Nexo vs BlockFi

Today we compare the cryptocurrency lending platforms Nexo and BlockFi.

If you are looking for a crypto-backed loan or a way to make passive income generated by earning interest on your crypto assets, Nexo and BlockFi are worth checking out. Both Crypto Platforms are very well-known and established brands in the crypto space and have been active since 2017.

My name is Leo; I am an entrepreneur, a builder and had my first contact with Bitcoin in 2013. Since 2017 I have been following the crypto space close, and for about a year, I am working full-time in the Crypto space. I have been using different central and decentralized exchanges and other platforms, but today we entirely focus on Nexo and BlockFi.

In this review, we are going to have a look at

• the companies behind
• features like lending, interest-earning, and other features
• The Nexo Token
• Ease of use of the platform
• Available Products
• Interest Rates & Fees
• Trust & Security
• where the service is available and
• the customer support

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That is enough for the warm-up; let's dive into the review.

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At a Glance - Nexo vs BlockFi Comparison

What is Nexo?

Nexo started with their headquarters in Zug, Switzerland but moved to London. The company was founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of Credissimo. Credissimo has been in the online lending space since 2007. The interest accounts have been available since 2018.

Nexo was founded by Antoni Trenchev and Kosta Kantchev and raised $52.5 million in funding. According to Linkedin, most of the employees live in the European Union in Bulgaria. 293 of their employees are on LinkedIn. 

Nexo is fully regulated, licensed, and audited by the best security companies. 

Nexo counts 4+ million users worldwide, 33 supported currencies, 200+ available jurisdictions. Over $6 Billion in credit were issued till today. 

Nexo has strategic partnerships with bakkt, BitGo, Ledger, Paxos, Blockchain.com, Circle, Fireblocks, BCB Group, Terra, brink, nomics, Securitize, Brave and jumio. 

What is BlockFi?

BlockFi has its headquarters in New Jersey, was also founded in 2017. 

Zac Prince is the founder and CEO of BlockFi. The second founder is Flori Marquez

The most significant part of the 796 employees on LinkedIn is based in the United States. 

BlockFi has solid institutional backing from venture capital firms, including Galaxy Digital and Coinbase.

Nexo vs BlockFi Features comparison

Interest-Earning

BlockFi and Nexo are known for their high-yield interest accounts; let's look at them to see where you get your best return on investment. 

BlockFi Interest-Earning

BlockFi is paying out every month, and the interest compounds monthly. The interest accounts are not available in the U.S. at the moment. BlockFi also has a tier layered interest rate. For example for if you are holding 10 ETH you earn 5% for the first 1.5 ETH, 1.5% for 1.5 to 5ETH and 0.25% for the > 5ETH. You can check out the detailed rates here.

Digital Assets like Solana (5%), Cardano (5,5%), Polkadot (9,5%), Avalance (10%), Matic (11%) have no limit at the moment. 

Nexo Interest-Earning

Nexo has 33 digital assets in the Portfolio where you can earn interest. The rates are going from 3% ARP to 17% for UST. You receive two percent more if you decide to receive your payout in NEXO coins. Nexo coin is the native Token of Nexo. There is a promotion for Axis Infinity which is giving a rate from up to 36% ARP. The payouts are daily, and the interest rate is compound. 

Nexo has four loyalty tiers available; which tier you are in depends on how many NEXO Token you are holding. 

To summarize, the interest rate is determined by loyalty tier if you pay out interest in the native NEXO Token or not, and the type of your saving term. If you choose one monthly fixed rate, you will earn one extra percent. 

Overall, Nexo outperforms BlockFi with a few exceptions. Nexo has a broader range of options while BlockFi supports Fiat Currency. Crypto Lending / Loans

BlockFi Loans

BlockFi allows you to borrow up to 50% of the value of your crypto. You have to pay a two percent origination fee if you take a loan. 

Nexo Loans

Get cash or stablecoins for your cryptos as collateral. The leading rates start from 0% and go up to 13.9%. Nexo never checks your credit score, and in most cases, the loan is approved in under 24 hours. 

