One of the most distinguishing features of the TREZOR wallet is perhaps its appearance. It’s a small device about the size of a car-key that is capable of connecting to your computer via a USB cable. It is also capable of safely being used on a computer that has been infected with malware.

TREZOR currently supports Bitcoin, Ethereum (+ all ERC-20 tokens), Ethereum Classic, ZCash, Litecoin, Dash and Bitcoin Testnet.

This TREZOR review will help you find out if TREZOR is right for your cryptocurrency security needs.

The Court of Public Opinion

When it comes to hardware Bitcoin wallets, TREZOR is often a crowd favorite. The vast majority of online Trezor reviews hover around a 4.5/5 rating. From what we’ve gathered, the TREZOR:

1. 1. Works exactly how it’s supposed to. Very few people complain about TREZOR’s ability to protect their Bitcoins and keep them stored without problems.
   2. Setting up the wallet might be a bit complicated. Several reviews noted that setting up the wallet initially was a bit problematic and confusing.
   3. The lack of a wider variety of alt-coins leaves some users a bit frustrated. The TREZOR wallet currently only supports Bitcoin, Ethereum (+ all ERC-20 tokens), Ethereum Classic, ZCash, Litecoin, Dash and Bitcoin Testnet.
   4. The actual physical wallet feels a little cheap, not made out of high-quality plastic. Some customers felt disappointed that the TREZOR feels cheaply made.

Overall, it’s worth taking every online review with a grain of salt. As long as the core functionality of the wallet works like a charm, everything else is just a minor detraction.

User Interface

The TREZOR wallet user interface is found can be found at wallet.trezor.io and is accessible through Google Chrome, or via a thing called TREZOR bridge. The TREZOR wallet is made to seamlessly connect with your TREZOR device, and help users control their coins, manage their balances, and initiate transfers.

From your TREZOR wallet, you are capable of generating as many public addresses as you want in order to receive payments and send payments (which requires you to enter your PIN code prior to sending).

You also have the option to set a passphrase feature to make your coins more secure. This is in addition to your seed key. However, it’s important to note that if you forget your passphrase, your wallet is “lost for good” and “there is no way to recover your funds,” according to the TREZOR site.

Overall, the TREZOR user interface is simple enough to understand but provides some substantial extra elements to security many other wallets don’t. Before starting, however, it’s important you make yourself familiar with everything within the TREZOR wallet so you don’t make any mistakes that could result in lost coins.

Security

The most important feature of any wallet is its security. The TREZOR is often referred to as one of the best Bitcoin wallets for a reason – it does the job of keeping its users’ coins secure.

Since your coins are offline, it is nearly impossible to hack them without having access to the physical device.

There is usually a trade-off between security and convenience, and TREZOR attempts to offer the best of both worlds.

When you want to keep your coins secure and offline, you just have to put them in your TREZOR wallet and put the wallet somewhere safe.

One thing worth noting is that SatoshiLabs is not a US company in the Czech Republic. This shouldn’t be a cause for concern for the apparent reason that a ton of cryptocurrency innovation comes from all over the world, but it’s still a point of interest.

Regardless, even if SatoshiLabs turned evil and tried to take everyone’s coins, no one can touch the coins on an offline TREZOR. Additionally, all the code is open-source, so everyone can see what the company is up to.

Accessibility

To trade your coins, you can use TREZOR’s limited USB connection to connect to your computer.

This limited USB connection operates the same way a computer mouse connects (the mouse tells the computer where it’s located and moves the cursor, but the computer can’t move the mouse).

This means that TREZOR can interact with computers that could be infected with malware without putting the coins on the TREZOR at risk.

You can access your coins simply by connecting your TREZOR to your computer and powering up the TREZOR wallet interface at https://wallet.trezor.io. From here, you can see your balances, generate addresses for payment, and send payments.

Final Thoughts: Is TREZOR Right For You?

Overall, the TREZOR wallet is a darling in the cryptocurrency hardware world. The company has been around long enough to respond to consumer requests and optimize their product for security.

The price hovers around $100, which is higher than non-hardware alternatives, but the high level of security, easy user interface and accessibility, and the team behind the product are (in my humble opinion) worth it. Not to mention how long your $100 could go towards protecting your portfolio balance.

Does TREZOR tickle your fancy? Be sure to checkout our reviews of the Best Bitcoin Wallets and Best Ethereum Wallets to see how it stacks up against the competition.

The post TREZOR Wallet Review appeared first on CoinCentral.

It stands out as a dynamic trading platform, combining low trading fees with a wide range of tradable markets, with maker fees as low as 0.01% and taker fees at 0.02% for crypto futures. 

PrimeXBT’s user-friendly interface, designed for beginners and experienced traders, features over 50 technical indicators and a customizable workspace powered by TradingView.

It also offers high leverage options, up to 1:1000 for forex and 1:200 for cryptocurrencies, which can help traders amplify their returns or downside.

Disclaimer: Trading cryptocurrencies and other assets with leverage involve a very high loss risk. Ensure you fully know the risks and only trade with funds you can afford to lose.

This PrimeXBT guide and review breaks down the platform’s primary features and provides insights into the PrimeXBT user experience. 

Understanding the PrimeXBT’s Offerings: Bitcoin Futures & CFDs

If you’re a relative beginner in financial derivatives, PrimeXBT’s value proposition introduces a few concepts that are worthy of a quick explanation.

PrimeXBT offers margin trading, meaning traders can use borrowed funds (leverage) to increase the size of a trading position beyond what would be possible with the trader’s own capital.

CFDs, or Contracts for Difference, are financial derivatives that allow traders to speculate on the price movements of various assets without actually owning the underlying asset; it’s more of a contract with a broker to exchange the difference in the value of an asset from the time the contract is opened to when it is closed.

Bitcoin futures are contracts that obligate the buyer to purchase and the seller to sell Bitcoin at a predetermined price at a specified future date. These contracts can be settled either by physical delivery of Bitcoin or through cash settlement but are typically traded on open markets before their expiration multiple times over.

These offerings are highly speculative, risky, and unavailable on highly regulated exchanges like Coinbase or Gemini. This has led traders who want leverage or derivatives to seek out platforms like PrimeXBT. 

Platforms that offer leverage, especially ones that offer up to 200x leverage, are incredibly risky and should be used by professionals who comprehend the risks. If traditional exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini are ordinary sedans, exchanges like PrimeXBT are F-1 racecars—the driver can go far fast, but if they don’t know how to drive them or the roads have unexpected turns, the results could be catastrophic.

About PrimeXBT: About the Company and Business

PrimeXBT was founded in 2018 and became a leading cryptocurrency exchange for derivative products and margin trading. 

The company is registered in Seychelles under the holding company name PrimeXBT Trading Services, but it also has offices in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Switzerland.

Despite its extensive services and growing user base, there is no publicly available information on specific individuals tied to PrimeXBT. The company maintains a relatively low profile regarding its founders and key personnel, which is not uncommon for some trading platforms. 

Given that the platform has operated without controversy since its launch in 2018, it may come as a surprise that the company or exchange isn’t regulated or licensed, operating out of the relatively lax Seychelles. 

PrimeXBT Review: Is PrimeXBT Legit?

PrimeXBT has earned a solid reputation in the trading community over the past six years. Its mix of low fees, diverse assets, high-leverage options, and user-friendly features makes it an attractive platform for experienced traders. 

Reviews on platforms G2, Trustpilot, ProductHunt, and Reddit generally indicate user satisfaction despite some negative feedback, averaging around 4 to 4.5 stars.

PrimeXBT’s competitive trading fees stand out, particularly in cryptocurrency futures, where the maker fee is 0.01% and the taker fee is 0.02%.

The platform supports various tradable assets, including cryptocurrencies, forex, commodities, and indices. The customizable trading interface has advanced trading tools and over 50 technical indicators. PrimeXBT execution speeds average 7.12 milliseconds.

Traders can amplify their positions with high-leverage options of up to 1:1000 for forex and 1:200 for cryptocurrencies, though this comes with increased risk. 

PrimeXBT stores funds in cold storage, provides real-time risk monitoring, and conducts regular security audits. As of writing, the platform has never been hacked or experienced a user loss of funds. 

While PrimeXBT is unregulated, its reputation has been mostly positive over the last six years, and users report generally favorable experiences with the various features described above. 

That said, it’s wise to withdraw most of your funds you don’t plan on actively trading to private wallets you control, mitigating some security and regulatory risks, and use funds on PrimeXBT explicitly for trading purposes. 

