Coinbase Global Inc. (Coinbase), one of the most popular crypto trading platforms, received so much traffic from its Super Bowl ad that its website crashed. Millions of people are starting to show interest in crypto trading and investing; however, others are beginning to notice as well. Regulators, including the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are beginning to take action on crypto. Recently, BlockFi, another popular Crypto platform, settled allegations for $100 million claiming that the company illegally offered high interest rates to users to encourage crypto staking. Crypto staking is where users lend their investment to a broker who then offers loans in exchange for interest — similar to how bank accounts pay interest.

As of today, in accordance with its settlement with the SEC, BlockFi no longer allows United States users to open or add funds to interest bearing accounts (BIA). Those with existing accounts will continue to receive interest on their crypto, but cannot add additional crypto to those accounts. Users can still use BlockFi Wallet to buy and sell crypto. Currently, BlockFi is working to become the first SEC registered crypto interest-bearing security as BlockFi Yield. Users outside the U.S. are not currently affected by these changes.

Now, this raises concerns, in the short-term, for platforms similar to BlockFi that also offer staking: Coinbase, Crypto.com, Yotta, and Celsius. Those wanting to immediately get into crypto staking may turn to these sources. However, assuming BlockFi can register with the SEC, it will be way ahead of the competition in the long-run.

Personally, I’ll leave my money in BlockFi’s interest account (BIA) to earn and grow organically, but at least for the short-term, I’ll add more to Celsius to get flexibility before they are forced to halt investment in their investment accounts as well.

Referral links for free crypto for using the platforms:

CoinBase: Earn $10 in BTC – Link

BlockFi: Earn $10 in BTC – Link

Celsius: Earn $50 in BTC – Link

Yotta: Earn 100 bonus tickets – Link

References

Sinclair, Sebastian. “Coinbase Site Crashes from Traffic as Super Bowl ASinclair, Sebastian. “Coinbase Site Crashes from Traffic as Super Bowl ADS Spark Public Interest.” Blockworks, February 14, 2022. https://blockworks.co/super-bowl-ads-spark-public-interest-coinbase-site-crashes-from-traffic/.

Egkolfopoulou, Misyrlena. Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Accessed February 14, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-14/super-bowl-ads-like-coinbase-ftx-tell-americans-to-get-over-crypto-fears.

“February Regulatory Update Faqs – Help.blockfi.com.” Accessed February 14, 2022. https://help.blockfi.com/hc/en-us/articles/4421043037332-February-Regulatory-Update-FAQs.