You can choose out of 40 Fiat currencies what you want to borrow instantly using USDT or USDC. 
You can also choose when you want to pay back the loan. There is no fixed payment schedule, and you can pay back at once or partially. 

The processing time is usually one business day for local transfers and 3 to 5 business days for international transfers. 

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💡 LTV or loan-to-value is the ratio between the amount of crypto collateral and the amount of the crypto credit you are taking out.

Example:

Crypto credit amount: $1,000

Value of collateral: $2,000

LTV (%) = ($1,000/$2,000)*100% = 50.0%

Also, Nexo is the winner for me since, with BlockFi, you have the 2% origination fee. Nexo offers a way more comprehensive range of FIAT currencies to borrow and a much larger amount of crypto assets to borrow against. 

Crypto Currency Exchange

BlockFi Cryptocurrency Exchange

BlockFi offers more than 15 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins for trading with their platform. There are no fees when you are trading on the BlockFi Exchange, but you have to consider a spread of around 1%. 

Nexo Cryptocurrency Exchange

You can swap between more than 300 cryptocurrency pairs on the Nexo exchange. Depending on your loyalty tier, you can earn up to 0.5% cashback. The rate is fixed when you place the order. Nexo is taking care of that. You are also able to buy with your debit or credit card directly. 

Another cool feature is that your assets are always put into your saving wallet, which means you are also earning yield. As long you hold at least 1% of NEXO coins in your Portfolio, you are getting 0.5% cashback on each trade. Do not forget that there is a spread when you trade. 

Nexo does not offer an advanced trading interface, but swapping your coins is easy. You need to select your crypto assets, set the amount you want to exchange, and confirm the transaction. 

Cards

BlockFi Debit Card

The BlockFi Card is a Visa card that comes with 1,5% cashback. The BlockFi card supports Apple and Google Play. 
At the moment, the BlockFI card is for U.S. residents only. New York is excluded at the moment. Businesses can not get the BlockFi Card at the moment. 

Nexo Debit Card

With the Nexo Mastercard, you can pay at over 40 million merchants worldwide and receive up to 2% cashback. You can choose if you want to get your rewards paid in NEXO or BTC. There are no monthly or annual fees, and you can pay in the local currency. 
Depending on your Nexo Tier, you can withdraw up to $20.000 per month. 
The Nexo Card supports Apple and Google Pay, and you can create virtual cards for free to have a safe online shopping experience. 

NEXO Token (25 March 2022)

Total supply: 1.000.000.000
Circulating supply: 560.000.000 (56 %)
24h volume: $9.200.000
Marketcap:  $1.260.700.000
Price:  $2.251

There are many benefits that you get if you hold NEXO Native Token. Check out the Nexo Loyalty Program section for details. 

You can buy NEXO on FTX, Huobi, Bitfinex, Uniswap, HitBTC, Quickswap, and Balancer. 

Nexo vs BlockFi: Ease of use

Both companies try to make it as easy as possible for their customers to use the platform. The account creation is easy, the FAQs and help database are great. 

Signup Process

Both are very similar, and the account is easy to create. The Nexo KYC is usually completed within minutes. BlockFi is very similar in that sense. 

Loan Applications

The BlockFi loan decision can take up to 24 h, while on Nexo, you get the money that you want to borrow almost instantly. After you deposit your cryptos, the approval process is almost automated. 

Mobile Applications

Nexo and BlockFi both have greatly rated mobile applications for Android and iOS, making it easier to use their services. 

Nexo vs BlockFi: Available Cryptocurrencies

Nexo supports 38 different cryptocurrency assets and consequently a greater variety of cryptocurrencies. 

The full list of Nexo and BlockFI available coin

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Nexo also supports Interest accounts for Fiat currencies. 

For us, Nexo is the clear winner looking at the offered coins.