Where is PrimeXBT Available?

PrimeXBT offers its services to users in various jurisdictions, but access is restricted in certain countries, notably the United States, Japan, and Canada. 

Other restricted regions include Cuba, Israel, Iran, New Zealand, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, various U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the United States Minor Outlying Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as Russia, Myanmar, and Saint Lucia. 

These restrictions ensure international regulation compliance and maintain the integrity of the platform’s operations globally.

PrimeXBT Signup Bonuses

CoinCentral readers can get 20% added to their deposit amount when signing up. PrimeXBT offers several bonuses tiered by deposit amounts:

• $200 when depositing $1,000+
• $100 when depositing $500+
• $500 when depositing $2500
• $1000 when depositing $5000+

Note that PrimeXBT is not available for users in the United States.

How to Use and Sign Up for PrimeXBT

If you meet the geographic requirements, you can start by making a PrimeXBT account and depositing cryptocurrency; it supports BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, and COV.

This can be done either through a direct crypto transfer from an external wallet or exchange, or purchasing crypto using integrated services like Changelly, Paxful, and Coinify to buy crypto with your debit/credit card or bank transfer. 

Deposits are free and usually appear in your account after one network confirmation.

You can withdraw funds to any external crypto address. 

PrimeXBT charges 0.0005 BTC for BTC withdrawals, 0.01 ETH for ETH, and minor fees for other coins. Withdrawals are processed manually once daily, which may cause delays.

PrimeXBT’s Partnership with Covesting: The COV Token

PrimeXBT has partnered with Covesting, a licensed DLT services provider, to offer features like copy trading and yield accounts. 

The COV utility token is integrated into the PrimeXBT ecosystem, offering users several incentives, such as staking, using COV as collateral for leveraged trading, reducing or eliminating entry fees, increasing profit share, copy trader benefits, and increasing APY on yield accounts by quantity of COV held. 

For crypto.com users, this is similar to how the CRO token offers users various platform perks. 

Through its partnership with Covesting, PrimeXBT’s Covesting module allows traders to automatically mirror the trades of successful strategy managers on the platform. Users can evaluate various strategies and managers based on returns and drawdowns, and followers count on a stats dashboard and automatically copy a strategy. 

By copying a strategy, every trade from the manager’s portfolio is mirrored proportionally, based on the amount allocated. Traders can diversify by following multiple strategies or managers simultaneously. 

Strategy managers must have a minimum balance of 0.5 BTC or equivalent. Based on their portfolio performance, managers earn a profit share from follower fees.

How is PrimeXBT’s Customer Service?

PrimeXBT offers customer support through email, web form, and live chat, available 24/7 to assist traders worldwide. The live chat feature stands out with prompt response times, often within minutes, with agents who can help with account issues, trading inquiries, technical problems, and platform navigation.

While direct phone support is unavailable, which could be beneficial for urgent issues, PrimeXBT compensates with other quick-help options, like their Telegram bot connected to support staff.

PrimeXBT’s online Help Center provides FAQs and educational guides.

Overall, PrimeXBT delivers a sound customer service that has met the needs of a global user base through a combination of live chat, user base, and responsive support channels. 

PrimeXBT Markets & Trading Pairs

PrimeXBT supports a wide range of asset classes, including cryptocurrencies, forex, commodities, and indices including:

• 40+ cryptocurrency markets, including popular pairs against USD or Bitcoin.
• 50+ forex pairs, covering major, minor, and exotic currencies.
• 5+ key commodities like Gold, Silver, Brent, Crude, and Natural Gas.
• 10+ indices, including GER30, SP500, NASDAQ, HK-HIS, and more.

Final Thoughts: Is PrimeXBT Legit

PrimeXBT is considered one of the top cryptocurrency futures trading platforms platform providing access to various financial derivatives in multiple markets and currencies. 

Its low trading fees and wide range of markets make it an appealing option for advanced and higher-frequency traders who can stomach the risks and reward tradeoffs of leveraged trading. 

PrimeXBT’s mobile apps, PrimeXBT and PrimeXBT Futures Pro, allow users to trade and monitor positions on the go.

PrimeXBT’s partnership with Covesting introduces features like copy trading and yield accounts, with the COV token providing various incentives. 

Its high leverage options, up to 1:1000 for forex and 1:200 for cryptocurrencies allows traders to amplify their positions significantly, but it comes with an increased risk that can lead to significant losses, so it’s crucial to understand these risks fully and only trade with funds you can afford to lose.

PrimeXBT has remained reputable despite its unregulated status, but users should consider withdrawing funds to private wallets to mitigate security risks. 

Disclaimer: The content on CoinCentral is not investment advice and should not replace advice from a certified financial planner. The creation of the above article is a sponsored post, and PrimeXBT is an affiliate partner. The article adheres to our editorial guidelines for objective review. This sponsorship does not influence our analysis or opinions.

The post What is PrimeXBT? A Guide on the Crypto Derivatives Exchange appeared first on CoinCentral.

However, Robinhood has maintained its posterity as a user-friendly investment app, and is a popular destination for many beginners and intermediates.

So, how does Robinhood’s cryptocurrency trading feature stack up? Let’s explore.

Robinhood Exchange Key Information

User Interface and Mobile App

When compared to most exchanges, the trading interface on Robinhood Crypto is fairly basic. For those who are new to cryptocurrency, this might be considered a positive. For traders who want to use more advanced interfaces (i.e. candlesticks, real-time order books, etc.), Robinhood is not likely to be the best option for you. However, the fact that this exchange offers access to fiat trading makes it an enticing option.

Robinhood Crypto doesn’t have its own dedicated app. Instead, you’ll have to download the ordinary Robinhood app for iOS or Android. The cool thing about this app is that you can also use it to invest in other markets (i.e. stocks and ETFs). For many people, Robinhood provides a more convenient option than having to use multiple platforms to manage various investments, assets, etc.

Mobile app reviews are quite positive overall. On Google Play, Robinhood has 4.6 stars with 80,595 reviews. On iTunes, it has 4.8 stars with over 628,200 reviews. It’s also ranked as the 14th most popular app in the Finance category on iTunes.

Trading Options and Availability

Available cryptocurrencies on Robinhood include:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Bitcoin SV (BSV)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Ethereum Classic (ETC)
• Litecoin (LTC).

Compared to most crypto exchanges, the number of coins available is quite limited. Although not currently available for trading on the exchange, Robinhood also supports real-time market data for ten additional cryptos. These include Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Dash (DASH), Lisk (LSK), Monero (XMR), NEO (NEO), OmiseGO (OMG), Qtum (QTUM), Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM) and Zcash (ZEC). It’s possible that these might be added to the list of tradeable cryptos on Robinhood Crypto at some point in the future.

One of the biggest limitations of current trading options is a lack of stablecoins. When trading an altcoin on another exchange and then transferring funds to Robinhood to cash out to fiat, this could present an obstacle for some traders. Essentially, if you want to convert crypto to fiat, you should be aware of how long it takes for funds to reach your Robinhood Crypto account and the potential price fluctuations in that time period.

Robinhood Crypto is only available in the United States, as of March 2019. This includes 37 states and Washington D.C. Robinhood excludes citizens of the remaining 13 states from signing up. While this can be discouraging for many users, it’s important to note that Robinhood is actively working to expand its geographic availability. It’s clear that a lot of progress has been made on this front. For instance, when the exchange first launched in 2018, it was only available in five states. You can find an up-to-date list of available states here.

Security: Is Robinhood Crypto Safe?

Compared to other services offered by this company, cryptocurrency funds aren’t as secure. For instance, Robinhood insures stocks up to $500,000 in value. Meanwhile, the company does not insure crypto funds. If someone is able to access your account and steal funds, you don’t have the ability to easily report this situation to the company and receive reimbursement.

Similar to other centralized exchanges like Coinbase, with Robinhood, you don’t actually own your coins or private keys. Many regard this as the biggest issue with Robinhood. Additionally, you are unable to transfer crypto from your account to a wallet outside of Robinhood without further verification steps.

Overall, Robinhood has never suffered from a large-scale hack across any of its services. Still, users have reported hacks of single accounts on various social media platforms. If you choose to use Robinhood Crypto, there are a few different ways that you can enhance the security of your account. For example, on the mobile app, you can enable Touch ID or Face ID. You can also add a custom PIN code or turn on two-factor authentication.

