One of the functions of obtaining wealth is making it work for you. Assets that sit and do not appreciate and provide no income, may devalue over time. As the crypto space matures there will be more price stabilization (when measured in fiat) and the chances for appreciation decrease. This is very similar to large cap stocks (sometimes called blue chips) - where the stock value is mostly static but these companies offer a dividend in lieu of out-sized year over year gains. In the last couple of years this principal has spread into crypto and staking is very similar to a dividend. Which is the first place I'll touch on trying to yield.
Staking simply means holding a cryptocurrency in a wallet for a fixed period and paid interest on it (often in the same cryptocurrency.) This is almost exactly the same thing as a dividend paying stock. A payment is made in some sort of fixed interval and that payment is made in either a cash payment or via a DRIP (dividend reinvestment program.) Meaning the cash is converted to more shares of the company, and if held, those DRIP'd shares yield even more dividends in the future. Compounding the return. Compound interest has been famously described by Albert Einstien as "Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn't, pays it."
A wonderful platform where you can stake a myriad of coins is Atomic Wallet like ATOM, XTZ and TRX:
Another platform with staking, but more limited options is Coinbase, however they only allow XTZ and USDC staking:
Coinbase is very simple, and I believe you can purchase USDC coin there without any fees and transfer it to other places for a nominal amount (via the ETH network.) So it's a good "on ramp" to other places (like BlockFi, discussed below) to minimize fees.
Then there is Blockfi which is very similar to Lendingtree in you loan crypto assets to them for a specific interest rate. The nice thing about Blockfi is you can loan a few cryptocurrencies and either be paid in that native currency, in your native fiat currency or another cryptocurrency. By way of example, you could loan some ETH and be paid interest in BTC each month. That in itself is pretty nice, and different from other platforms where you are either paid in fiat or the native cryptocurrency. Basically a swap. Blockfi's rates are pretty appetizing too considering they are offering 8.6% APY on USDC - a US dollar stable coin. Compared to other traditional money markets or CD's that are about 1.05%, it really is something to keep an eye out and see if it's worth the risk. (A big difference is Blockfi is not going to be FDIC insured and there may be additional tax implications.)
I will work to expand this article as I discover more places where yield within the crypto space become available. Please post places where you have found other similar offers!
If you're interested in any of these, here are referral links to each:
Atomic Wallet - deposit at least $10 worth of any cryptocurrency and get 15 AWC
Coinbase - We'll both get $10 of BTC if you purchase or sell $100 worth of crypto on Coinbase
Blockfi - Using this link and signing up and deposits $100+ worth of crypto to their BlockFi Interest Account, you and me will each earn a one time bonus of $10 in BTC.
