CRYPTOCURRENCY: HOW BITCOIN AND DIGITAL MONEY ARE CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Paul Vigna,Michael J. Casey | 384 pages | 02 Apr 2016 | Vintage Publishing | 9781784700737 | English | London, United Kingdom 13 Types Of Cryptocurrency That Aren't Bitcoin | This perk could allow a savvy user to use margin-trading strategies from their Uphold account without signing a contract with an overseas CFD exchange. Uphold also supports merchant services that allow for payments for goods and services, and it plans to offer a traditional payments card in Its already huge but growing global base is a notable ecosystem of users who can buy and sell among one another through Uphold. Abra is an app focused on payments and seamless money exchange. Learn more about Abra. Abra succeeds resoundingly on domestic money transfers, letting users in the US make no-fee transfers through phone numbers or to other Abra users. It offers a standout international money transfer experience too. You may be able to dodge those spreads by transferring cryptocurrency. No fees are involved with transferring money or making payments through the app or moving funds in or out of it. Potential drawbacks: Your recipient must also have an Abra wallet, and they might need to withdraw the funds after receiving them, and options for doing so are limited in some places. Volatility might provide some opportunities. At the same time, it also charges spreads on currency exchanges — even within the app — which might further detract from the benefits. When you use an Abra wallet, its actual value in it is bitcoin, regardless of the currency you choose to hold in it. This is because Abra automatically adds more bitcoin to your account to compensate for any drop relative to your chosen currencies. Conversely, it subtracts bitcoin from your account when prices rise. This exotic system is the secret to its cheap and quick transfers. But it raises concerns about how well Abra might cope if bitcoin drops to zero. You are responsible for the security of your private keys and the backup password that comes with your new account. Learn more about Circle. It also lets you send funds through texts or email, which is nice for ease of use. Among its biggest perks is its enormous selection of more than currencies, letting you move funds nearly anywhere in the world. Circle charges a small fee of about 0. Any direct fees incurred for depositing or withdrawing funds from Circle generally come from other institutions. But you can no longer buy and sell cryptocurrency through the Circlepay app. Circle Invest is still under construction, but it plans to offer coin bundles, recurring buys, low minimums and quick transfers from bank to app to make things easier. Circle also owns Poloniex, which could suit those looking for advanced trading options, but its not part of the Circle app itself. Use money Circle stands out as a secure and tightly regulated platform. No need to worry about handling your own keys or irrevocably losing all your funds to, for example, a house fire that takes your backups. Costs are low compared with other options, the spread on currency exchange can take a bite out of large transfers. Learn more about Coinbase. And you can do it through email or Coinbase crypto wallet addresses. However, fees associated with getting funds into your wallet and then converting them to crypto might undermine its usefulness as a straightforward payment app. Make money Coinbase is more about letting people buy and sell cryptocurrencies easily. Fortunately, you can also link your Coinbase account to Coinbase Pro, which offers more seamless options for serious cryptocurrency trading and advanced features. Not many other apps can boast this luxury. Coinbase also offers a managed wallet experience, so no worry about your funds becoming irrevocably lost if you lose your password or phone or private keys. The recovery process might be arduous, but by necessity. As for using your money, you can convert crypto to gift cards and find Coinbase payment options in some stores. But once again, these features find friction in the form of unwanted fees. Use Coinbase heavily, and costs build up over time. In the long run, the key upside might be Coinbase acquisitions that offer genuinely unique options for using your money. And those fees …. Usual for SWIFT payments, intermediary banks might take a cut of the money en route so that what arrives is less than the amount sent. It might be a good way of ducking some of the transfer fees. At the same time, Premium and Metal users will still be paying the subscription fee associated with their account. You can also purchase cryptocurrencies for speculation, but that 1. Use money This is where Revolut stands out. Beyond that it offers convenient extras like device insurance and travel insurance, the aforementioned cashback for Metal users, waived ATM fees up to a certain limit and a concierge service with the highest tier plan. But most people might not be the right customers. In many cases, a platform will have its own native token, which can be optionally used to get preferable rates, discounts or other bonuses. If a borrower drops below their agreed LTV ratio, their collateral can be quickly and easily liquidated. As an added bonus, it can almost always be sold incrementally as needed, at fair market rates, without any kind of depreciation beyond the price change. This helps reduce, and theoretically completely eliminate, the risk of default from borrowers. In fact, it can even be used as a framework for completely automating the entire lending process, which some platforms are doing, to reduce costs even further. What happens to a borrower's collateral when cryptocurrency prices drop? The loan to value LTV ratio is how much money someone can borrow with their collateral. Similarly, it can be safer for borrowers not to borrow the maximum amount their collateral allows, to avoid needing to top-up or risk having their cryptocurrency sold after a price drop. Conversely, if cryptocurrency prices rise this allows borrowers to take out more money, within the limits allowed by their collateral. If you only want a small loan, for example, not all platforms will be equally useful. Similarly, if you as a borrower want to better secure the value of your holdings against market forces, you may want to look for a platform that supports stablecoin deposits. You should also compare platforms on reputation, security and overall trustworthiness by looking at user reviews, terms and conditions, whether they meet any licensing or compliance obligations, how they secure funds and other factors. Step 2. Sign up for an account You will typically need to register for an account on these platforms before you can lend or borrow. Some platforms may also require trust scores or credit scores as a way of evaluating your creditworthiness. This, and your borrowing history on the platform itself, may affect the loan terms and conditions you can access. Step 3. In other cases it may be taking out a fiat currency loan with Bitcoin as collateral, or trading. One of the best ways to spot a cryptocurrency scam is to be wary of any offer that seems too good to be true. But do any of the offers on this page qualify? But in the 80s and 90s, it was normal for bank customers to earn interest in the double digits from fixed term deposits. And are these offers really as good as they seem? Both borrowers and lenders have different pros and cons to watch out for when using these platforms. Compare cryptocurrency lending platforms. Some of the risks to be aware of when using cryptocurrency lending platforms, as either a lender or a borrower, include:. If you do it anyway, then if the price of the backing cryptocurrency goes up you make more money than you would have otherwise. And if the price goes down, you may experience a chain reaction of collateral being liquidated. The end result is almost identical to an extremely inefficient, expensive and convoluted form of margin trading with less than 2x leverage. What's the best cryptocurrency lending platform? Rates, fees and features will vary widely depending on the platform. Which cryptocurrency lending platform pays the most? The highest earning platform will vary over time as rates change. Also, the same platform may pay different amounts to different users. Back to top This should not be taken as an endorsement of any of these platforms, and you should do additional research to make sure you choose a reliable platform that suits your needs. Note that the availability of these platforms may vary by location, and some platforms may not be licensed or regulated in your jurisdiction. Was this content helpful to you? Yes No Thank you for your feedback! Andrew Munro Andrew Munro is the cryptocurrency editor at Finder. Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales, and has written guides about everything from industrial pigments to cosmetic surgery. Want to find the best rates for your next personal loan? Compare lenders with this well-known online platform. Research and compare the best stock trading platforms to find the right one for your financial needs. Worried about defaulting on your new vehicle? Find out how you can get the money you need to purchase a new vehicle with a second chance car loan. Find out how you can purchase a new vehicle without taking on more car loan debt than you can afford. Read our comprehensive guide to cryptocurrency margin trading, how it works and the benefits and risks you should consider before you start trading.