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Robinhood Fees, Trading Limits, Approval Wait Times

As of March 2019, Robinhood Crypto (like other trading options with Robinhood) claims to have zero fees, commissions, or hidden charges. However, the 19-page “Robinhood Crypto User Agreement” seemingly contradicts this statement. There is a section titled, “Rebates and Pass-On of Fees” that some say could be interpreted as a way for the exchange to blend fees into the price of trades. For example, the exchange could offer higher than market average prices for certain coins. Even though this might not be the case, it’s probably a good idea to compare price points in real-time with other exchanges before trading.

Robinhood limits deposits and withdrawals to $50,000 daily. It also has waiting requirements for withdrawing funds from your account. This applies to funds that you transfer to your account as well as funds you trade on the Robinhood Crypto exchange.

Approval can take a few days (or longer) if additional documentation is needed to complete account verification. Once Robinhood Crypto approves your verification, you can link your bank account to deposit up to $1,000 instantly. It typically takes four to five days for the deposit to clear with a US bank account.

Customer Service Experience

There are several options for contacting Robinhood’s customer support team. For example, they have a dedicated Twitter account for customer questions. You can also contact them via email: support@robinhood.com. The major complaint that most negative reviews have in common is that users receive “copy, paste” answers that don’t necessarily address the concerns of the customer.

Even with this being the case, customer support reviews appear to be mostly positive. Still, most customer reviews to date apply to other services offered by the company and aren’t specific to crypto trading. This is understandable, especially considering cryptocurrency is both a newer and more geographically limited part of Robinhood’s business model.

Final Thoughts: Is Robinhood Crypto Worth Your Time?

In terms of trading options, Robinhood still has a long way to go before it can be considered a top contender among crypto exchanges.

It’s worth noting that Robinhood doesn’t actually give you custody of the cryptocurrency you own on the platform, so you can’t send it to other wallets. However, it’s still a solid option for those simply looking to trade cryptocurrency on a very convenient user interface.

Robinhood currently has a promotion where new users can receive a free stock valued anywhere between $2.50 to $225 when they sign up.

The fact that it supports an easy way for many in the US to trade using fiat means that it will likely continue to gain traction where available. Zero fees, the established user base for other Robinhood services, and the momentum of the 2018 pre-launch all help increase the number of potential users for this exchange. However, some issues like fund ownership and limited geographic availability will likely need to be addressed in the long term.

The post Robinhood Crypto Review | How Does This Exchange Compare? appeared first on CoinCentral.

The Ledger Wallet company was founded in 2014 in France, and since then, Ledger has become one of the biggest hardware wallet providers in the industry. 

Ledger’s competition includes hardware wallets such as TREZOR.

In this Ledger Nano S review, we’ll go over a few different aspects such as usability, security, and convenience.

Court of Public Opinion

It seems like most of the users submitting reviews are beyond satisfied with the Ledger Nano S.

Numerous users have called it a great method of “sleeping well at night”, especially since hardware wallets are generally used by those who have a higher number of coins. The public also believes that the device works smoothly, and most have no major complaints about it.

However, the wallet may not be the best choice for those who hold multiple digital currencies and actively use most of them. This is due to the low storage space available on the device.

When storing and using a digital currency in the wallet, users have to download a specific app for that token. Currently, the hardware only has enough storage space for two or three of these apps. This means that if you wish to use a different currency, you’ll have to uninstall an app and install another.

This process is pretty straightforward especially if you’re near a computer. However, it can become a nuisance for those who make payments using different digital currencies constantly.

User Interface

The user interface of the Ledger Nano S has been designed with a fluid user experience in mind.

Using the wallet is similar to the usage of most other hardware wallets on the market, and the process is fairly straightforward. When the hardware wallet is set up for the first time, users will have to select a pin. Later on, a 24-word seed will be given which can be used for the creation of private keys.

The initial setup takes about three minutes, with most of the time being spent on having to write down your seed to keep it in a safe place. Once the device has been set up, users will have to install the apps required to use the device depending on the digital currency of choice. These apps are used to either send or receive currency- they have no purpose in helping the wallet store your coins.

A Chrome extension is available as well, and it makes things even easier. Its main functionalities are accessing account details, sending Bitcoin via the hardware wallet, generating Bitcoin addresses to receive funds, as well as various settings for the app including the exchange rate and language of use.

A great feature is that the Ledger Nano S also works with existing Bitcoin wallets. Users aren’t required to set up an additional wallet to store the coins. Some of the supported online wallets include, but are not limited to Electrum, MyCelium, Copay, MyEtherWallet, and Bitgo.

At this time, the Ledger Nano S supports the following digital currencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin, Zcash, Dash, and Stratis. The device supports sending payments, receiving payments, checking account details, as well as managing multiple addresses.

The Ledger Nano S is generally easy to understand if you understand how digital currencies work and the basics behind transactions, and even if you don’t, it’s pretty easy to pick up. The hardware wallet is also controlled via two buttons, so the margin for user error is fairly small.

Security

Hardware wallets represent by far the most secure way of storing digital currencies.

While hardware wallets come with some security flaws as well, most of them are user-based, rather than the fault of the company providing the wallet.

If you do choose to use the Ledger Nano S (or any other wallet, for that matter) you need to take special precautions such as noting down your security seed on paper, rather than on a computer, or avoiding using the wallet on PCs that could potentially be infected.

Theoretically, the Ledger Nano S wallet has no known security vulnerability. It’s a hardware wallet, and when it isn’t connected to a computer, it is close to impossible to hack.

Accessibility/ Convenience

Accessing your coins on the Ledger Nano S requires the use of a computer. The wallet needs to be plugged in with a USB. While this isn’t really much of an inconvenience if you’re at home and have the time, accessing your coins on the go can be a bit difficult.

It’s important to note that hardware wallets aren’t really purposed for convenience, but are rather meant to be used for the secure storage of large amounts over long periods of time.

So, if you want to get on the “I pay for my coffee with BTC” level, your best bet would be to use an online digital currency wallet on your mobile phone.

Compared to other hardware wallets, the Ledger Nano S is simple to use. Your coins can be easily accessed, but having to uninstall and install multiple apps for different tokens can get tedious.

Final Thoughts/ Recommendations

The Ledger Nano S hardware wallet is bound to satisfy the needs of most digital currency enthusiasts. It offers an easy-to-use interface, nice coin accessibility, and great security features.

Ultimately, the Ledger Nano S is a leader in the market for a reason: it produces a product users trust while protecting their tokens and gets the job done effectively.

[wp-review id=”3972″]

The post Ledger Nano S Wallet Review appeared first on CoinCentral.

Brave was founded in 2015 by Brendan Eich, who had the idea of creating a browser that protected user data rather than commercializing it. Brave makes user privacy protection the standard, while also providing users with the option and incentives to view ads. Brave Browser has its own cryptocurrency known as Basic Attention Token (BAT), which is given to users who opt-in to advertisements.

Once opted in, users can passively earn BAT whilst browsing. Alternatively, Brave users can opt out of ads altogether and still have their data protected. 

The BAT Token: The Foundation of Brave 

Brave has doubled its user base every year since launching in 2015. It currently has over 59.3 million users, 15.5 million daily active users, and over 1.3 million content creators on the platform.

The dev team believes that user data should be an asset, not something taken for free, and they made the BAT token to facilitate the exchange of attention. Once Brave has been installed, users can opt-in for BAT tokens. They will receive tokens for watching advertisements and paying with time, attention, and data. However, using Brave isn’t the only way to earn BAT tokens. By registering as a Brave Publisher on social media platforms, creators can accept BAT donations for their content. Users can also receive rewards for each user they refer to the browser. 

Brave Wallets

When signing up to Brave, users can create their own built-in wallet to store their BAT tokens without needing an external wallet. 

Unlike many browser-based wallets such as MetaMask, the Brave Wallet is already built into the browser itself. This means no extension is required, making the dynamic more user-friendly. Even if you have no DeFi experience, you can quickly understand how Brave Wallets work.

Brave Wallets also support hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger for more experienced cryptocurrency enthusiasts. These external wallets provide extra protection when compared to decentralized wallets as they’re not connected to the internet. The only downside to Brave Wallets is they only support Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Polygon, and Avalanche.

How to Sign Up to Earn BAT

Once you’ve installed the browser, you can begin earning BAT almost straight away. During the setup process, you can set up your own in-browser wallet, which will store all the tokens you earn. 

