USD1 is a stablecoin developed by WLFI that’s fully backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits and other cash equivalents. Learn more.

, it seems that everyone is getting involved with creating and launching their own 

 these days. As something that is the lifeblood of every crypto ecosystem today, stablecoins are essential for crypto traders because they provide a stable asset for use as a 

 against the high volatility that’s inherent in other crypto assets like 

. This stability allows traders to protect their assets, particularly during market downturns when the value of more volatile cryptocurrencies can decrease rapidly. This is one reason among many why entities like 

 (WLFI) are stepping up to launch their very own USD1 stablecoins. 

Curious as to what makes USD1 different from the rest of the stablecoins? From understanding why WLFI is joining the stablecoin race to digging into what makes USD1 unique, our USD1 stablecoin guide will help you understand the impact of WLFI’s stablecoin efforts in the grand scheme of things.

 is a stablecoin developed by World Liberty Financial that’s fully backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits and other cash equivalents. Designed (among other reasons) to provide stability in an otherwise inherently volatile market, USD1 offers users a reliable digital asset that maintains a 1:1 peg with the US dollar. This means that for every USD1 token in circulation, there is an equivalent amount of reserves held securely.

One of USD1’s standout features is its custodial arrangement with BitGo, a leading provider of institutional-grade security for digital assets. With BitGo managing its reserves, USD1 aims to promote transparency and trustworthiness. These are two critical factors for retail traders and beginners entering the crypto space.

Additionally, USD1 is compatible with major blockchain networks, such as Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC), making it versatile and accessible for a wide range of use cases. Whether you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies, participate in 

 (DeFi) or make cross-border payments, USD1 provides a seamless solution.

Why is World Liberty Financial launching a stablecoin?

The decision to launch USD1 stems from World Liberty Financial’s vision to empower individuals and institutions with secure and accessible financial tools. Here are some key reasons behind this strategic move.

Addressing the demand for stablecoin alternatives

The crypto market has seen exponential growth in recent years, with stablecoins playing an increasingly prominent role because of their innate stability. Retail traders are seeking alternatives to traditional banking systems that offer faster transactions and lower fees. That's where USD1 comes in, as it caters to this demand by providing a stable digital asset that’s fully backed by short-term US treasuries, US dollar deposits and other cash equivalents. Additionally, USD1 eliminates transaction fees on minting and redemption, making it even more accessible for users in the market for stablecoins.

 face criticism over their lack of transparency regarding reserve management and overall transparency. To combat this, WLFI aims to set a new standard for trustworthiness in the stablecoin industry with transparent backing. Also, by partnering with BitGo and delegating it to hold its reserves, WLFI aims to ensure a high standard of transparency and security for users and institutions alike as USD1 reserves are subject to quarterly independent audits and real-time on-chain verification.

DeFi has revolutionized the way people access financial services, but it relies heavily on stablecoins for liquidity and transactions. USD1’s compatibility with multiple blockchains like Ethereum and BSC ensures seamless integration into DeFi protocols. This multichain approach supports a wide range of use cases, from retail payments to institutional liquidity management and cross-border settlements.

USD1 would operate as a fully-backed stablecoin that maintains its peg to the US dollar through meticulous reserve management and blockchain technology integration. Here’s a deeper look at its inner workings.

As previously mentioned, each USD1 stablecoin is backed by an equivalent amount of reserves held in US dollars or highly liquid US Treasury securities that are held in custody by BitGo. Thanks to this institutional-grade security and transparency designed to verify reserve holdings, users will be inclined to have more confidence in the stability of their assets.

USD1 is designed to function on leading blockchain networks, such as Ethereum and BSC. Its smart contracts have undergone independent security audits, and utilize multi-signature approvals for transactions, ensuring robust operational security. This interoperability allows users to transact across multiple platforms while benefiting from low fees and high-speed transfers.

WLFI prioritizes compliance with global regulations to ensure that USD1 remains a trusted asset for users worldwide. The platform incorporates 

 protocols, making it suitable for both retail and institutional users who require compliance with international financial standards. By adhering to strict guidelines and conducting regular audits, the company minimizes risks associated with regulatory scrutiny.

How will this impact the current crypto landscape?

The introduction of USD1 has significant implications for the broader crypto ecosystem.

