Hodlnaut Review
Hodlnaut lets you earn compound interest on your crypto, but is it safe and legit? Read on to find out.
Overall Score | 3.5 | ||
Cryptocurrency Trading | 3.5 | ||
Interest Accounts | 4.5 | ||
Crypto Loans | 1.0 | ||
Mobile App | 4.0 | ||
Commissions and Fees | 5.0 | ||
Ease of Use | 5.0 | ||
Research | 1.0 | ||
Safety | 4.0 | ||
Pros and Cons
- Fairly Generous Interest Rates
- Fee-Free Coin Conversions
- Security-Minded Platform
- Crypto-Loans Unavailable to Individuals
- Limited Number of Coins
Bottom Line
Cryptocurrency lending platform with fairly good rates for a limited number of coins
Once you buy cryptocurrency, what exactly can you do with it?
With Hodlnaut, you can earn nearly 13% interest on your crypto holdings. But is it a trustworthy platform?
And where do they store your assets?
In this review, learn about the features, fees, and security of Hodlnaut. Plus, find out how it compares to popular competitors Celsius and BlockFi.
What is Hodlnaut?
Founded in 2019 by Juntao Zhu and Simon Lee, Hodlnaut is a Singapore-based crypto lending platform. They reached 5,000 users in May of 2021, with $500 million assets under management.
On Hodlnaut, users can earn up to 12.73% interest on their cryptocurrency (at time of writing), paid weekly, on their 6 supported assets including popular coins Bitcoin and Tether.
They also offer fixed-term, crypto-backed loans for users with over 100 BTC to deposit, and a token-swap service.
Hodlnaut is currently accessible through their desktop site, though they have an iOS app in the works. Other upcoming features include integration with iTrust.Insure, portfolio management, and auto- or scheduled swaps.
What Cryptocurrencies Do They Support?
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At time of writing, Hodlnaut has a fairly limited range of cryptocurrencies. They support the following 6 popular cryptocurrencies and stablecoins:
- Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dai, Wrapped Bitcoin, USD Coin, Tether
Where Are They Available?
Hodlnaut is available in countries all over the world, but in compliance with sanctions, is not available in the following countries:
- Iran, North Korea, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Cuba, or any other country specified by the Sanction Authority
Hodlnaut Features
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Hodlnaut has a variety of useful features for crypto traders and "hodlers" to take advantage of. Let's look at them in detail, below.
1. Interest-Earning Accounts
As a crypto borrowing and lending platform, Hodlnaut's main feature is its interest accounts.
These accounts work similarly to high-yield savings accounts offered by traditional banks. But because the risk is higher with crypto, the interest rates are proportionally higher as well.
Like similar platforms, Hodlnaut usually offers higher rates for stablecoins than they do for other cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins are coins whose value is pegged, at least in theory, to the value of a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar.
Interest rates vary by coin and by volume of deposits. Each coin has a range of potential rates, with higher rates offered for smaller deposits, and decreasing the more you invest. You'll still keep the higher rates on your original investments, but only up to the threshold of the next rate.
Here are Hodlnaut's highest and lowest rates per coin at time of writing.
Cryptocurrency | Highest Potential Rate (APY) | Lowest Potential Rate (APY) |
---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 7.46% | 1.00% |
Wrapped Bitcoin | 7.46% | 1.00% |
Ethereum | 7.46% | 2.02% |
Dai | 8.32% | 2.02% |
USD Coin | 12.73% | 2.84% |
Tether | 12.73% | 3.04% |
These rates may change due to market conditions, but you should always be able to find up-to-date rates here.
Hodlnaut presents rates both in APR and APY. APR is the interest rate without taking into account compound interest, while APY is the effective rate when you include compounding over the course of a single year.
Yes, there is always risk involved with lending out your crypto. Hodlnaut interest accounts work by lending out user funds at higher rates than the accounts themselves pay. Although Hodlnaut takes care to minimize counterparty risk by maintaining LTVs of 70% or lower, the possibility of default on loans exists. As a general rule, never invest money you cannot afford to lose.
If you're worried about losing your funds, remember that you can deposit and withdraw at any time, and there are no lock-in periods or minimum deposits.