From here, head over to settings and choose how many advertisements you’d like to receive. The more you allow, the more BAT you’ll earn. Each month, your BAT will be paid to your wallet, which can then be withdrawn using an Uphold cryptocurrency exchange account. 

Brave requires all users to pass a basic KYC (know your customer) compliance test to make sure nobody is using it for any fraudulent payments. In order to do this, it needs your name, email, phone number, and a few other details. This is where Uphold comes into play. Uphold is a digital money platform that utilizes an Anything-to-Anything trading model. It enables customers to trade directly between asset classes and will help you pass your KYC compliance. Once passed you can withdraw BAT directly.

Brave’s AI Chatbot: LEO

In late 2023, Brave introduced Leo, a chatbot available on the desktop browser that can do things such as answering questions, summarizing web pages, and generating content.

Contrary to other popular AI chatbots such as those built with OpenAI’s API, Brave retains its privacy-focused initiative through unique features such as no recording of conversations and no log-ins needed for usage. 

Based on Meta’s Llama 2 AI model, LEO is free. A premium version of LEO using Anthropic’s Claude Instant model (faster responses) is available for about $15 per month. Additional premium perks include higher-quality conversations, higher rate limits, priority queuing, and early feature access.

How Does Brave Compare to Traditional Browsers? 

Despite being relatively new in the browser market, Brave has some distinct advantages that help it stand out in a highly competitive market. 

Brave is made for anyone concerned about privacy. With current browsers using data more than ever before, many consumers are worried about how much personal information they have and how it’s being used. Recent documentaries such as The Social Dilemma showed just how much data is collected by platforms to create an ideal customer profile. Brave allows users to protect themselves from such platforms, with users being compensated for any data they choose to share. But this isn’t the only advantage. 

As well as protecting users’ data, Brave is also pretty fast– Brave loads pages up to eight times faster than Chrome, which is known as the fastest browser for Windows devices.

BAT is a unique incentive not offered by any other browsers– it’s a great way to generate a small income whilst browsing and an easy way to enter the world of cryptocurrency.

The only downside to Brave is that it’s not as compatible as Google when it comes to websites and extensions. With a significantly smaller user base and superior ad-blocking technology, Brave has been known to crash on certain websites. This is slightly inconvenient for users, however, compatibility may improve as the browser grows. 

How to Become a Brave Publisher

For users who are already producing content with the intention of ranking on popular search engines, Brave Publisher offers a route to generate extra income. Users can sign up with an account on the Brave website, which will allow them to accept BAT tokens on a range of platforms. These include Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, and of course, the publisher’s website. 

Brave provides publishers with most of the tools available on current platforms such as the number of views and what channels are performing the best. These can be integrated with the platforms mentioned above to help creators get the most out of their analytics.

Final Thoughts: Is Brave Browser Worth the Switch? 

With the amount of personal information collected by browsers not looking to change any time soon, Brave is a great alternative for those who want to use the internet with more privacy. Not only does Brave Browser provide users with greater protection, but it’s also faster than most alternatives and offers lucrative incentives for those who want to sell their data.

This makes it a great browser for crypto users to earn extra income and for those new to crypto to learn in a secure environment. 

The post Brave Browser Review: A Guide to the Crypto-Native Browser appeared first on CoinCentral.

IDEX aims to bring the conveniences and user-friendly nature of centralized exchanges but with DEX-like custody and security. It employs smart contracts that enable users to manage their private keys and trade in a secure, peer-to-peer environment.  It also features Ledger Nano S and Meta Mask Wallet integrations, safer alternatives for fund management than manually entering a private key, or trusting a third-party custodian.

When trading on IDEX, users still sign off on transactions with their private key, but the exchange broadcasts the transaction to the blockchain, enabling the exchange to update account balances and order books in real-time. This gives IDEX the user experience of a centralized exchange without sacrificing the security and user control of a decentralized exchange.

IDEX initially launched solely on Ethereum because Layer-2s, and now Layer-3s, didn’t exist. It has since moved to exploring an IDEX-specific “Layer-3” with the goal of ensuring the lowest fees and performance possible.

In normal human terms, IDEX has transitioned from using the pricy Ethereum base network to cheaper alternatives built on top of it, like Polygon and XCHAIN.

The following IDEX Review explores how IDEX works, and whether this decentralized exchange is a good fit for your trading needs. Note, trading on IDEX from the United States is currently blocked.

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About IDEX

IDEX launched in 2017 and has helped pioneer the path for the modern decentralized exchange. Despite it’s early entry into the DEX industry, however, it’s use base has lagged. The exchange currently has about $2.65m in Total Value Locked, about 1/7th of the 10th largest DEX, Balancer.

How IDEX Works

Smart contracts are the name of the game for any decentralized exchange. Users can manage all of their funds through the exchange’s smart contract. So long as no one else has their private key, their funds can’t be touched once they’ve been stored in the contract unless they’ve signed off on them.

Once on the exchange, you’ll notice that everything you need to trade is immediately in front of you: wallet balances, the trading chart, the order book, trading pairs, and other tools are all displayed on a single page.  It may seem overwhelming at first to have all of this bunched together, but we’ll be going over each component below–and having everything on one page actually makes exchanging a breeze.

First things first, you’ll need to deposit funds into the exchange’s smart contract to get started.  At the top right corner, there’s an account dropbox that allows you to integrate a new wallet or create one through the exchange.  If you decide to create one, the exchange will produce a private key for you and a Wallet Keystore File.  Whether you’re creating a new wallet or accessing an old one, you have four options for opening a wallet on the exchange:

1. Keystore File: You can directly upload your private key using a KeyStore file for an Ethereum address you created on the exchange or otherwise.
2. Manually Entered Private Key: You can choose to manually enter your private key to unlock an Ethereum address’ funds.
3. MetaMask: You can unlock your MetaMask wallet and access it through the exchange.
4. Ledger Nano S: You can integrate your Ledger Nano S into the exchange and deposit funds directly from it.

Hardware wallet integration is one of the greatest added benefits of using a decentralized exchange like IDEX.  Using a Ledger to trade on IDEX insulates you from risks like malware and phishing attacks. Meta Mask will protect you from phishing attacks but not malware; manually entering your private keys leaves your funds ripe for phishing and is the most vulnerable option for accessing funds.

Once you’ve got your funds in hand on the exchange, you have to deposit them into the exchange’s smart contract.  It seems like a silly extra step, but it’s actually in your favor, as this smart contract keeps your funds safe while you trade and allows the exchange to broadcast transactions directly to the network. You can deposit from your wallet into the exchange through the Quick Balances tab at the top of the page and adjust the gas price for this transaction at your leisure.

Once you’ve got funds on the exchange, you can start trading.  IDEX allows you to create market/limit orders, and unlike other DEXs, you can cancel trades without paying gas.

This is where IDEX separates itself from the decentralized milieu.  You can cancel trades on IDEX without having to pay extra because all trades are executed by the exchange itself.  Thus, when you sign off on a trade, you agree to make that trade, but the exchange’s smart contract is in charge of broadcasting it to the network, so until the transaction is sent to be mined, you can ask the exchange to rescind it.  

If you’ve ever tried to fill an order on EtherDelta, you’ve run the risk of having that transaction fail. Sometimes, orders are claimed by more than one party, and since the order book isn’t updated until after a transaction is processed on the network, a stale orderbook can result in users trying to make trades on orders that are already filled.  IDEX’s system cures this headache by updating the orderbook in real time after an order is filled.  This model offers users the advantage of user-controlled funds with the convenience of a freshly updated order system they’d find on a centralized exchange.

IDEX Account Security

In general, decentralized exchanges feature security buffs that centralized exchanges, by design, cannot support.  IDEX is no exception.  The exchange itself runs as a node on the Ethereum network, so it comes replete with all of the security a blockchain network entails for its users.

Further, the exchange’s smart contracts keep funds locked in until the private key signs a transaction to move them.  You could keep your funds on the exchange and not break a sweat over it being compromised like we’ve seen too many times with centralized ones.  The reason being, that there’s no central point of failure for a hacker to tap into funds.  All funds are held in smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, so there’s no threat of someone hacking into a wallet reserve because IDEX doesn’t hold user funds in one.

The Ledger Nano S integration is another of IDEX’s key benefits, and, taken with the exchange’s overall decentralized structure, it makes for one of the most secure trading experiences out there.

