Blockchain.Com is Now Offering Crypto Lending Service
Major crypto wallet service Blockchain.com revealed a new lending product for all users and not just institutions. This happened amid the ongoing growth of the cryptocurrency lending industry.
Following the first launching of an institutional crypto lending desk in August 2019, Blockchain.com is finally rolling out its crypto service to all users across over 180 countries. The United Kingdom-based firm announced this last March 10.
In addition to that, the new lending product from Blockchain.com, named Borrow, lets users borrow Paxos Standard stablecoin (PAX) against Bitcoin (BTC). And they can do this directly from the platform’s cryptocurrency wallet.
During the launch, Blockchain.com’s Borrow will support PAX loans against Bitcoin only. Then, the company is planning to expand the platform to other assets in the near future.
Also, PAX stablecoin became one of the major United States dollar-pegged stablecoins after the most giant Tether (USDT). According to the Ethereum blockchain, Paxos Standard is backed 1:1 by the U.S. dollar. Aside from that, it is purportedly the second most widely traded stablecoin in the crypto market after USDT. Recently, PAX is on the 33rd place in the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It amounts to about $226 million, according to Coin360’s data.
The Expansion of Crypto Lending Exposure
Co-founder and CEO of Blockchain.com, Peter Smith, noted that the latest development substantially expands the set of services offered to the firm’s users. Notably, Smith highlighted that Borrow allows retail traders to trade like the ‘big guys.’ He emphasized that institutional and retail investors have both the same financial goals.
Blockchain.com aims to address the shortage of USD on both sides of the crypto market. The firm will do this by offering the retail market access to the same liquidity pool as institutional investors.
Smith stated, “Institutional and retail investors have the same financial goals – grow wealth and manage risks – but the tools at their disposal are vastly different.”
Then, the CEO also said that with their suite of trading products and Borrow, retail users can now trade like the big guys without sacrificing the crypto they’ve stockpiled or left their Wallet.
After the launch of Blockchain.com’s institutional lending platform in August 2019, the company has loaned over $120 million as of November. It significantly surged loans from $10 million in the first month.
Also, Blockchain.com’s latest lending product Borrow comes amid an increase in crypto companies launching crypto loan services. About a week ago, major Bitcoin payment firm BitGo finally started its institutional-level crypto lending services. But in a report, BitGo will not roll out the service to non-institutional clients in the near future.
Relaunching of Iota’s Trinity Wallet Theft
Elsewhere, after nearly a month of a massive hack, the Iota Foundation has delivered its network back online.
On Tuesday, the Iota network has relaunched following the February 12 attack on the platform’s Trinity Wallet software. However, they shut down the network that same day to avoid further security breaches. 8.55 million MIOTA or around $2 million was stolen from 50 users of the digital asset wallet.