2. Crypto-backed Loans
Crypto-backed loans are Hodlnaut's other main offering for those with crypto holdings. However, Hodlnaut currently only offers these loans to corporations and institutions, not to individuals.
Here's how they work:
Because of the way crypto is regulated, selling it is considered a taxable event, and you'll need to pay capital gains taxes on any profits you've made.
Crypto-backed loans are a way to avoid this if you are only interested in taking money from the account temporarily.
Every crypto investor is well aware of the volatility of the market—its tendency to experience dramatic shifts in very short periods of time.
By taking a loan against the value of your crypto rather than selling it, you can avoid paying taxes on your gains. Not to mention, you won't have to worry about missing out on potential growth while you're not holding it.
3. Token Swaps
Hodlnaut's token swaps are a convenient feature that allows users to switch seamlessly between the supported cryptocurrencies available on the Hodlnaut platform.
If you have Bitcoin and want Ethereum, you can use token swap to make the trade, and best of all, the service is fee-free.
Fees to Look Out For
Luckily for Hodlnaut users, there aren't too many fees you have to worry about when using the platform. But there are some you should be aware of.
They charge withdrawal fees when you take your cryptocurrency off the platform to pay for transactions on the blockchain. These fees vary depending on market conditions and from coin to coin, but here's what the rates looked like at time of writing.
Cryptocurrency | Withdrawal Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 0.0004 BTC | 0 BTC |
Wrapped Bitcoin | 0.0004 WBTC | 0 WBTC |
Ethereum | 0.0036 ETH | 0 ETH |
Dai | 10 DAI | 0 DAI |
USD Coin | 10 USDC | 0 USDC |
Tether | 10 USDT | 0 USDT |
They do not charge Deposit Fees or Token Swap Fees.
You can find their up-to-date fees listed here.
Security
With the inherent risks involved in trading and storing crypto, security of a platform is an important issue to consider. Here are some of the tools that Hodlnaut employs to keep your data and your coins safe.
- Secure Cloud Infrastructure on AWS
- SSL Encryption
- Password hashing
- Two-Factor Authentication Required
- Address Whitelisting
- Rate-Limiting to prevent brute force attacks
- Partnered with Fireblocks to ensure crypto safety
- Security Awareness Training for employees
- Optional individual insurance through Nexus Mutual's Hodlnaut Custody Cover
- No use of hot wallets
No, due to the regulatory restrictions around cryptocurrency, Hodlnaut is not FDIC insured. They do not deal with fiat currencies.
How It Compares
Hodlnaut vs Celsius
Celsius is another well-known crypto borrowing and lending platform. Based in London, they offer many of the same services that Hodlnaut does, including interest accounts and crypto-backed loans.
Celsius offers potentially higher rates of return than Hodlnaut does, with the caveat that they operate a tiered loyalty system, with bonuses offered for holding their proprietary token CEL.
This is a downside for users in the U.S., as it is only available there to accredited investors. Overall, traders in the United States will find better returns on Hodlnaut.
