Whether the market is skyrocketing up or crashing down, any crypto trader must ask themselves a question. “To HODL or not to HODL?” is the question, and it plagues us all. For this very reason, crypto-backed loan applications are taking off. They provide the best of both worlds: letting traders HODL their coins and receive cash when they need it. There are already a few promising players in this young game. So, let us take a little look and see which one is best for you.
CRYPTO-BACKED LOAN APPLICATIONS: NEXO
There is always that one guy who has to claim “the world’s first” title. And, in this industry, that guy is Nexo. The self-proclaimed “world’s first instant crypto-backed loan” provider uses Onfido for its regulatory compliance. Onfido has a great reputation, as it seems Coinbase and a couple other big names in the industry trust Onfido, too. Furthermore, the platform already has over $1 billion in instant crypto-backed loan requests. There is a downside to all of this, though. Nexo is well-known for its hidden fees, limited number of crypto-backed options, and overall jarring limitations.
CRYPTO-BACKED LOAN APPLICATIONS: SALT
Depending on who you ask, SALT Lending is the most widely used crypto-backed loan application on the market. Indeed, it has over $50 million in loans and over 30 jurisdictions around the world. It also has a whopping 64,000+ platform users. Despite its popularity, though, SALT is lacking in the number of cryptocurrencies that one can use as collateral. And, compared to the competition, the loan-to-value ratio is pretty low (60%). Speaking of competition, there is still one more application that you will want to check out.
CRYPTO-BACKED LOAN APPLICATIONS: YOUHODLER
Relatively new to the game, there is YouHodler (formerly YouToken Loan). The crypto-backed loan application is reputable for several reasons. For one, YouHodler has its banks located in the fertile and crypto friendly grounds of Switzerland. On top of that, YouHodler is an approved member of the Financial Commission’s Blockchain Association. Hence, the company benefits from the Commission’s fast dispute resolution process and advanced compliance tech.
Above all, YouHodler has one of the highest loan-value ratios out there (80%), for up to $10,000 in fiat/cash. Larger loans are also on offer for certain borrowers. Perhaps the best parts of the application have to do with the options. Users can choose to use BTC, ETC, LTC, BCH, and XRP as collateral; and, there will be more in the following months. To make the user experience more convenient, the platform accepts all the major cards, such as Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and American Express. It also has an edge on the competition, because it accepts all major types of web payments.
For those who are worried about transparency, there are no hidden fees, credit checks, or sneaky schemes. Just a clean, simple, and easy-to-use interface. Perhaps the only downside to YouHodler is that it does NOT serve citizens of the U.S., China, or Korea. But, with the ever-changing landscape of crypto, who knows what will happen in the future.