USD1 enters a market dominated by established players like 

. By placing an even greater emphasis on transparency, security and compliance, USD1 adds to the ongoing evolution of industry standards. Its approach may encourage further improvements across the stablecoin ecosystem as the market continues to mature.

Empowering retail traders and driving institutional adoption

For retail traders, USD1 effectively offers an accessible way to engage with crypto without worrying about volatility. Its user-friendly design could encourage more individuals to explore digital assets.

On the institutional side of things, USD1’s regulatory-first design and institutional-grade infrastructure are likely to attract greater institutional participation, providing reliable liquidity for trading, settlement and DeFi applications.

USD1’s transparent reserve management and compliance features may set new industry benchmarks, pressuring other stablecoin issuers to adopt similar practices and potentially shaping future regulatory frameworks.

Stablecoins are integral to DeFi protocols as they provide liquidity for lending, borrowing and trading activities. With its compatibility across major blockchains, USD1 could become a preferred choice for DeFi participants seeking reliable assets.

USD1’s stability makes it an ideal tool for cross-border payments and remittances. By eliminating currency conversion fees and delays associated with traditional banking systems, this stablecoin could revolutionize international commerce.

However, USD1’s launch has also raised concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest, regulatory arbitrage and political influence, highlighting the need for ongoing oversight as stablecoins gain prominence. These risks and criticisms extend beyond the typical scrutiny faced by stablecoins, touching on issues of governance, constitutional law, financial stability and the integrity of US political institutions.

Conflicts of interest and political influence

USD1 stands apart from other stablecoins due to its direct association with a sitting or former US president and his family, who reportedly control 60% of World Liberty Financial’s equity. This unprecedented overlap between private financial interests and public regulatory power raises the specter of significant conflicts of interest. Critics argue that a major political figure issuing a stablecoin could shape regulations to benefit their own financial product, or monetize public policy for personal gain. Such actions could ultimately blur the line between state and personal interests and undermine democratic safeguards.

The introduction of USD1 raises concerns about regulatory arbitrage, whereby gaps in regulations could be exploited. Thus, there are understandably fears that political influence could compromise the impartiality of regulatory agencies, undermining oversight. 

Furthermore, if USD1 gains widespread use without strong federal oversight, it could pose a systemic risk to financial stability, potentially opening it to use for political leverage. Questions also persist regarding the transparency and real-time verification of USD1's reserves, despite claims of full backing by US Treasuries managed by BitGo.

Due to the global and open nature of stablecoins, USD1 could potentially be acquired by anyone, including sanctioned individuals or foreign governments, raising concerns about foreign influence. Observers worry that foreign entities might use USD1 to gain favor or leverage over US policy, bypassing traditional safeguards. Additionally, reported investments from controversial figures under investigation are fueling concerns about the potential for illicit funds entering the DeFi system through USD1.

The potential for those controlling USD1 to influence its regulation creates a conflict of interest, opening doors for market manipulation. Access to regulatory levers and inside information could allow them to unfairly advantage USD1, damaging market competition and investor trust. This situation could also set a dangerous precedent, encouraging other political figures to launch similar ventures — and further blurring the lines between public service and private financial gain.

Calls for oversight and legislative action

In response to these multifaceted risks, prominent lawmakers are demanding ethical investigations and the implementation of stronger regulatory frameworks specifically designed to address the challenges posed by “politically connected” stablecoins such as USD1. Ongoing congressional debate surrounding stablecoin legislation highlights the urgent need to establish clear rules to ensure transparency, compliance and the protection of both the financial system and democratic processes as these digital assets become more globally integrated.

World Liberty Financial’s launch of USD1 marks an important milestone in the evolution of stablecoins. By emphasizing trustworthiness, transparency, usability and regulatory compliance, USD1 addresses key concerns faced by retail traders and institutions alike. Whether you’re new to crypto or an experienced trader looking for reliable assets, USD1 offers a secure gateway into the digital economy. As stablecoins continue to play an essential role in driving global crypto adoption, innovations like USD1 pave the way for a more inclusive financial future.

Intermediate

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USD1: World Liberty Financial's solution to stablecoin demand

Explore how Enzyme (MLN) empowers decentralized, tokenized fund creation and management, revolutionizing DeFi investment for all users.

 (DeFi) protocols have been around since 2015, when the 

 (ETH) blockchain was born. For the past decade, DeFi has been a major driving force in the crypto industry. As it often happens, things that worked perfectly in the early years of the DeFi revolution no longer adequately meet the needs of today’s users.

