Cryptocurrencies

ZenGo Introduces Interest-Earning Crypto Account Product

Even if the general public still associates all cryptocurrencies solely with Bitcoin, the space has been expanding and evolving in recent months. This includes the entry of offerings that give consumers new ways to invest in and benefit from crypto. Take, for example, efforts from ZenGo. As TechCrunch reports, the crypto wallet ZenGo has introduced a new feature that allows users to earn interest on their cryptocurrency assets.

Playing on the term DeFi — a trendy shorthand for “decentralized finance” — ZenGo is using the phrase to mean Delightful Finance in promotion of their Savings offering. Noting the benefits of ZenGo Savings, the company explains that users can hold stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, thus reducing the volatility that most crypto assets have become notorious for. Another benefit is that ZenGo will automatically reinvest any interest or rewards users earn, allowing for compounding earning. Elsewhere the company also makes clear that their product features some benefits that are similar to traditional savings products. For example funds in Savings accounts are always liquid, allowing users to access them whenever they need.

Powering ZenGo’s Savings are two other companies: Compound and Figment Networks. The former comes into play as it provides users the opportunity to earn interest on a number of Ethereum-based assets. This is something TechCrunch actually likens to marketplace lender LendingClub if their platform were powered by blockchain. As for Figment, that platform is utilized for staking, which users can do in order to earn rewards on Tezos. Explaining how these two options work together, ZenGo wrote in a blog post, “Under the hood, providing liquidity and staking are technically different, but both provide our customers with an easy way to earn passive income, and that’s why we’ve combined them into one simple interface.”

In that same blog post, ZenGo also pointed to their larger goals, stating, “At ZenGo we’re on a mission to make crypto safe and simple. This is just the beginning. We will be adding more assets and ways to earn passive income in the coming weeks.” Then went on to say, “We’re also focused on enabling new ways of investing, giving people who don’t have access to traditional financial markets an opportunity to finally participate in wealth-building opportunities.”

With the current woes impacting the global economy, it seems logical that more consumers and investors will be turning to cryptocurrencies. Of course, with many still a bit gun-shy about speculative crypto investing following the 2017 boom and subsequent bust, creating an approachable product that combines stability and upside seems logical. That appears to be what ZenGo has created with its Savings product. Although it might still prove a bit too unapproachable for the mainstream at the moment, time will tell whether it can achieve its goal of reaching a new and non-traditional audience.

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