Hodlnaut | Celsius Network | |
---|---|---|
Earn Interest on BTC - | Earn $10 BTC - | |
Benefits and Features | ||
Stock Trading | ||
Options Trading | ||
Cryptocurrencies Supported | BTC, DAI, ETH, USDC, USDT, WBTC | Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, Gemini Dollar, Paxos Standard, LINK, BAT, COMP, UMA, SNX, AAVE, Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Mana, Uniswap, Polygon, Livepeer, Kyber Network, Binance USD, Ethereum Classic, EOS, TrueCAD, TrueHKD, TrueAUD, TrueGBP, TrueUSD, USDT, 0x, DAI, PAX Gold, OMG Network, Stellar, Ripple, Dash |
Countries Supported | ||
Fiat Currencies Supported | USD, AUD, GPB, EUR, CAD, CHF, DKK, NZD, NOK, SEK, RUB, BRL, CZK, RON, HUF, HKD, BGN, TRY, INR, IDR, HRK, PHP, MYR, ZAR, JPY, PLN, VND, ISK, CLP, COP, ARS, PEN, KES, TWD | |
Digital Wallet | ||
Transaction Fee | ||
Copy Trading | ||
Limit Orders | ||
Margin Trading | ||
Spread | ||
Interest Accounts | ||
Crypto Loans | ||
Bank Account Purchase Fee | ||
Mobile App | ||
ACH Transfer Fee | ||
Wire Transfer Fee | ||
Crypto Conversion Fee | ||
Address Allowlisting | ||
Anonymity | ||
Biometric Login | ||
Cold Storage | ||
Maximum Trading Amount | ||
Two-Factor Authentication | ||
Withdrawal Limit | $1 USD minimum; $600,000 USD limit per 24 hours | |
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Hodlnaut: Pricing information from published website as of 09/08/2021. Celsius Network: Pricing information from published website as of 05/04/2021. |
Hodlnaut vs BlockFi
BlockFi has a very similar model to Hodlnaut's, though they offer 8 or 9 coins to Hodlnaut's 6. They do not have any requirements for earning the highest rates, and like Hodlnaut, their returns decrease with larger deposits.
In general, Hodlnaut has much more generous interest rates, sometimes nearly double what BlockFi is offering.
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Hodlnaut | BlockFi | |
---|---|---|
Earn Interest on BTC - | Get Up to $250 in Bonus BTC - | |
Benefits and Features | ||
Stock Trading | ||
Options Trading | ||
Cryptocurrencies Supported | BTC, DAI, ETH, USDC, USDT, WBTC | Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Chainlink, PAX Gold, USDC, Binance USD, PAX, GUSD, BAT, DAI, UNI |
Countries Supported | Worldwide, except for countries that are sanctioned or watch-listed | |
Fiat Currencies Supported | ||
Digital Wallet | ||
Transaction Fee | ||
Copy Trading | ||
Limit Orders | ||
Margin Trading | ||
Spread | ||
Interest Accounts | Up to 7.5% (Not Available in US) | |
Crypto Loans | ||
Bank Account Purchase Fee | ||
Mobile App | ||
ACH Transfer Fee | ||
Wire Transfer Fee | ||
Crypto Conversion Fee | ||
Withdrawal Fee | Varies based on cryptocurrency: 0.00075 BTC, 0.015 ETH, 0.001 LTC | |
Address Allowlisting | ||
Anonymity | ||
Biometric Login | ||
Cold Storage | ||
Maximum Trading Amount | Single-trade limit of $1.2m USD or equivalent | |
Two-Factor Authentication | ||
Withdrawal Limit | 7-day Withdrawal Limit varies by cryptocurrency: 100 BTC, 5,000 ETH, 10,000 LTC. Up to $5,000 USD via direct bank withdrawal | |
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Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Hodlnaut: Pricing information from published website as of 09/08/2021. BlockFi: Pricing information from published website as of 07/01/2022. BlockFi Interest Accounts are not available in the United States. |
Bottom Line
While Hodlnaut doesn't match the highest rates available with some of their competitors, they do offer fairly generous returns without any expensive hoops to jump through, which many similar platforms can't say.
Their range of offerings for retail investors is somewhat limited. But if you're looking for interest accounts without access to the crypto-backed loans that some companies offer, then Hodlnaut may be for you.
Welcome Bonus: Deposit $1000 and Get $100 in BTC
Sign up for a new Nexo account, and make a top-up of at least $1,000.
Get Up to $250 in Bonus BTC
Deposit | Crypto Bonus |
---|---|
$100 - $1,499 | $15 |
$1,500 - $19,999 | $20 |
$20,000 - $39,999 | $40 |
$40,000 - $74,999 | $75 |
$75,000 - $99,999 | $100 |
$100,000+ | $250 |
Deposit $100 and Get $10
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- Deposit $100
- Explore stocks, ETFs, and crypto
Alto CryptoIRA®
- Easy access to more than 175 cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana
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- No setup or monthly account fees
- No account minimums
- $10 minimum investment
Jeremy Harshman is a protector of art and writing at CreditDonkey, a crypto comparison and reviews website. Write to Jeremy Harshman at jeremy.harshman@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.
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