In order to stay competitive and relevant, DeFi protocols need to adapt to the evolving nature of the industry. New features that are quickly becoming must-haves include cross-chain functionality, architectural modularity, 

 (AI) and, importantly, user empowerment. This last point is probably the most important one — DeFi solutions today need to support decentralized protocol management, and allow their end-users to be the real driving force behind the platforms' value-generating activities.

Enzyme Finance, formerly known as Melon Protocol, is a DeFi platform that allows users to create and manage tokenized funds and strategies that other users can invest in. Enzyme aims to empower DeFi users by allowing anyone to become an investment manager or crypto investor — or both. Enzyme fund managers generate value for themselves, other users and the protocol, while fund investors support value-generating activity with their liquidity contributions.

 (MLN) is an Ethereum-based DeFi protocol that allows users to create tokenized investment products on-chain. 

Other platform users can invest in these funds to earn returns. These tokenized products, created as vaults, follow various trading strategies set by the vault creator. Additionally, creators can assign delegated traders to their vaults who can optimize the strategies followed by the vault. As such, Enzyme acts as a decentralized noncustodial solution that serves the needs of skilled crypto fund managers, traders and ordinary investors who would like to see their investments grow.

Enzyme’s protocol empowers the various groups of DeFi users and breaks down the barriers to entry to investment management, active trading and investing. In the world of traditional asset management, creating and launching an investment fund product is an extremely costly and time-consuming procedure. It could take aspiring institutional entities months, if not years, to get their fund vehicles approved, and the financial requirements for a successful asset management product are often staggeringly high, sometimes running into millions of dollars.

In stark contrast to the onerous requirements of traditional funds, launching your tokenized fund product on Enzyme Finance can take from minutes to a few hours at most. There are no significant capital requirements for a vault, either, and fund creators can assign a variety of fees and rules for joining their investment vehicle. Therefore, investors might need to meet certain requirements, depending upon the settings defined by the vault creator.

Enzyme Finance is among the oldest surviving DeFi protocols on the market. The project was initially conceptualized and founded in 2017 under the name Melon Protocol by mathematician Rito Tinkler and former vice president of Goldman Sachs, Mona El Isa, who also acted as the CEO of Melonport, the now-defunct private company behind the Melon Protocol project.

In 2019, Melon was launched on the Ethereum 

. The following year, Melon rebranded to Enzyme. Over the years, the platform underwent multiple version upgrades, culminating in the latest version, Enzyme v5. The latest version of the protocol has implemented (or aspires to implement within 2025) several innovations and improvements, including more cross-chain product options, better architectural modularity, simplified protocol fees, 

 as its infrastructure layer to support vault creation, depositing, trading strategy execution, cross-chain transfers and other key functions required for tokenized fund management and investing.

Vault creators are provided with easy-to-use tools to launch their tokenized asset management funds and execute fund operations — without any programming skills required. These tools help creators automate strategies to do the following:

Creators can also assign the role of Delegated Trader to users who are ready to help optimize the vault's yield using their own strategies.

Another key user group is the depositors, who invest their funds in the vaults to earn returns.

The platform also welcomes builders — developers who can contribute their own third-party solutions to improve the Enzyme ecosystem. Typical contributions by builders include the functionality to bridge Enzyme vault strategies with off-platform (and often, off-chain) financial vehicles. Builders also help develop specialized products for additional functions on Enzyme — such as an app to attract early liquidity, users and investors for projects at a pre-launch stage.

Enzyme.Blue is a specialized solution for institutional entities. It acts as an all-in-one platform for tokenized asset management, trading, analysis and valuation. While anyone can use the core Enzyme protocol, Enzyme.Blue provides all the necessary tools for complex fund management that addresses the needs of the most sophisticated enterprise users.

Using Enzyme.Blue, institutional digital asset managers can access over 30 DeFi protocols for features like 

Enzyme.Onyx is another enterprise-grade, packaged solution offered by Enzyme Finance. To be launched in the summer of 2025, Onyx offers institutional asset managers an advanced wallet tokenization layer. Wallets linked to Enzyme.Onyx can be used to seamlessly collect deposits from multiple participants and allocate the funds to a virtually unlimited variety of protocols and strategies.

