If you are looking to borrow or lend BTC, here are some of the best Bitcoin lending sites and P2P platforms that you can use for this particular financial service.
What Is Bitcoin Lending?
Bitcoin lending is similar to your regular bank loan, the difference being that you do not need to involve banks and government regulations, and the loan consists of Bitcoins.
This system provides creditors with profitable interest rates and borrowers with cheap loans. The deals are usually settled on peer-to-peer platforms which leverage Bitcoin technology to make everything fast and with low fees.
Bitcoin loans are like your standard term loan: the borrowed has to be paid back the money plus interest and fees over a pre-set period of time. These fees can be paid in fixed installments or all at once, depending on the chosen preferences. But since Bitcoin is decentralized and works without third-party management, your loan would be processed by other crypto holders.
On P2P lending platforms, crypto owners are connected with potential borrowers, and the platform usually requires a fee for this service. To be able to borrow, you first need to set up an account and have it verified.
These platforms give you a trust score which is based on how much they’re able to verify about your identity and financial history. To receive a high trust score, you might need to submit more documentation.
Bitbond
Bitbond is a P2P lending platform that was launched by Radoslav Albrecht in 2013, with its headquarters in Germany. This makes Bitbond one of the oldest Bitcoin P2P platforms and one of the best Bitcoin lending sites in the industry. The platform operates in over 120 countries, and more than 90,000 users have registered on the platform.
By using the Bitcoin blockchain to process transactions, borrowers are matched with individual or institutional investors. In order to receive a loan, you just have to create an account and get verified. After submitting the basic identification details and going through a financial assessment, you will be given a rating. Higher ratings mean higher chances of having your loan approved.
Bitbond obtained its license from the German financial regulator (BaFin) in October 2016, making one of the few fully regulated Bitcoin P2P lending sites in the industry. The site has also received positive views from its clients.
Celsius Network
Celsius Network is a multi-crypto blockchain platform that provides services for borrowing and lending. Lenders that want to make profits out of their digital assets can deposit them in the Celsius Network mobile wallet and earn up to 10.13% APR, or they can use their coins as collateral to receive their loan in USD or stablecoin at rates as low as 4.95%.
Celsius Network currently allows users to generate interest for 17 different cryptocurrencies and accepts collateral for crypto-backed loans in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Ethereum, and Ripple.
CEL is the native utility token of Celsius, serving as a membership token as well as offering certain advantages to holders (such as higher rates for interest revenue and lower rates for loans).
Biterest
Biterest is a crypto and Bitcoin P2P lending site that offers fiat money loans by using the Bitcoin blockchain. The demo version of the project was launched in September 2017.
Users are able to set their loan conditions, such as the amount, the rate, the time, and the payment method through which you receive your interest income.
To receive the loan, you transfer the quantity of collateral to the Bitcoin transit address, the lender approves your application, and then you receive the money. Until the loan is repaid, your BTC cannot be accessed by anyone.
You can also receive loans in the following cryptos: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ripple. The supported payment methods include PayPal, WebMoney, QIWI Wallet, and Yandex.Money.
BTCPOP
BTCPOP is a UK-based company that is recognized as one of the best Bitcoin lending sites providers. There are no credit scores, and the users’ crypto is kept in the cold wallets.
You receive 5% just by depositing Bitcoins into your BTCPOP account, while multiple loans get an interest rate of 15%.
BTCPOP also issues individual loans ranging from 0.01 BTC to 500 BTC, where you can set customized monthly interest limits and repayments. The downside is that the platform does not support the fiat currency exchange.
Nexo
Founded in 2017, Nexo was featured in Forbes and is backed by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. With such credentials, the platform quickly established a reputation in short. The Bitcoin P2P lending platform has almost 200,000 customers and back payments in 45 fiat currencies. This places it among the best Bitcoin lending sites in the industry.
Through its partnership with BitGo and Lloyd’s of London, Nexo also offers insurance for user funds in case there is a company breach.
Nexo also has a credit line that is provided when you deposit collateral on the its platform, and you are charged interest only on the credit you used.
There aren’t any credit checks for loan approval, and borrowers can get quickly a Bitcoin loan through its automated approval process.
You can also earn interest on stablecoins, with up to 8% interest per year with no minimum investment amount or withdrawal limits. The same services are to be implemented for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) later on.
Borrowers can execute withdrawals in 45+ fiat currencies, while lenders can only deposit stablecoins and fiat.
BlockFi
Founded by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez, the BlockFi is a Bitcoin P2P lending platform, that was launched in 2017, in New York, and quickly made a reputation in the Bitcoin loan industry due to its services and support from Anthony Pompliano.
BlockFi provides USD loans with collateral that can be provided in one of the three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or Litecoin (LTC). The crypto assets are stored using Gemini’s wallets, which is a trusted and licensed custodian with insurance.
BlockFi implements an automated approval system, in which loans can be approved almost instantly; still, most loans require manual approval by the BlockFi live chat or email support team.
CoinLoan
Estonian-based CoinLoan was among the first Bitcoin P2P lending programs. The crypto provider also offers loans in a wide diversity of different fiat currencies.
The section that borrowers can access includes USD, EUR, GBP, and RUB, with the option of receiving a cryptocurrency loan in a number of stablecoins.
Lenders can opt for collateral in three cryptos: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC).
Users can also opt for the “CoinLoan token (CLT),” the platform’s native coin, as collateral, though you will not receive more than 20% LTV.
Loan interest rates can vary between 7-15% APR, but most loans CoinLoan receive 60% of the collateral value, which is one of the highest rates on the market. Due to its loan services and rates, Coinloan is one of the best Bitcoin lending sites for crypto users.
Conclusion
This has been our list with some of the best Bitcoin lending sites and P2P platforms that are currently available on the market. Before signing up on any of these platforms, please do your diligence and research the terms, rates, and penalties of each site.
Featured image: disruptordaily.com
Note: This post was originally published on 10 January 2019 and has been totally updated for the completeness and veracity of the content on 6 January 2020.
The post appeared first on Coindoo
