Highlights:

Coinbase to start paying put interest for just HODLing crypto

HODLers of USDC will be paid yearly interest

Start of a new initiative by Coinbase

Coinbase, in a recent blog post on medium announced their plans to provide interest to users and holders of USDC, a USD backed cryptocurrency issued by CENTRE, a subsidiary of Coinbase, Inc. The holder of USDC are said to be paid 1.25% p.a. Although not much, the interest amount os better than the average interest rate of the United States.

Generally, banks are able to offer an interest rate because they lend and invest money held in savings accounts. However, Coinbase says none of the USDC held in accounts will be lent or invested, making it unclear how exactly Coinbase is paying for the interest.

Coinbase seems to have followed the footsteps of their competitor Binance, as Binance had announced their plans to give interest rate to users who stake a particular amount of cryptocurrency for a selected period of time.

Coinbase says that with the new scheme, users will be able to “… earn more, save when they trade, e safe and enjoy real time benefits”

“Coinbase is committed to building the easiest, most trusted crypto investment experience in the world. As crypto adoption continues to spread, it’s our goal to deliver more ways for anyone to legally and securely do more with their crypto, beyond trading.”