Onyx is envisioned as a tokenization and asset management solution with more options in terms of assets and accessible blockchains than Blue. Per the project’s website, Onyx will boast network compatibility with any blockchain, whereas Enzyme.Blue is compatible with Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum (ARB) and Polygon (POL). Unlike Blue, Onyx will boast ultimate cross-chain accessibility. The number of cryptocurrencies supported by Onyx will be “unlimited,” while Blue features support for over 200 crypto assets.

Enzyme.Myso is a secure platform for creating, managing and trading on-chain options strategies. For options traders, Myso provides a rich set of customizable features. It also boasts wide token support, deep liquidity and on-chain, noncustodial settlement.

Enzyme.Myso may be an ideal product for options-based strategies for a wide variety of 

 entities. A typical user of Myso could be a digital asset management firm, a crypto whale or a 

MLN is Enzyme Finance’s native cryptocurrency. An ERC-20 asset on Ethereum, the MLN token has a number of key functions within the protocol. To begin with, users pay fees on Enzyme with MLN to utilize the services offered by the platform, including launching vaults and investing in them. MLN that’s collected from the protocol’s fees is automatically 

 in order to maintain supply scarcity for the asset.

The Enzyme network has also committed to minting 300,600 MLN each year to fund its ecosystem development. The Enzyme Council DAO can then allocate these MLN funds as grants to promising initiatives. Any unused MLN from these yearly allocations is burned at the end of the year.

Additionally, going forward, the token is envisioned to be used for governance as well, so MLN token holders will have the right to vote on the direction of/changes to the protocol.

MLN has a total and circulating supply of 3,001,195, with no specified supply cap.

 in Bybit's Innovation Zone as a Perpetual contract based on USDT. The contract allows you to trade with up to 50x leverage.

As of Apr 29, 2025, the MLN token is trading at $9.51, which is 96.3% lower than its ATH of $258.26 on Jan 4, 2018, and 430.5% higher than its ATL of $1.79 on Mar 13, 2020.

Long-term price forecasts for MLN are mostly bullish. DigitalCoinPrice 

 of $32.15 in 2027 and $48.73 in 2030, respectively, whilePricePrediction 

Enzyme Finance helps fund managers decentralize traditional asset management and apply diverse investment strategies. Its technology is among the leading solutions for institutional entities to launch completely customizable, own investment funds in the area of on-chain asset management. For individual users, the protocol can also be a great source of cost-effective investments, thanks to the variety of vault strategies it offers.

Additionally, the platform's enterprise-focused products enhance user experience by providing a unified asset management environment with a rich tool set to manage the most complex strategies. 

Thanks to Enzyme, cryptocurrency portfolio management has never been easier, both for fund managers and investors.

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Enzyme (MLN): The backbone of tokenization finance

In this article, we’ll explore Zora’s decentralized social network, the ZORA token launch, and how Bybit users can trade ZORA on Bybit.

The social media landscape is currently flawed. Its challenges for creators range from opaque monetization policies to platforms that take a big cut of creators’ earnings. Zora, a decentralized social media protocol, aims to fundamentally change this paradigm, giving creators control over their content and introducing novel monetization techniques through tokenization. 

In this article, we’ll explore Zora’s decentralized social network, its key features and the ZORA token, and learn how Bybit users can participate in the Zora launchpool event.

Zora is a new decentralized social media protocol with a unique approach to content monetization. It allows creators to tokenize every post (text, image or video) by allowing each post to be minted as an 

 (termed a “Content Coin”). Zora is built on the 

 incubated by Coinbase. On Apr 17, 2025, the official Base X account 

 the “Base is for everyone” content coined on Zora. Following that post, user activity on the platform spiked.

Zora was co-founded by Jacob Horne and Dee Goens. Horne, a former product manager at Coinbase, is recognized for his advocacy of open-source 

 infrastructure, and Goens contributes his expertise in community development.

The project has successfully completed several funding rounds. In 2020, Zora secured $2 million in seed funding with participation from firms including Kindred Ventures and Coinbase Ventures. This was followed by a $10 million raise in 2021. The project's growth continued with a Series B round on May 5, 2022, expected to raise $50 million at a valuation of $600 million.

