What could be improved
Not available in the U.S.
YouHodler is not available to U.S. residents. This could be because the U.S. has strict rules about leveraged trading options. If you use YouHodler’s services from the U.S., China, or other banned countries, your account may be frozen, and you could lose any returns you made on your investments.
Customers need to prove their physical addresses to withdraw money from the exchange, so it wouldn’t be a great idea to use the platform from a banned country. There are several excellent cryptocurrency exchanges worth checking out that are licensed to operate in the U.S. and pay good interest rates on cryptocurrencies.
Minimum investment
The minimum amount you can deposit is $5. But to earn interest on your funds, you must meet a minimum of $100 or more, depending on the cryptocurrency. And that’s a minimum for each coin — it’s not enough to have a total of $100. For example, if you own Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP), and Ethereum (ETH), you’d need to deposit at least $100 worth of each to earn interest on them.
While $100 is not necessarily huge, some interest-paying cryptocurrency exchanges don’t have any account minimums. And if you have several different coins, that minimum starts to add up. Account maximums also apply.
Lack of transparency
Whether you’re a borrower or a saver, transparency matters. If you’re receiving high interest rates, it is important to ask where the money comes from. In YouHodler’s case, the information is hard to find. It’s likely that the interest customers receive comes from the interest customers pay on loans. But that isn’t clearly stated on the website, and some decentralized finance (DeFi) lenders make high-risk loans in order to finance high returns.
In addition, all lenders in the U.S. are required to disclose the APR on a personal loan — which is the total annual cost of lending, including interest and fees. This helps borrowers compare apples with apples and make informed decisions about where to borrow. YouHodler gives the total cost of the loan, but not the APR.
High APRs on loans
We calculated YouHodler’s APRs based on the total loan costs. They are high in comparison to several top personal loans that don’t require collateral. Indeed, they are comparable to the APRs on many good credit cards. If you need to borrow money, shop around to find the best terms for your situation.
While borrowers can extend their loan terms with YouHodler, the longest initial loan term available is six months. Non-crypto lenders may offer longer loan periods which give you more flexibility in repayment.