Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com: Who Offers Better Crypto Interest Rates?

Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com is a frequent comparison made by cryptocurrency yield-seekers around the world: both are international companies with some of the highest rates in the industry. 

The two companies substantially differ in how they structure their cryptocurrency interest accounts.

Crypto.com is based in Hong Kong and has worked to establish itself as one of the blue-chip cryptocurrency interest account providers since its founding in 2016. It also offers products such as: 

• NFT storage wallet
• Cryptocurrency exchange
• Crypto rewards credit card

Hodlnaut was created in 2019 and is based out of Singapore. It offers interest-earning opportunities on a variety of crypto assets and also has a basic exchange.

The skinny: Crypto.com offers higher top-end rates than Hodlnaut, but these rates aren’t accessible for the average user. For example, you can get up to 8.5% APY on BTC through Crypto.com but you need to maintain a balance of at least $40,000 in CRO, Crypto.com’s token, to access that rate. The company’s base rate for BTC is 1.5%.

Alternatively, Hodlnaut offers 7.46% APY on the first 2 BTC, accessible by simply just depositing into your account. It’s a much more straightforward platform, but it also doesn’t have as wide an altcoin selection as Crypto.com.

The following Crypto.com vs. Hodlnaut guide explores the advantages and disadvantages of each platform. 

Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com: Key Information

Company Bios: Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com

Hodlnaut, a play on “HODL” and astronaut, was founded in Singapore in 2019 by CEO Juntao Zhu and CTO Simon Lee. The pair previously created Cypher Forge, a cryptocurrency trade execution platform.

Hodlnaut has raised $100,000 in a single pre-seed funding round, which took place in April of 2019. The platform has about $500 million in assets under management and more than 10,000 users. 

Crypto.com was founded in Hong Kong in 2016 as Monaco and didn’t begin using its current name until 2018. It’s led by CEO Kris Marszalek and CFO Rafael Melo. Crypto.com raised $26.7 million in funding during an initial coin offering on May 18, 2017.

Crypto.com’s core team consists of veterans from traditional finance and cryptocurrency industries, including alumni from Binance and JP Morgan.

Feature #1: Who Pays More, Hodlnaut or Crypto.com?

In order to get the best rates on Crypto.com, you need to hold a threshold amount of CRO in your account.

For example, Crypto.com’s base rate for BTC is 1.5% but users with enough CRO in their account can earn up to 8.5% interest on the asset. Similarly, users can earn as much as 14% APY on USDC through Crypto.com or as little as 6%.

Hodlnaut uses a tiered interest rate system; rates start at their highest and gradually decrease with the quantity of the asset. Hodlnaut users don’t need to maintain any threshold balances of cryptocurrency assets to earn access to the platform’s best interest rates.

Bitcoin

• Hodlnaut currently offers 7.46% APY on a user’s first 2 BTC. That rate goes down to 4.08% for the next 8 BTC, 2.02% for the next 90 BTC after that, and finally down to 1.00% for any additional BTC deposits above 100.
• Crypto.com’s interest rates for BTC range from 1.5% to 8.5%. The rate you earn depends on the dollar value of the CRO that you have stored in your account.

Ethereum

• Hodlnaut currently offers 7.46% APY for the first 20 ETH a user deposits. They pay 4.08% for the next 80 ETH after that and 2.02% on any ETH deposits over 100.
• Crypto.com’s ETH rates range from 3.5% to 8.5%. These vary based on how long a user commits to storing their ETH on the platform and how much CRO they have in their account.

Stablecoins

• Hodlnaut offers the following interest rate ranges on stablecoins: Tether 3.04% – 12.73%, DAI 2.02% – 8.32%, USDC 2.84% – 12.73%
• Crypto.com offers these stablecoin interest rates: Tether 6% – 8.5%, DAI 6% – 14%, USDC 6% – 14%

Alts

Winner: Hodlnaut. Hodlnaut’s interest rates are easier to achieve and require less commitment from a user to earn. However, Crypto.com offers interest-earning opportunities on altcoins, while Hodlnaut doesn’t, as well as the highest top-end rates on most assets, provided you’re willing to hold onto some CRO.

