BlockFi

What is BlockFi?

When most people think of cryptocurrency, they imagine some non-existent legal fiction floating in the air. But that's nowhere near the truth. Cryptocurrency is a key player in the world economy, as well as technological advancement with real-world application.

For many people, they couldn't imagine a world without crypto anymore. Especially, considering that one can replace their entire financial structure with non-bank financial services, such as BlockFi.

Founded in 2017, the BlockFi platform did not launch until 2019. The concept behind BlockFi was to develop traditional banking services, such as loans and savings for the realm of crypto.

The founder and CEO, Zac Prince, and the company as a whole were able to raise over $60 million before launch. Some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency, such as Consensys Ventures and Morgan Creek Capital invested in the platform.

For their custody and insurance solutions, BlockFi implemented with Gemini, a New York company in strong ties with powerful cryptocurrency regulators. In essence, BlockFi devises the same services as a bank for holders of crypto. They are able to take loans out with crypto-collateral or lend out their own holdings to receive interest.

In 2018, BlockFi received more funding from companies, such as Kinetic Capital and SoFi. Later, Galaxy Digital Ventures invested another $50 million. 

Besides their lending platform, BlockFi also has a trading platform. In fact, they started out with trading before they got into lending. With that being said, the trading pairs are quite limited with region-dependency.

At this point in time, you can trade between ETH, BTC, USDC, GUSD, Pax, PaxG, Litecoin. You can also buy GUSD stable coins with cash directly. This means you can forgo starting your account with digital assets, and simply purchase crypto with GUSD.

You can make a GUSD purchase with a bank wire or an ACH bank account.

Another competitive advantage of BlockFi is their "First-Ever Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card". There are many other credit and debit cards in the crypto space, but BlockFi is the first to dedicate themselves to providing rewards for using their card.

The crypto Visa is quite direct with what it offers, unlike other meticulous cards. A client will receive 1.5% cashback (In Bitcoin) on all purchases made. The card is made of metal, which is common in business/high-end cards.

The card does work in a slightly different manner than its competitors. Many companies that offer crypto cards require you to load up credit or crypto to the account. But with BlockFi, you have an actual credit limit. 

You can spend up to as much you are limited with, and as long as you pay off your balance, you will not end up with any interest. 

There's one disadvantage to this card, and that's the fact that it has an annual fee of $200. However, BlockFi does offer sign-up bonuses, which usually cover the entire annual fee, as long as you spend a "bracket" amount within the first 3 months.

As with all card offerings, the rewards are subject to change at any time, so don't miss out.

What's unique about BlockFi?

BlockFi were one of the first to introduce crypto savings accounts and loans. They found instant success with a good product that offered very competitive interest rates.

How safe is BlockFi?

BlockFi offers security measures like two-factor authentication on their site. In addition to this, all their wallets are provided by Gemini Custody which is regulated in the US and provides insurance on all wallets.