I’m fairly skeptical about cryptocurrencies, but as the market continues to grow (Bitcoin total market cap is approaching $1 trillion) I feel that I need to have some exposure and a better understanding of the potential and pitfalls.
I’ve listened to a few episodes of Animal Spirits with the head of BlockFi and found the premise of the platform interesting. [Here’s one of the episodes from 2020.] So I decided to dip my toe in the cryptoverse with some small weekly investments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and DAI on BlockFi.
You purchase cryptocurrencies on the platform, and then earn a yield / interest rate on the holdings. The rates vary but currently range from 3.25% for Pax Gold to 9% for DAI. (I don’t even know what those coins are.) Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency and earns 4.5%. So by putting money in BlockFi you have exposure to the ups and downs of the value of the crypto you own, and also earn interest on the holdings. Additionally, they have a credit card with Bitcoin rewards which looks really cool but I probably won’t generally use since the reward rate is 1.5% – not bad but I mostly use my Capital One Spark cards at 2% cash back.
There’s a referral bonus of $10 if you’re interested in trying out the platform.
We’ll see how investing in crypto works out over the next few years.
