Peoplе started lending money back in Mesopotamia, around 3000 BC. In many ways, we are not that different from the Babylonians, Sumerians and Persians who inhabited these lands. Most individuals nowadays likely understand that credit is an important component of modern life. In today’s world, it isn’t easy living a financially successful life without using credit in some capacity.
You need credit to buy a car, to start most businesses, to buy a house, to pay for post-secondary education. As society evolved, so did our loans. We have moved away from exchanging seeds and gold. Today, we look for more contemporary solutions, such as fiat currency loans and even crypto loans.
Did you know that blockchain technologies have enabled the lending and borrowing of multiple cryptocurrencies? Do you need money for your purchases but lack the cash? You can now opt for a crypto loan. But how does it work? We’ll cover all the specifics regarding crypto loans and how they can benefit you.
What Are Crypto Loans?
Let’s start with the basics. What is a crypto loan? A crypto loan is a type of advance that uses cryptocurrency as collateral. If you don’t know what collateral is, it’s the thing you pledge to give up in the event of insolvency. In essence, you take out a loan based on the worth of your digital assets.
You acquire a loan while keeping your assets rather than selling your bitcoin to make money. This form of loan is also called a blockchain-backed or cryptocurrency-backed loan. You receive your cryptocurrency back after the loan term. Otherwise, If you complete your payments on time and repay the loan in full. There are two types of loans, CeFi loans and DeFi loans.
CeFi Loans
CeFi loans, an acronym for centralised financial loans, are typically custodial. This means that an institution holds them during the loan term. Typically, people and businesses provide these loans. CeFi loans cover the majority of cryptocurrency loans. As a borrower, you must go through a centralised application procedure for CeFi loans. These frequently include extra documentation and verification, and come with strict requirements compared to DeFi loans.
DeFi Loans
“Decentralised finance loans” (DeFi) are a particular class of blockchain-based lending systems. DeFi loans can use a smart contract, a self-executing contract. It holds the conditions of the agreement between the borrower and lender inscribed into the code. You won’t see this in conventional loans issued by banks.
Traditional Loans vs Crypto Loans
A conventional loan is an agreement to borrow money from a bank or other financial organisation. The bank gives the borrower money in return for repayment with interest over a predetermined time.Traditional banks offer these loans, which frequently have high interest rates and charges. TradFi loans put real estate or a vehicle as collateral.
On the other hand, a crypto loan is a borrowing made possible by utilising cryptocurrency as security. In contrast to conventional loans, crypto loans are issued via cryptocurrency lending platforms rather than traditional banks. These platforms let borrowers use their cryptocurrency holdings as collateral, negating the need for additional security.
Crypto loans offer the option to borrow and lend in other cryptocurrencies. In addition, crypto loans may have lower interest rates and fees than traditional loans. Moreover, they employ blockchain technology to protect the transactions and guarantee that the collateral is not tampered with. Therefore, loans backed by cryptocurrencies are frequently more secure than conventional loans.
How Do You Get a Crypto Loan?
Finding a lender who provides this kind of loan is the first step in obtaining a crypto loan. Numerous online platforms offer services for crypto financing. For example, some of the brokers at https://www.bitcoin-loophole.io/ might offer crypto loans that can help you out with starting off your crypto journey on the right foot. Additionally, many more prominent online exchanges such as Compound and Balancer double as crypto loan providers.
Once you’ve located a reliable lender, you must register on their site. Next, go through the necessary KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) checks. Once you do that, you can submit your application. These procedures are in place to stop fraud and money laundering. They are standard operating practices for most financial businesses.
What’s interesting about crypto loans is their loan periods, varying between a week and six months. Some loans can charge an hourly interest rate, too. Make sure to read your loan terms very carefully before accepting.
An Example of a Crypto Loan
When it comes to more complex concepts like loans, oftentimes, it’s best to work with an example. The amount of your loan is usually calculated depending on the volume of collateral you can provide. The loan-to-value LTV ratio takes into account both the loan balance and the worth of the securities. Let’s say you decide to pledge $20 000 in cryptocurrency. If the LTV ratio is 50%, you will get a loan of $10 000. However, due to the volatility of the crypto market, bitcoin loans typically have very low LTV percentages.
What Is Loan To Value?
Loan to value (LTV) is a financial term. It describes the proportion of a loan’s amount to the asset’s worth that serves as its security. The LTV ratio is determined by dividing the loan balance by the appraised value of the asset.
When taking out loans, borrowers must reimburse interest on the sum borrowed. The LTV ratio plays a significant role in establishing the loan’s interest rate. A higher LTV ratio often translates into a higher interest rate. Why? Because the lender is taking on more risk if the borrower fails to pay off the loan.