Nexo vs BlockFi: Interest Rates, Limits & Fees 

Both interest product providers offer competitive interest rates for their respective supported assets. The winner of this category depends entirely on the type of asset the user is seeking to earn interest on. Keep in mind the rates of the Crypto Lending Platforms are also changing. 
At BlockFi, the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) rates go notably down if you deposit Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other big names, to your interest account. For example, if you deposit one Bitcoin to your interest account, you get 4,5% on the first 0,1 BTC, 1% on 0,1 to 0,35 BTC and 0,1% for amounts bigger than 0,35 BTC.
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With Nexo, you get some free withdrawals per month, depending on your loyalty level. For Base, you have one free withdrawal per month, for Silver, you get two. For Gold, you get three, and for Platinum, you get five. BlockFi offers one monthly free withdrawal for BTC, LTC, and stable coins. 
Here is an overview of the interest you can earn. Be aware that this information will change over time. Better double-check. 

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Nexo vs BlockFi: Trust and Security

Cryptocurrency is not secured by federal institutions like the FDIC or SIPC.   

BlockFi Security

Gemini is the custodian of BlockFi and is licensed to operate in the U.S. Gemini is SOC 2 Type 1 security compliant.
As a standard security feature, they have Two-Factor authentication (2FA) for their account holders. Personally identifiable information (PII) adds another layer of security and makes sure that you are using your account yourself. 
They also have a feature called Address Allowlisting, which lets you choose to which wallet you are allowed to transfer cryptocurrencies. 
Most user assets are kept offline in cold storage, not to make them accessible via remote attacks. 
Cryptocurrency assets are insured against theft if the theft was not the user's fault. 

Hacks and Data breaches

There was a data breach in May 2020, no funds were lost, or client data were stolen. The incident was possible through a SIM swap attack on one BlockFi employee. A couple of days ago, in March 2022, BlockFi was affected by a hack of HubSpot. "Only" Userdata, but no Passwords or similar were affected by the hack. 

Nexo Security

Nexo accounts are 256-bit encrypted, and assets are stored in Class 3 vaults through leading blockchain custodians. BitGo and Ledger Vault are some of those big names. 
Nexo's digital assets are insured for up to $375 million. The insurance policy is protected in the event of third-party hacks, theft, or loss of private keys. The insurance partners are Lloyd'sLloyd's of London and Marsh & Arch.
Nexo is also ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified. This security infrastructure is a very high standard and ensures the safety of the enterprise by minimizing risks for clients and investors. 

Nexo vs BlockFi: Where are they available

BlockFi Availability

Starting from 14 Feb 2022 the BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIA) is no longer available for new clients who are U.S. citizens or located in the U.S. Existing clients can not transfer new assets to the BIA. 
BlockFI loans are available in 47 states in the U.S. (excluding N.Y.) and worldwide to any country that is not sanctioned by the U.S., the U.K., or E.U. 

Nexo Availability

Nexo is available worldwide, just not in the following countries. 

Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Burma (Myanmar), Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Estonia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Zimbabwe

Nexo vs BlockFi: Customer Service

BlockFi Customer Service

BlockFi offers phone support which is relatively uncommon in this space. You can reach the support from Monday - Friday from 9:30 AM - 8 PM ET. The number is 646-779-9688. 

There is also a help section for common questions and a Live Chat functionality. The chat functionality tries to help you via chatbot on many websites until you reach a real person. 

Nexo Customer Service

At the Nexo support website or app, you can submit a request. They also offer an extensive online Help Center to help you with your issue and answer common questions. 

There is also a Livechat available, or you can write an email to support@nexo.io

Both sites have good reviews on Trustpilot for their customer support. Nexo is also in that category slightly better. If you want to talk to a real person on the phone, BlockFI is the best choice. 

The Verdict

BlockFi and Nexo are two of the most trusted and known crypto lending platforms, offering crypto-backed loans with very flexible lock-in periods. On top of that, you have very attractive Interest Account options.  

It comes down to details when you need to decide which one is better for you. For us, Nexo made an overall better impression, but for your personal needs, BlockFi might be a better option. Both are great options. 

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Resources

Signup Nexo

Signup BlockFi

Nexo Real-time attest

Disclaimer

This website includes information about cryptocurrencies and other financial instruments. All these areas are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money. We are NOT giving financial or investment advice; this page is for educational and informational purposes only. Please be careful and make sure that you understand how these instruments work. Also, think about whether you can afford to take the risk of losing your money.

Weirdo.Rocks encourage you to do your own research before making any investment decision.

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