The only thing you’d have to worry about in terms of security is if IDEX’s domain name service provider is compromised and a hacker hijacks its URL.  We saw this happen to Ether Delta, but if something like this were to happen, your funds would be safe as long as you don’t manually enter your private keys into the fake website.

IDEX Trading Pairs

As we went over earlier, the exchange deals exclusively with Ethereum and ERC20 tokens. Specifically, IDEX offers 2 base trading pairs– ETH and USDC. 

As such, you won’t have access to anything outside the Ethereum family, but that still leaves you with plenty of options.  

IDEX Fees and Limits

IDEX charges a 0.1% fee for market makers (those who make liquidity by creating a new order for the order book) and 0.2% for takers (those who take liquidity by filling an order already on the book). Takers are also responsible for paying the gas fee for a transaction.

“Market takers are responsible for covering the gas fees associated with each trade. Given our design, the exchange must pay this gas fee, priced in ether, when dispatching the trade to the network and then deduct it from the balance of the market taker. When exchanging tokens for ether the amount of eth deducted matches that of the gas fee. When exchanging ether for tokens, IDEX deducts the equivalent amount of tokens based on the price of the asset in ETH. This price is calculated using the average of the last 10 trades.

Ethereum gas prices have been increasing, and often this fee is higher than the IDEX exchange fee of 0.2%. These high gas prices have led us to institute order minimums in an attempt to reduce costs for our users.”

Thus, the taker fee could be more than 0.2%, depending on the network’s traffic.  This also means that all orders must be at least 0.15 ETH for makers and 0.05 for takers so that the exchange can manage transaction fees efficiently.  In addition, there’s a 0.04 ETH minimum withdrawal amount for Ethereum and tokens alike.  IDEX does not have trading or withdrawal limits.

IDEX Customer Support

The exchange features a chat box where users and support teams alike can answer queries and concerns. Alex and Phil Wearn, IDEX’s founders, are also active on the project’s subreddit and usually respond promptly to customer questions and complaints.

The site also features a contact form for reaching out to the team and a Linktree link to various IDEX community channels.

IDEX Community Sentiment: Is IDEX Legit?

IDEX has been around since 2017– our initial review of the exchange was published in 2018. Since then, the exchange has remained relatively scandal-free. 

Final Thoughts: Can You Trust IDEX?

By all measures, IDEX lives up to its growing reputation as EtherDelta’s more attractive little brother (perhaps little only applies to age here, as IDEX actually outranks EtherDelta by trading volume).  The bi-layered transaction settlement model circumvents the same pitfalls that plague EtherDelta’s system, and it makes for a generally easier, less frustrating trading experience.

Still, this model has its drawbacks, namely that it makes the exchange not completely trustless.  You still control your private keys, but you’re relying on the exchange to execute trades for you, leaving the final step of the process somewhat centralized.  Thankfully, the IDEX has introduced the AURA token and their new staking model to solve this issue, so expect the exchange to become even more decentralized as 2018 progresses.

It’s still beholden to the Ethereum blockchain like any Ethereum-powered DEX, and at times of network trouble, users can run into problems.  All things considered, however, IDEX’s design mitigates many of the issues that network congestion can cause for a DEX, and its user experience/interface is cleaner than its competition.  IDEX is a rising star in the decentralized exchange space, and if you like EtherDelta but find yourself exasperated from using it, it’s definitely worth trying out.

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The post IDEX Review: Exploring the 6-Year Old Decentralized Exchange appeared first on CoinCentral.

Swan Bitcoin is a user-friendly crypto trading app that allows users to automate recurring Bitcoin purchases, or just purchase BTC as they prefer.

The Swan team aims to onboard 10 million Bitcoin users, helping educate holders in a world where cryptocurrency investments can be somewhat overwhelming to new investors.

Why 10 million? Swan views its mission to create a burgeoning support base of pro-Bitcoin U.S. citizens– It believes that even just a 3% minority population is capable of holding a pro-Bitcoin legislative environment.

Swan Bitcoin differentiated itself in that it doesn’t bill itself anything more complex than a means to buy Bitcoin with features like automated purchase plans, lower-than-average transaction fees, and a “Swan Private” for high-net-worth individuals. It also encourages users to take full custody of their Bitcoin as soon as possible, and it does offer custodial solutions for users who don’t mind third-party custody. 

Our in-depth Swan Bitcoin review covers everything you need to know about the platform, including its pros and cons, so you can decide whether or not it’s suitable for you, such as.

• How Swan Bitcoin works
• What is Swan Private?
• Is Swan Bitcoin safe to use?
• The Pros And Cons 
• The team behind The Project
• Which cryptocurrencies are supported on the platform
• The fee structure
• Customer Support
• Whether Swan Bitcoin is worth using

If you’re looking for that sweet Swan Bitcoin sign-up bonus.… here it is. You can get $10 when signing up for Swan Bitcoin.

How Does Swan Bitcoin Work?

The Swan Bitcoin app simplifies the Bitcoin buying process tremendously, at a decent cost-savings compared to similar offerings. Swan charges a 0.99% fee for Bitcoin buys. Comparatively, Coinbase would charge 1.49%, with some users seeing as high as 9.93% for smaller purchases.

Swan offers:

• A one-time purchase using a wire transfer or ACH
• Recurring payments with the Swan Bitcoin Automatic plan

Swan makes dollar-cost averaging a fairly seamless process. In the Swan automatic plan, investors can choose the amount they want to save in Bitcoin, making daily, weekly, or monthly investments. Once selected, the app will begin converting traders’ USD into bitcoin, buying Bitcoin automatically when the price goes down through an investment process known as dollar-cost averaging. 

Direct confirmations are sent to users once a Bitcoin withdrawal is made. Traders can withdraw their Bitcoin manually or choose an auto-withdraw plan to withdraw Bitcoin to their wallet once purchases are complete. 

Swan Bitcoin also provides users with a referral program known as the ‘Swan Force Referral Affiliate Program’ to boost its user base. Users who refer someone to the platform earn 0.25% of the referral’s total amount in Bitcoin. However, this is smaller than exchanges such as Binance, which offers up to 40% commission for each person a user refers. 

Swan Private: Bitcoin Buying for High-Net-Worth Individuals 

Swan launched Swan Private to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals and corporations who want to build “generational wealth with Bitcoin.” 

The service is designed for individuals looking to buy at least $100,000 worth of Bitcoin and provides them with several unique benefits, including:

• Direct access to the Swan Private Team
• No limits on wire transfers
• Guidance on self-custody of private keys
• Tax assistance

Swan works with Fortress Trust and Bakkt as custodians of record, and it uses BitGo for cold storage. It also allows users to move Bitcoin into their own wallets, including offline cold storage wallets, through a legal trust account.  Swan private fees will differ between accounts and transactions and can be discussed with the Swan Private Team.

Is Your Money on Swan Bitcoin Safe? 

Swan Bitcoin is considered a safe Bitcoin purchasing platform. On the company’s Security page, Swan encourages its users to take custody of their own Bitcoin as soon as possible. It provides free and automated withdrawals, as well as a support page to answer any questions or concerns related to withdrawing funds. 

Let’s say you open a Swan Bitcoin account today. You’ll see a terms of service agreement with a custodian determined appropriate for your account. When you sign the agreement, you establish a direct relationship with the custodian. Swan will facilitate your interaction with the custodian, but if Swan becomes unavailable for whatever reason, users can contact their custodian directly.

Bitcoin purchased through Swan is held in cold storage with the above-qualified custodians. Swan also independently audits the Bitcoin reserves in cold storage against ledger balances at that specific custodian, essentially making sure whoever is storing your funds isn’t partaking in any funny business like rehypothecation.

Swan currently works with Fortress Trust and Bakkt as custodians of record, and it uses BitGo for cold storage.

You have the final say on authorizing your custodian of record via Swan to move your Bitcoin from your cold storage custodian.

It’s worth noting that prior to its current partners, Swan Bitcoin used Prime Trust, a cryptocurrency custodian that filed bankruptcy in June 2023. This filing came after Nevada regulators placed Prime Trust into receivership, after having determined it was insolvent and unable to service its customers. It was found that Prime Trust’s parent company lost $8 million in the TerraUSD fiasco.

Swan Bitcoin, however, had moved its users’ funds to BitGo prior to the collapse, seemingly by sheer coincidence to move away from Prime Trust.

Not luck AND didn’t know.

We’d been prepping to move for 9 months, had already moved some users/states to Bitgo, and pulled the trigger when PT lost Connecticut bc that regulator was going to force the sale of user BTC.