Zora launched its Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, known as “Auction House,” in January 2021. This was designed as a decentralized, permissionless platform to empower creators to mint, list and auction their NFTs. One key innovation introduced by Auction House was the concept of the 

 to improve NFT liquidity. Over time, Zora expanded beyond Auction House and Ethereum, transforming into a comprehensive decentralized social media platform. It uses the same ERC-20z standard to create a tradeable coin from each piece of published content. 

Each of these coins has a total supply of 1 billion units, with 10 million automatically allocated to each coin’s creator. These tokens are instantly tradable on 

 (DEXs) such as Uniswap via the Base network, providing liquidity and enabling creators to monetize their work. Additionally, creators earn a 0.5% fee from each transaction involving their tokens, offering a new avenue for content monetization.

ZORA tokenomics and token unlock schedule

Zora announced the launch of ZORA community coin — along with its airdrop details and tokenomics — on Apr 21, 2025. The coin went live on Base two days later (April 23). 

The total supply of ZORA is 10 billion, with initial allocation as follows:

According to the project’s official docs, the ZORA token was launched “for fun only.” ZORA token holders have neither governance rights, nor a stake in the Zora protocol.

The tokens will be unlocked linearly as follows:

 on Apr 23, 2025. Users can stake ZORA, MNT or USDT to earn a share from a substantial prize pool of 100,000,000 ZORA tokens. 

The event runs through April 30, 2025, 1PM UTC. Staking requirements are as follows:

If you're interested in the ZORA token, don't miss this opportunity! Visit the 

 (FDV) of ZORA stands at $187 million. ZORA gained 11.3% over the past week, with a 24-hour trading volume of $42.6 million.

Bybit has recently listed the ZORA token on Bybit Spot 

To trade ZORA on Bybit Spot, log in or create a Bybit account 

 (UTA) with crypto transfers or fiat deposits. Then, head to the 

 Spot trading page to start trading. In addition, Bybit users can also trade the 

 with up to 25x leverage with Bybit Futures.

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Zora (ZORA): Creator-focused on-chain social network

Bybit Lens is an AI-powered trading intelligence tool that consolidates real-time data, market sentiment and trading signals into one streamlined interface.

In crypto, timing is everything — in addition to knowing where to look. When the markets move fast and narratives shift even faster, digging through charts, Telegram threads and X timelines can feel overwhelming. Besides, every second you spend searching for data could mean a missed opportunity. That’s where Bybit Lens comes in. More than just a research tool, Lens is your real-time, all-in-one AI-powered assistant. Lens puts market insights, project data and tailored strategies at your fingertips so you can go from trend-spotting to trade execution in a single flow.

 is an AI-powered trading intelligence tool that consolidates real-time data, market sentiment and trading signals into one streamlined interface.

Developed as part of the TradeGPT suite, Lens is more than just a dashboard; it’s your personal crypto analyst that never sleeps. Backed by high-quality data sources and built for actionable clarity, Lens helps traders cut through the noise and make better, faster calls.

Behind the scenes, Bybit Lens draws from a robust mix of data streams and intelligent systems. First, it taps into SoSoValue, a leading provider of on-chain metrics, giving you visibility into wallet activity, token flows and project traction across 

s and DeFi platforms. Then, it layers in proprietary insights from Bybit’s own centralized exchange — everything from order book movements to open interest and user sentiment that you simply can’t find elsewhere.

But Lens doesn’t stop at hard data. It also tracks market-moving reports from institutions, as well as real-time buzz on social media from traders, KOLs and crypto Twitter. These multiple data layers are then distilled through AI-powered models that identify trends, extract relevant signals and generate a clear summary of what’s happening and what you might want to do about it.

The experience is intentionally simple. You’ll land on a clean interface that surfaces the day’s hottest assets via 

. From there, click into any project and you’ll be met with a full analysis: basic background, recent trading performance, community and media sentiment plus an AI-generated strategy overview. 

It’s like having a research analyst in your pocket, minus the jargon.

Where most tools stop at data, Lens goes a step further, offering suggested trade ideas based on your behavior, preferences and what’s trending in the market. 

What makes Lens different from every other market tool out there? It's not just the technology — it’s the way everything comes together in one place, designed for actual traders.

With Lens, there’s no more flipping between 10 tabs just to figure out what’s moving. Instead, you get a single interface where market trends, community buzz, trading strategies and execution all converge. The platform doesn’t just surface noise, it condenses it into clarity. Even if you’re new to trading, Lens breaks things down in a way that feels intuitive, not intimidating.

