch between Transaction Accounts (without interest) and Growth Accounts (with interest) for maximum control over their funds.
Other interest options are available
Several former top lending services, such as Celsius, BlockFi, and Gemini Earn have all failed, and just a few other high-interest options are available.
Data from Bitcompare suggests that Nexo offers 12% APY rewards on loaned USDC, while Flynt offers 13.64%, Yield App offers 11%, and YouHolder offers 8.33%. The same site suggests that those services, except for Flynt, offer similar rates for loaned USDT. A few other lending services offer considerably lower interest rates.
Staking services that do not re-lend user assets also provide lower interest rates on stablecoin holdings. Coinbase announced 5% interest on USDC on Sept. 10. Binance, Kraken, Crypto.com, and certain other exchanges offer similar staking features.
Availability is further limited by the fact that some services, including Ledn’s own interest-bearing Growth Accounts, are not available to users in the United States.