Hodlnaut takes the cake because Crypto.com’s base rates are much lower than Hodlnaut’s, and the holding of CRO introduces a new risk. 

CoinCentral readers can get a $20 bonus with a deposit of $1,000 on Hodlnaut. The deposit can be done in a single transaction on or within 1 week from your first deposit.

You can also earn a $25 bonus by signing up for Crypto.com and staking for the Ruby Card today.

How Do Hodlnaut and Crypto.com Make Money?

Hodlnaut makes money by lending out the assets that it manages at a higher rate than it pays the users that deposit them. This is the same strategy most cryptocurrency interest account providers utilize.

Hodlnaut claims to over-collateralize its loans, which theoretically reduces the statistical likelihood of default. Users should be aware that this doesn’t make using a platform like Hodlnaut risk-free. 

Hodlnaut also charges users a withdrawal fee, which varies on market conditions. 

Crypto.com also lends user assets, but it has many more revenue-generating strategies. For example, it charges a small percentage on its exchange; maker rates range from 0.036% to 0.1% and taker rates range from 0.09% to 0.16%.

Feature #2: Payouts and Withdrawals

Hodlnaut pays out interest to its users every week on Monday at 5 PM GMT. 

Users can withdraw funds at any time, unless they opt in to lock their funds on the platform for a specific time period in exchange for a higher rate. Hodlnaut does charge a withdrawal fee, which varies on market conditions.

Withdrawal fees are:

• 0.0005 BTC
• 10 DAI
• 0.0036 ETH
• 10 USDT
• 10 USDC

Crypto.com pays interest daily, but it doesn’t compound. The company charges a fee for all withdrawals that take place on-chain. Users can avoid the fee by utilizing the company’s withdraw-to-app function.

Winner: Crypto.com wins here by virtue of paying out interest daily and offering a method for free withdrawals.

Coincentral readers can earn $25 by staking for Crypto.com’s Ruby Card.

Feature #3: Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com Security

Hodlnaut requires all users to set up 2FA before making a withdrawal. This adds an additional layer of protection on all accounts. The company’s primary custodian is Fireblocks, which is one of the leading digital asset custody providers. It utilizes a mix of cold and hot storage to make sure users’ funds are never entirely in the same place at once.

Hodlnaut also gives its users the option of purchasing insurance on their crypto deposits through Nexus Mutual. This is a unique feature that is increasingly becoming more popular among competitors.

Crypto.com partnered with Ledger to protect its users’ funds. It claims to store the majority of its funds in cold storage and provides up to $250,000 FDIC insurance on users’ cash funds– note, this doesn’t apply to any cryptocurrency assets.

Winner: Hodlnaut takes this category by giving its customers the option of purchasing insurance through Nexus Mutual, unlike Crypto.com.

Feature #4: Ease of Use

Crypto.com is a fairly tricky ecosystem to get familiarized with– its rates vary based on factors like locking up funds, staking CRO, and whether you stake for a credit card. These obstacles are seemingly worth it for power users, but not so much for beginners.

Comparatively, Hodlnaut is very straightforward: a user only needs to deposit their funds on the platform to begin earning interest.

Both platforms have web-based and mobile account management options. 

Winner: Hodlnaut takes the win here. It allows users to earn interest automatically after depositing assets. Crypto.com’s ecosystem takes more effort to understand.

Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com Standout Features

Hodlnaut’s standout feature is its Nexus Mutual insurance. Few cryptocurrency interest accounts offer insurance, and this is a unique point for Hodlnaut to differentiate itself. The cost of this insurance varies based on the amount you want to be protected and for how long. Check out Hodlnaut’s guide for getting a Nexus Mutual quote for more information.