Another key advantage is the tailored nature of its insights. Lens looks at your trading behavior and portfolio preferences, then offers AI-backed strategies that align with your style. It’s like having a tool that not only understands the market, but also understands you.

And because it’s part of the Bybit ecosystem, the jump from insight to execution is frictionless. See something you like? One click, and you're on the Bybit trading page, no copy/pasting or toggling required. This seamless experience is especially powerful during fast-moving markets when seconds matter.

Now that you fully understand how Bybit Lens work, let’s take a look at how you can get started with it. You’ll need to have a Bybit account before you can proceed. If you don’t already have one, you can check out our 

: Log in to your Bybit account and hover your cursor over the 

: From here, you’ll be able to view our 

 along with the project’s background information and recent trading data. You’ll also be able to view the current market sentiment, latest news and social media posts on the project, as well as market trends. 

If you have a specific token or project you’d like to know more about, simply type its name into the search field at the top of the page. 

: Looking to capitalize on the current trends and make a move? Click on 

If you’ve ever wished for a smarter, faster way to make trading decisions, Bybit Lens is it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re navigating market hype, unsure of which coin to trade next or just trying to stay one step ahead, Lens brings you the tools and insights you need without the overload. More than just a research platform, it’s a decision-making engine. With Lens, you’re not just keeping up with the market — you’re outsmarting it.

Bybit Lens isn’t just another analytics dashboard. It’s your strategic co-pilot in crypto, an AI-driven platform that transforms noise into clarity, ideas into actions and hesitation into confident trades. With everything you need to analyze, decide and execute in one place, it’s time to trade smarter with Bybit Lens.

Beginner

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Bybit Lens: Your one-click portal to crypto insights and trading

Bybit Learn

Investing

Learn all about earning interest on crypto, and the various ways you can earn crypto interest on Bybit for high yields!

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Part 1: The Basics of Earning Crypto Interest

Cryptocurrency markets are well-known for their inherent volatility. While this poses nontrivial risks, it also opens up unique opportunities to earn yields and returns that the traditional stock market investor may not even dream of.

These substantial yield opportunities have grown larger and more accessible with the development of the 

 (DeFi) industry. The real game changer has come about with the boom of crypto 

(DEXs), both striving to give customers a diversity of financial products.

In this article, we’ll show you how to earn interest on crypto and, more importantly, how to choose investment opportunities that will optimize your yields.

Jargon to Know to Help You Earn Interest on Crypto

Before diving into the best opportunities to earn interest on crypto, let’s cover some of the most important terms used in the crypto finance industry.

 (APY) is yearly interest that accrues to your investment, taking into account the effect of compounding.

 is the measure of a crypto’s market value, which is derived by multiplying its current market price by its circulating supply.

 (TVL) refers to the total market value of all the crypto funds currently locked in a DeFi platform’s 

 refers to a substantial and usually prolonged market decline. Bear markets are characterized by the dominance of selling rather than buying among market players.

 is a decentralized digital network that stores transactions in chains of blocks. Transactional activity on a blockchain is controlled collectively by all of the network’s participants/users. Most of the activity on a blockchain network — exchange of funds between users, confirmation of transactions, and business operations — involves the use of crypto coins.

 (PoS) is a consensus mechanism used on some blockchain networks for validating block transactions. In PoS blockchains, network users lock a certain amount of their crypto assets on the platform for the right to validate transactions and receive staking rewards.

 refers to locking crypto funds, both on centralized and decentralized platforms, in order to generate income.

 is a process whereby you deposit your crypto assets in a DEX’s 

in order to receive rewards in tokens and fees.

 occurs when the price of a deposited asset in a liquidity pool decreases from the time when you deposited it.

The primary methods through which you can earn interest on crypto are staking and lending. Staking involves locking your funds on a blockchain to help validate transactions, in return for which you earn crypto rewards from the platform. Additionally, some centralized platforms — such as CEXs and 

Staking, however, has moved beyond its original intent and now often refers to a plethora of investment products on CEXs and DEXs, in which funds aren’t specifically used for blockchain validation.

 refers to depositing your funds to lending pools (and sometimes to other types of pools as well) with DeFi lending and borrowing protocols, as well as with centralized crypto lending platforms.

When considering lending and staking crypto, of key interest to investors are the security and investment risks involved.