As usual, it’s best to work with examples. A borrower can lower the LTV ratio and the interest rate imposed on the loan by putting up more collateral. The LTV ratio would be 50% if a borrower wanted $10,000 but had an asset worth $20,000 instead. The LTV ratio would be 33.3% ($10,000 loan divided by $30,000 in collateral). This could result in a reduced interest rate if the borrower offers extra collateral. For example, another cryptocurrency worth $10,000 in addition to the original $10,000 asset.
Advantages of Crypto Loans
You may opt for a crypto loan for several reasons. It all starts with the terms and conditions of your crypto loan. Crypto asset agreements can be more flexible than TradFi loans. This gives you more wiggle room should you need to make changes to make your payments, for instance. Aside from that, crypto loans are more flexible and quicker to get a hold of. We have highlighted the top perks behind taking out a crypto loan in the next few sections.
Fast Access to Your Funds
You can accept and fund a crypto loan in just a few minutes. Unlike traditional loans, which may take a few business days to a few weeks to process. You only need a crypto wallet containing a digital asset of your choice in order to obtain a crypto loan.
No Credit Checks
The lender won’t need to investigate your credit history or credit score because your cryptocurrency already backs the loan. If you’re at a disadvantage and have a low credit score, you can still receive a crypto backed loan.
Lower Interest Rates
Crypto loans typically have lower interest rates than traditional loans. Why? Because you back them up with collateral. During the course of your loan period, you can save money on interest payments if you choose a crypto loan.
Flexible Repayment Options
With crypto loans, you can choose between various payment options, including:
- Interest-Only Payments
- Partial Payments
- Loan Extensions
- Collateral Adjustments
All these can be useful for borrowers who want to avoid defaulting. Especially if they need more time to repay their loan. Or in the case where they can’t make their total payments, or their collateral has decreased in value.
What Are The Risks Associated with Crypto Loans?
That being said, it’s important also to highlight the risks of choosing crypto loans. Considering that your collateral is a cryptocurrency. This inherently means that your crypto will be volatile. Therefore, it’s important you take into account the following:
- Volatility: Crypto is known for its sharp price swings. You might be required to offer additional collateral if the price of the crypto you pledged falls considerably. Alternatively, you might face liquidation if you cannot top up your collateral.
- Lienholder risk: Third-party platforms frequently offer crypto loans. You will have to put all your trust in that they will securely handle your collateral. Remember that you risk losing your collateral if the platform goes bankrupt, gets hacked or is otherwise compromised.
- Interest rate risk: Cryptocurrency loans can sometimes have higher interest rates, reaching 20% or higher. If you cannot make your monthly payments, your interest fees might add up quickly. As a result, you might find it increasingly challenging to pay off your loan.
- Regulatory risk: The regulatory landscape of crypto holdings is constantly developing. There is a chance that regulations may alter in a way that makes using crypto loans challenging or even impossible.
- Tax repercussions: Depending on your country, you may need to pay some fees when taking out a cryptocurrency loan. For instance, remember to check if you need to pay capital gains tax. It would be best if you spoke to a financial expert or an accountant. They can help you fully grasp the financial repercussions of taking out a crypto loan.
Now that you are aware of the risks involved with crypto loans, you can consider the positives and negatives. We hope this helped you understand if a crypto loan is what you need.
Can I Start Crypto Lending?
If you want to be on the receiving end of a crypto loan, you can join a lending platform. You can then add your funds to a DeFi borrowing pool. This pool is controlled by a lending platform that keeps track of loans and distributes the interest to the investors.
Let’s say you don’t want to trade or sell your 20 crypto coins. You can lend the coins on a cryptocurrency lending site to generate passive income. You then receive interest payments in return every week or month. Interest rates for virtual currency lending can differ greatly. As a result, the amount you receive is determined by the website you use and the financial asset you lend. For example, with a stablecoin loan, the loan rates may be as high as 18% or between 4% and 8%.
Keep in mind that DeFi crypto loans can affect both crypto lenders and the crypto-borrowed funds. You are not any safer from market crashes than borrowers. On the other hand, investors can benefit from forced liquidations. How? If a borrower cannot or opts not to repay a loan.
Final Thoughts
Borrowers can obtain loans with reasonable interest rates and flexible repayment terms using their digital assets as collateral. It is crucial to remember that there are dangers associated with crypto loans. These include the erratic quality of the cryptocurrency market and the chance of scams and fraud. It’s important to stay vigilant and carefully research the websites you visit.
Hence, before you agree to a crypto lending arrangement, you must conduct extensive due diligence. Make sure you understand the terms and circumstances of your loan agreement. In the quickly developing world of cryptocurrencies, crypto loans present a promising way to access capital. Let’s not forget that caution and thorough research are required to reduce any possible hazards.