Crypto.com’s standout feature is its credit card, which aligns users closer to the overarching Hodlnaut ecosystem. Crypto.com card users can earn cashback paid in crypto on everyday purchases.

However, Crypto.com’s credit card is more complicated than comparable offerings from companies like BlockFi. 

The Court of Public Opinion: Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com Reddit

Redditors seem to have generally positive feelings about both Hodlnaut and Crypto.com. 

Praise for Hodlnaut includes shouting out customer support.

Praise for Crypto.com revolves around its credit card and the experience of its power users. 

Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com Customer Support

The primary complaints, largely for Crypto.com as it has many more users and therefore a much larger statistical propensity for dissatisfied customers, has to do with customer support times. 

As a newer, smaller platform, Hodlnaut’s customer support is seemingly doing a good job at addressing the concerns of its customers. 

Crypto.com offers support through an online help center, through its email address [email protected], or an in-app support chat for mobile users.

Hodlnaut users can get assistance via its support email address (support@hodlnaut.com), or through its contact form. 

Can You Trust Hodlnaut and Crypto.com?

Crypto.com and Hodlnaut both have clean records of doing right by their users. 

Crypto.com has about three years of seniority on the newer upstart Hodlnaut. Alongside its longevity, Crypto.com benefits from having a more pedigreed team of executives. Crypto.com has an ISO/IEC 27001:3013 certification and is regularly audited by Bureau Veritas.

However, this is a natural comparison between a scrappier startup such as Hodlnaut and a legacy product like Crypto.com.

Each company implements industry-standard security practices to keep its users’ funds protected from hackers. Hodlnaut even offers third-party insurance as an extra layer of protection.

That being said, there will always be a baseline level of risk involved with using a cryptocurrency interest account. These aren’t savings accounts, they are investments, and each investment (particularly on custodial platforms such as these two) comes with a layer of risk. 

Both Crypto.com and Hodlnaut are headquartered internationally, Hong Kong and Singapore respectively. The jurisdictions, regulations, and legal frameworks may differ in these countries, so plan accordingly. 

Final Thoughts: Which is the Better Crypto Interest Account, Hodlnaut or Crypto.com?

Hodlnaut and Crypto.com serve two different slices of the same market. 

Hodlnaut is better for beginners and intermediates seeking to diversify their APY-generating platforms. 

Hodlnaut is easier and less complicated to set up. You start earning the top interest as soon as you deposit any amount of the support digital asset (under the tiered amount). Comparatively, Crypto.com requires a deeper immersion in its ecosystem, such as holding CRO and locking up your assets, to get comparable rates. 

CoinCentral readers can sign up for Hodlnaut and earn $20 with a deposit of at least $1,000 worth of any supported cryptocurrency asset.

However, for aspiring Crypto.com power users, going full send on Crypto.com has plenty to offer. It beats out Hodlnaut for this power user category for a few reasons: 

1. Crypto.com offers higher top-end interest rates. With a $40,000 equivalent stake of CRO and a three-month lockup, the APY for a stablecoin like USDC is a whopping 14%, which is nearly double that of the industry average. 
2. The Crypto.com card gets up to 8% cashback in crypto on their everyday purchases, with a $400,000 stake of CRO at the highest tier. The Ruby ($400 in CRO) and Indigo/Jade ($4,000 in CRO) get 2% and 3% respectively. CoinCentral readers can earn $25 by staking for Crypto.com’s Ruby Card.
3. Crypto.com offers interest-earning opportunities on a variety of altcoins that Hodlnaut doesn’t.

Wrapping up the Hodlnaut vs. Crypto.com discussion, Hodlnaut is a better choice for customers looking for a straightforward way to earn interest without having to worry about staking and locking funds. Crypto.com is a more established platform with a wider array of features. 

Both companies offer some of the highest rates in the industry, so it generally comes down to a matter of preference.