If a custodian keeps losing states you need to change. You…

— Cory Klippsten | Swan.com ???? #Bitcoin (@coryklippsten) June 28, 2023

Luck or thoughtful strategy, we (as well as Swan Bitcoin) recommend users use their own hardware wallets rather than relying on a third party. However, an important corollary, know proper hardware wallet best practices– you don’t want to be your own worst enemy, either!

What Currencies Does Swan Bitcoin Support?

As of June 2022, the Swan Bitcoin app only accepts ACH transfers from US users and wire transfers for international users (this applies to all countries not on the OFAC list, though payments can only be made in USD. 

Once traders have created an account, they must link their bank account with Swan. While most banks are accepted, the chances of acceptance are higher when using national banks instead of regional banks or credit unions. 

Originally, Swan Bitcoin was only available to US citizens, however, it has since expanded to the UK, France, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Australia, and other countries not on the OFAC list. However, citizens outside of the US need to use Swan Bitcoin International to register on the platform. Users can currently access Swan through its website, though apps are being built for Android and iOS. 

As of June 2022, the platform only offers Bitcoin as an investment option, which can only be purchased in USD. Margin and leverage trading are unavailable, and no plans exist to expand their offerings. Instead, Swan aims to develop its reputation as a Bitcoin specialist. 

Fees on the platform depend on the type of purchase and the amount of BTC in the transaction. Here’s how they work. 

Swan Bitcoin Fees

Swan moved from a complicated pricing structure to a straight-up 0.99% fee for Bitcoin buys. 

There are no storage, performance, or withdrawal fees, and the fees for recurring buys have been ranked the lowest in the US. Based on individual transactions, Swan’s trading fees are between 23-80% lower than alternative trading platforms. 

Swan Bitcoin: Pros and Cons

So, is Swan Bitcoin right for you? Let’s explore.

Swan Bitcoin Pros

Swan Bitcoin seems to be a great tool for the “set it and forget it” crowd, who just want to pick a dollar amount to purchase Bitcoin at a time period of their choice– for example, $100 for every bi-monthly paycheck.

A few other benefits we’ve identified include:

• It reduces emotional investing: With an automatic dollar-cost averaging (DCA) plan, investors can avoid emotional investing with Bitcoin fluctuations. Instead of attempting to buy the dip every time, there’s a drop, investments will be made automatically to build a user’s portfolio.
• Makes Bitcoin purchasing easy: Cryptocurrency can be a tad overwhelming for beginners. Decentralized exchanges, buying crypto with crypto, gas fees– a whole dictionary of slang is a lot to take in. The bitcoin buying process on Swan Bitcoin is pretty straightforward and makes it extremely easy to buy Bitcoin without ever needing to understand cryptocurrency. Simply create your account, connect your bank account, and everything is sorted for you. 
• Straightforward fees: It costs 0.99% to buy Bitcoin.
• Free withdrawals: The fact that Swan encourages you to withdraw your Bitcoin illuminates their business model– they just want to charge you fees for purchasing crypto. This is a breath of fresh air for companies that encouraged users to keep funds on their platform, while exploiting users’ crypto in various risky investing pursuits without disclosing it, like Celsius Network.

CoinCentral readers can get $10 of Bitcoin when signing up for Swan Bitcoin.

Swan Bitcoin Cons

The Swan Bitcoin cons are just about what you’d expect from the typical cryptocurrency-buying app, and nothing really stands out as too problematic.

• Limited payment methods: Payments can only be made using ACH transfers in the US and wire transfers for international traders.
• Limited text service: Swan Bitcoin notifies its users regarding transactions through texts; however, these services are unavailable to all users. Text services are not available for individuals in the following countries: Australia, Finland, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, China, Dubai, and Namibia. In addition to this, Swan has announced that its services will not be available in: North Korea, Cuba, Nigeria, and Iran.
• Fees: Yes, while Swan Bitcoin’s fees are low compared to Coinbase, there are cheaper (but more complex) options on the market.
• Custodial services: This has less to do with Swan, as it’s working with well-regarded custodial partners, but a trust void for third-party custody services after the debacles of 2022, has given us pause to question which custodial services are actually legit. 

Company Profile: Swan Bitcoin

Swan Bitcoin was created in 2019 by Cory Klippsten (CEO) and Yan Pritzker (CTO) and was officially launched to the public in March 2020. 

Cory has an MBA from the University of Chicago and had formerly worked at Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Google, and McKinsey & Co. before shifting to the venture capital sector. In this niche, he worked as an advisor for over a decade and continues to advise companies such as Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) while working as the CEO of Swan Bitcoin. 

Yan started his career in software development and startup co-founder roles, helping co-found Reverb, which was acquired in 2019 for $275 million. Yan also wrote Investing Bitcoin, one of the best-selling books on the Bitcoin protocol. 

Since launching Swan Bitcoin, Cory and Yan have hired several Bitcoin experts to expand their team and scale their services. These include:

• Andy Edstrom: Swan’s head of advisor services
• Stephan Livera: Swan’s head of international services. Stephan was an early Bitcoin adopter and is also a top cryptocurrency podcaster. 

The team has also emphasized social media through YouTube videos, Twitter spaces, and interviews with industry experts where they discuss the current crypto trends. 

Swan Bitcoin Customer Support

Overall, Swan Bitcoin’s customer support has received excellent feedback from users. Swan bitcoin reviews average 4.3/5 on Trustpilot, with 76% of all reviews being five stars. This is significantly better than alternative platforms such as Coinbase, which has an average rating of 1.6/5. 

It has been described as “all about customer service” in reviews, with the customer support team being “fast” and “responsive.” If a user has an issue, they can contact Swan Bitcoin via:

Online submission: https://help.swanbitcoin.com/hc/en-us/requests/new 

Phone: +1 (218) 379 7926. 

Phone lines are open Monday – Friday, 7 AM – 3 PM Pacific. 

The ticketing system for online submission aims to complete all issues within 24 hours. 

The team can also be contacted on social media through Twitter and Facebook.

Final Thoughts: Is Swan Bitcoin Legit? 

Swan Bitcoin is a promising new tool for people who want to buy Bitcoin, whether that be in individual self-directed orders or in automated buys. 

Perhaps Swan’s most significant stand-out feature is its free withdrawals and encouragement of users to self-custody their assets, making it possible for someone to create recurring BTC buys, which are automatically sent to their Ledger Nano S, Trezor, or software wallet. 

It also gives users the option to custody their assets with verified third-party custodians, which are audited by the Swan team. Fortress Trust and Bakkt also act as custodians of record.

CoinCentral readers can get $10 of Bitcoin when signing up for Swan Bitcoin.

The post Swan Bitcoin Review: Stacking Up Fees, DCA, and Best Features appeared first on CoinCentral.

The following Hodlnaut review examines its interest account product, security practices, usability, and community trust. 

Hodlnaut Review: Quick Summary

Hodlnaut was a Singapore-based company founded in 2019., available worldwide, excluding locations prohibited by Hodlnaut Policy or Sanction Laws.

Hodlnaut derived its name from the crypto slang HODL (Hold On for Dear Life), which is an enthusiastic expression that refers to keeping your digital assets rather than selling them, regardless of the volatility of the market. Ironically, Hodlnaut ended up HODLing their customers’ assets against their will. 

The latter part of the company name is in the motif of “astronaut.” The platform accumulated about $250M in assets under its management from over 5,000 users, according to its site.  Hodlnaut raised about $100,000 in funding from one pre-seed funding round with Antler, a Singaporean startup accelerator and venture capitalist firm.

There is no minimum balance to qualify for crypto interest. Hodlnaut offers: 

• 6.2% APY on BTC
• 6.7% APY on ETH
• 10.5% APY on stablecoins.

Hodlnaut’s Token Swap let users exchange tokens directly in the app e.g, BTC to ETH

Deposits are free, and users can withdraw anytime– prior to the freezing of all withdrawals. 

The Hodlnaut Team

Hodlnaut was founded by CEO Juntao Zhu and CTO Simon Lee. The duo previously founded Cypher Forge, a cryptocurrency trade execution platform. 

Zhu spent over three years as an analyst and developer with the Swiss wealth management firm Credit Suisse.

Lee spent over three years in engineering management roles. The two founders hold a combined nine years of experience in software development, finance, and engineering. 

Hodlnaut Review and Interest Rates: How Does Hodlnaut Compare?