Staking is often viewed as a safer option than lending. After all, staking is a fundamental process on a blockchain network, and is thus well-protected by the overall blockchain security model. If staking fails on a blockchain, the entire blockchain fails, along with all of its 

 (DApps). Due to this critical importance of staking, its safety is secured against all but the most severe hacks.

DeFi lending also takes place on DApps residing on top of the underlying blockchain, which introduces an additional layer of vulnerability. Furthermore, DeFi lending presents some very specific security risks, such as 

Therefore, staking generally poses comparatively fewer security threats to your funds as compared to lending. 

The risk-vs.-return between staking and lending, however, may not be as clear-cut. In general, established lending protocols such as 

 offer lower interest rates for large-cap, popular cryptocurrencies, as compared to standard staking interest rates. However, some smaller lending platforms might offer extremely high-interest rates, usually for highly volatile, small-cap coins.

As with everything in the world of finance, the higher the rate offered, the more risk the investment carries. The downside risks of investing in very new, “dark horse” cryptos available on some lending platforms might be extremely high. Furthermore, when you use DeFi lending protocols, you’ll also face the potential for impermanent loss, due to the volatility of crypto assets. Nevertheless, protocols usually assist with mitigating the losses by distributing a portion of the trading fees to liquidity providers.

Another important factor in the staking vs. lending comparison is collateralization. On lending and borrowing platforms, borrowers are first required to lend funds to the protocol as collateral for their borrowed amounts. Staking, on the other hand, involves no collateral.

Staking on Exchanges vs. Staking on Blockchains

If you decide to stake your crypto funds, your two main options will be via CEXs, and/or participation on a blockchain platform, which can be done directly by running a validator node or by joining a staking pool.

Running a blockchain validator node lets you earn staking rewards directly. However, the technical setup and minimum investment requirements are often significant. For example, to run a validator node 

 you’ll need to download the entire blockchain, be online at all times to avoid “slashing” penalties and run all the requisite software.

Financial requirements for validator nodes are also far from trivial. 

For instance, Ethereum validators must stake at least 32 ETH (around $89,787 as of Feb 4, 2025).

As an alternative to direct staking, you may join a staking pool such as 

 for ETH staking. These staking pool solutions allow users to stake with significantly lower technical and financial commitments. Many ETH staking pools also offer stakers a 

 that represents the staked ETH and its associated rewards, which can be used for various DeFi purposes. However, unlike direct blockchain staking, participating in a staking pool makes you dependent on that pool’s operator.

Instead of staking on a blockchain, whether individually or via a pool, you might consider staking via a CEX. For many crypto investors and users, the CEX route is more affordable, less risky and less technically complicated.

This is largely due to two key factors — the security of your funds, and customer support. Major CEXs are the largest crypto trading platforms in the industry. Their security setups and customer support provide key advantages over blockchains and DApps.

Any potential hacker attacks on a blockchain could lead to potential loss of funds. At the same time, you may use a custodial wallet on a major CEX so that your funds are at lower risk of being hacked. Naturally, CEXs aren’t immune to hacker attacks. However, the larger ones feature cybersecurity as a critical part of their business model. Following the insolvency of one of the world’s leading exchanges, 

, many major CEXs such as Bybit also include 

 (PoR) to make their holdings entirely transparent to the public. Thus, custodial wallets on these CEXs are relatively more secure as compared to noncustodial blockchain wallets.

Staking on a CEX may also help you access investment products with more stable and predictable rates and terms. For novice investors, it could also be a less complicated way to enter the world of crypto staking.

Additionally, staking on CEXs allows you to use coins that are normally not “stakeable” via a blockchain platform. Blockchain staking only works with cryptocurrencies based on PoS networks. For instance, the world’s largest crypto, 

 (BTC), isn’t based on a PoS network, so it can’t be staked on a blockchain.

Best Crypto Staking Coins for Highest Interest

The volatility of the crypto market means that there’s dynamic change when it comes to the best coins for earning interest. Regardless, the best interest rates in the staking game are normally available via CEX staking. Since CEXs offer a wide array of coins and products, there are often great deals available.

CEXs also offer staking for popular stablecoins — such as USDT, USDC, DAI and more — that can’t normally be staked on a blockchain. In addition, some of these coins have great rates on offer. 

For example, Bybit’s current interest rate for USDT staking is 555%, one of the highest rates in general for staking.

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