Hodlnaut supported six cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, DAI, USDC, USDT, and WBTC, offering between 6.2% and 10.5% APY.

How Did Hodlnaut Make Money?

Like most other crypto interest accounts claimed to do, Hodlnaut used your assets as collateral to offer loans to corporate creditors, making profit the difference between the interest it pays users and what it charges to offer loans to its institutional borrowers. 

“We have incredibly stringent capital requirements in place of our counterparties,” commented Zhu, in 2021. “In any case, we’re very selective with whom we lend to. We only lend to corporate entities with good credit scores, and we will verify this with them during the onboarding process. The loan-to-value (LTV) Ratio of our loans is usually 70% or lower.”

The team noted the platform also made money by earning interest from lending its assets to decentralized protocols.

Behind the scenes, Hodlnaut had converted $317 million of user funds (nearly everything) into UST to earn a 20% APY on Anchor Protocol, a dApp on the Terra blockchain.

Hodlnaut took a critical hit when UST, the algorithmic stablecoin began to fail in maintaining its 1:1 peg in May 2022 and lost a majority of its value. It did not disclose to its users its involvement and allowed users to continue to deposit and withdraw as usual. On July 14th, the Singapore Police Force demanded the remainder of the assets be transferred to them, which also was not communicated to its users. 

On August 8th, 2022, Hodlnaut suddenly suspended all withdrawals citing “recent market conditions,” also revealing on a blog post it owed about $281 million and only had $88 million remaining.

Hodlnaut is currently in bankruptcy proceedings.

Hodlnaut’s Platform Security

The platform required users to set up 2FA before they can make a withdrawal, which helps keep accounts secure and prevent unauthorized withdrawals. Hodlnaut used industry-standard encryption and other safety regulations to ensure that assets and information on its platform are protected. 

Hodlnaut has never been hacked, and its losses were due primarily to poor decision-making and terrible risk management by its owners. 

Hodlnaut’s primary custodian was Fireblocks, a digital asset custody solution that employs various methods to ensure the safety of assets. Fireblocks holds assets in a mix of offline cold storage and insured hot wallets; all user deposits are never in the same place at once. 

Hodlnaut gave the option of purchasing insurance on your crypto via a partnership with European company Nexus Mutual, which paid out just about $1 million out of an estimated $193 million shortfall.  The Nexus blog post specifies, “members who protected their deposit with Custody Cover from Nexus Mutual received the first-ever on-chain payouts for a custodial loss event.”

The Hodlnaut insurance with Nexus stood at $22 million.

Hodlnaut outlined its procedures in the case of a borrower default.

Hodlnaut was certified by the Singapore Fintech Association, which is recognized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Hodlnaut Review Final Thoughts: How Did Hodlnaut Fail?

Hodlnaut offered a competitive product in an increasingly competitive industry, but rather than generating its rates from cryptocurrency lending, as it had specified, it plunged a majority of its customers’ funds into an algorithmically traded stablecoin. When Terra collapsed, so did any of Hodlnaut’s hopes of remaining solvent. 

The collapse of UST also triggered a domino effect, wiping out billions of dollars of value from the cryptocurrency industry.

Hodlnaut’s irresponsible risk management has left hundreds of millions of its customers’ money in bankruptcy court, and it’s a small excerpt of 2022 crypto interest account disasters.

The post Hodlnaut Review: Is Hodlnaut Legit and Worth Your Time? appeared first on CoinCentral.

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13th, 2022, and founder Alex Mashinsky was arrested in June 2023; the Department of Justice accused Mashinsky of “orchestrating a scheme to defraud customers of Celsius through a series of false claims about the fundamental safety and security of the Celsius platform.”

What Was Celsius Network?

Celsius was a cryptocurrency interest account and lending platform; storing cryptocurrency funds in Celsius would earn you interest every week.

On its “About Us” page, it billed itself as “a platform of curated services that have been abandoned by big banks – things like fair yield, zero fees, and lightning-quick transactions.” Essentially, a cryptocurrency retail bank that functions similarly to traditional banks:

1. You deposit cryptocurrency into the Celsius app.
2. The company then loans those funds out to retail and institutional borrowers.
3. Every Monday, you receive a payment from the revenue that Celsius gains from those loans and other activities. The Celsius team boasted a return of 80% of company revenue to users.

On the other side of lending, one could get a loan from Celsius by putting up cryptocurrency as collateral. Unlike most traditional loan services, Celsius loans didn’t require a credit check and typically granted approval in minutes.

Celsius had about 300,000 active users (over $100 in wallets) and more than 1.7 million registered users at its peak.

The rates Celsius offered were reasonable– between 3% to 6% for tokens such as BTC and ETH, and upwards of 18% for other specific tokens. The model certainly didn’t seem unsustainable– Celsius claimed to just make revenue on the spread between loans and interest paid. 

However, behind the scenes, Celsius was aggressively investing user deposits in a variety of higher-risk schemes. Far from just the institutional and retail lending it advertised, Celsius was also active in DeFi deployments (billions of capital in applications like Aave, Maker, Compound, and BadgerDAO), mining (purchasing expensive mining equipment and readying for an expansion of Bitcoin mining operations), and even various trading strategies. 

Celsius was a private, centralized company and the majority of its balance existed off-chain, with only Celsius’s internal team having the best shot of a clear view of its operations. The public at large could only piece together a kaleidoscope of Celsius’s health from Celsius company announcements, semi-public materials (released by Celsius), Alex Mashinsky AMAs, anecdotal reports, and rumors on Twitter/Telegram/Discord with dubious credibility. 

Prior to freezing all user withdrawals, Celsius was considered very trustworthy by its users– in days prior to the freeze, many users dismissed rumors (which turned out to be true) as the typical FUD that is pervasive in the crypto community. 

Celsius Network made believers out of an international community, seeing their cryptocurrency assets turned into what seemed like passive investment vehicles. 

Why Did Celsius Network Fail?

With billions of dollars in assets under management, it’s hard to imagine a company claiming to pursue conservative crypto lending strategies going under as quickly. 

The cracks at the seams began to show at various instances in Celsius’ brief history. 

In June 2021, Celsius partner and crypto custodian Prime Trust severed the relationship when Prime Trust’s risk team expressed apprehension over Celsius’s strategy of “endlessly re-hypothecating assets.” 

In other words, Celsius was lending the same assets over and over to different parties. In stable markets, this could lead to better yields. Any sharp market movements, such as those linked to the collapse of LUNA & UST, would have severely negative consequences.

Celsius was advertising itself as a safe and trustworthy company, but was juicing its growth with an incredibly leveraged business model. With over 1.7 million customers around the world, Celsius was one of the largest entities in the cryptocurrency lending space. 

The series of events that finally broke Celsius were as follows: the downfall of UST in May 2022 spiked the market downward, and thousands of customers rushed to pull their funds out of Celsius amid rumors that the company was severely impacted by the UST de-pegging and collapse. 

The company and the very public-facing CEO Alex Mashinsky would shoot down any and all news of the company losing user funds, dismissing claims as rumors by “vocal actors” and malicious third parties spreading misinformation. 

Just days before halting withdrawals, Mashinsky claimed, on one of his weekly “Ask Mashinsky Anything” sessions, “Celsius has billions in liquidity, right, and we provide immediate access to everybody.”

He made similar statements in interviews with CoinCentral, as well. 

Three days later, Celsius paused all customer withdrawals to “stabilize liquidity and operations” due to “extreme market conditions.”

The market continued to drop in double digits, and Celsius’s token fell by a third to $0.21; it had traded for nearly $7 a year before. The news of Celsius stopping withdrawals even caused a 10% drop in the share price of Celsius Holdings, an unrelated energy drink company. 

Celsius found itself harboring secrets of catastrophic losses and illiquid positions, such as having over 460,000 ETH locked in staking contracts. 

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13,  2022and filed a declaration the following day reporting a $1.2 billion hole in the company’s balance sheet. Celsius had about 32% of the $5.5 billion of total crypto deposits left on the platform.

Celsius owed $4.7 billion of the $5.5 billion in total liabilities to its users, who stood as unsecured creditors. Through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy choice, repayments would be prioritized to secured creditors first, then unsecured creditors, and then equity holders– essentially leave hundreds of thousands of users with their assets locked on the platform. 

Mashinsky would now claim that the company had “made what, in hindsight, proved to be certain poor asset deployment decisions” 

The $167 million cash Celsius had left on hand would go to support its operations during bankruptcy. 

Congratulations to Celsius lawyers and advisors who are on track to have now passed $140M in fees, at the expense of victims left behind by @Mashinsky‘s despicable $3B fraud. ???? pic.twitter.com/PwYJ8JLwKO

— Cam Crews (@camcrews) March 20, 2023

As of writing, Celsius has paid its lawyers and bankers over $175 million in fees, eating into the amount owed to creditors.

The Arrest of Alex Mashinsky

Mashinsky resigned as Celsius CEO on September 27, 2022. He was arrested and charged with seven counts of fraud by the US Department of Justice in July 2023. If found guilty on all counts, he could face up to 115 years in prison.

 He was released from custody on a $40 million bond, pleading not guilty.  

Was Celsius a Ponzi Scheme?

Celsius failed to properly disclose its business model and risks to its users, leaving many of its users’ livelihoods clinging in the throes of bankruptcy courts. Celsius has certainly been accused of being a Ponzi scheme, and some of its dealings with the CEL token are reminiscent of a Ponzi, but that doesn’t seem to be the full story. 

Despite its embellishment of risk and outright lying to the public, the irresponsibly leveraged business model of seemingly endless rehypothecation, and illiquid positions, Celsius’s failings point to the inherent risks of the grey territory in which centralized companies in cryptocurrency operate. 

Other crypto lenders such as BlockFi, Voyager Digital, Hodlnaut, and Genesis Global Capital were all caught in the shockwaves of the Terra Luna collapse, Three Arrows Capital losses, and the FTX fiasco. 

The majority of collapses in 2022 were the result of incestuous relationships between highly leveraged centralized companies in an extremely volatile market. 

Final Thoughts: What’s Next for Celsius Network and What Can We Learn?

It’s important to differentiate between true DeFi and centralized actors operating in DeFi– even Celsius, amid shuttering all withdrawals in preparation for bankruptcy, had to pay back over $500 million to its three largest DeFi lenders (Compound, Aave, and Maker) or automatically risk losing over $1 billion in collateral.

The problem is that centralized companies such as Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, and Hodlnaut could completely obfuscate what they were doing with user deposits off-chain. All users, who implicitly believed their assets were undeniably still their property once on the platform, were soon shown the opposite.

The once-active Celsius Reddit community momentarily turned into a support group, with many users claiming to have lost anywhere from a few paychecks to a few years of income to their life savings on the platform. The Reddit page is now mostly spam. 

Other communities, such as the Celsius Retail Clawback Protection group on Telegram, have emerged to voice user rights and share information in the nightmarish lengthy bankruptcy process. 

As of writing, Celsius users have voted on a post-bankruptcy plan presented by the Celsius legal team, where they will receive some percentage of their crypto and some percentage in equity for a new company, Fahrenheit, which won the bid to acquire Celsius’s assets.

Further Reading: 

• Arkham Intelligence’s report on the Celsius Network downfall for a more comprehensive picture.

The post What is Celsius Network | Exploring Crypto Lender’s Collapse appeared first on CoinCentral.

In June 2022, Celsius Network froze all customer withdrawals and transfers, and declared bankruptcy a month later. In November 2022 BlockFi  blocked all customers from withdrawing their assets due to its complex financial relationship with FTX and FTX affiliate hedge fund Alameda Research November 2022.

Both BlockFi and Celsius failed for different reasons, preventing depositors from withdrawing their funds and dragging them through lengthy bankruptcy proceedings.

The following comparison piece explores BlockFi versus Celsius as they functioned prior to shutting down in 2022.

Celsius. was a  NYC-based company regarded as a cryptocurrency lending and borrowing pioneer. It has raised $93.8M in venture capital, private equity, and an ICO for its native token CEL. Celsius claims it’s “nothing like BlockFi” in a now-deleted blog article.

BlockFi,  a New Jersey-based company raised $508.7M in venture capital from over 30 investors. 

Both BlockFi and Celsius were centralized companies that use decentralized assets, hence being Centralized Finance “CeFi,” rather than Decentralized Finance “DeFi.” Both companies took custody of user’s cryptocurrency. 

So, how did BlockFi and Celsius stack up?

Let’s explore. 

You can read a full breakdown of each individual platform on our BlockFi review, Celsius review, & interviews (2018 and 2020)  with Celsius CEO, Alex Mashinsky, and an overview of the cryptocurrency interest account industry.  

Feature #1: Interest Rates– BlockFi vs. Celsius APY

BlockFi offered 5% on the first 0.5 bitcoin, 2% between 0.5 and 20 BTC, and then 0.5% on any amount over that. 

Celsius offered 6.2% for the first 2 BTC, and then 3.51%. 

BlockFi offered 4.5% on 15 Ethereum, 2% between 15 and 1000 ETH, and then 0.5% on any amount over that. 

Celsius offered 5.5% for any amount of Ethereum.

Stablecoins:

BlockFi offered a flat 8.6% on popular stablecoins like USDC and GUSD, and 9.3% on USDT.

Celsius offered a flat 8.88% on all stablecoins.

How Did BlockFi and Celsius Make Money?

Neither platform disclosed a full transparent breakdown of its lending strategies, with their logic being to avoid the omnipresent threat of competitors leeching off their strategies. 

On one hand, Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky would regularly make claims that Celsius is extremely safe and conservative with customer funds, and all of which was found to be false. In a lawsuit against Mashinsky, the New York attorney general claimed Mashinsky defrauded billions of dollars from investors by concealing the true poor health of the company. Mashinsky was arrested in July 2023.

Comically, in a 2019 Celsius blog post,  Mashinsky warned BlockFi customers that BlockFi may use venture capital funds to sustain its interest rates; if the VC money dried up, so would the potential interest rates.

Celsius claimed to lend to cryptocurrency exchanges and hedge funds looking to borrow funds, and it distributes 80% of profits directly to holders of its native token, CEL. 

 Alternatively, BlockFi’s collapse was less due to the same intentional deceipt as Celsius, but rather a complex relationship with FTX and Alameda Research. BlockFi had also ceased all BlockFi Interest Account offers in February 2022, about 9 months before declaring bankruptcy in November 2022. 

Feature #2: Payouts and Withdrawals

BlockFi paid out monthly, while Celsius paid out weekly. 

BlockFi allowed for one free cryptocurrency withdrawal per month, Celsius allowed for unlimited free cryptocurrency withdrawals– that is until they suddenly prevented all of their users from withdrawing their money.

Feature #3: Security– Is BlockFi or Celsius Network Safer?

Technically speaking, both BlockFi and Celsius were structurally safe on paper. Celsius used BitGo’s multi-signature wallets to secure user funds. BitGo has a $100M insurance policy spread over all its clients. BlockFi used Gemini and BitGo as its primary custodians. Both Gemini and BitGo have private insurance on their deposits. 

However, none of this really helped any users retrieve their funds.

Further, neither BlockFi nor Celsius were covered by FDIC insurance. 

Feature #4: Standout Features

Celsius was mobile-only, and BlockFi had both a mobile and web app.

Celsius’s native token CEL rewarded CEL holders with a proportional share of 80% of their profits. International users can also gain an APY boost of around 2%, but this option wasn’t available for U.S. users, who must “Earn in Kind.” 

BlockFi was slowly growing its ecosystem beyond just cryptocurrency lending and borrowing. Its most notable standout feature was its BlockFi Credit Card, which got users 1.5% back in bitcoin on all purchases. 

The Court of Public Opinion: BlockFi vs. Celsius Reddit

Oof, yeah, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with kind words to say about Celsius or its Founder. BlockFi is less-so held in contempt, but both companies are generally viewed as stains on the cryptocurrency industry.

However, during operation, both BlockFi and Celsius had ardent supporter bases, and their comparisons were largely civil. 

One popular Blockfi vs. Celsius Reddit thread on r/BlockFi captured the discourse well: many users leaned towards Celsius for its higher interest rates, others prefered BlockFi’s more conservative lending and investment approaches. A

Final Thoughts: BlockFi vs. Celsius

Editor’s note: In June 2022 Celsius Network froze all customer withdrawals and transfers, and declared bankruptcy a month later. We will update this guide as the dust settles. By November 2022, BlockFi had no choice but to block all customers from withdrawing their assets due to its complex financial relationship with FTX and FTX affiliate hedge fund Alameda Research.

The post BlockFi vs. Celsius Network: Reviewing Two Bankrupt Crypto Interest Accounts appeared first on CoinCentral.