Last updated on November 20th, 2021
When you are looking to earn interest on your crypto, there are 2 platforms that may stand out: Crypto.com and Celsius.
Both of them allow you to earn interest for a wide variety of currencies.
So how do they differ from each other?
Contents
The difference between Crypto.com and Celsius
Both Crypto.com and Celsius allow you to earn interest on a wide variety of cryptocurrencies. However, Crypto.com has a lock-in period and only offers you simple interest, while Celsius allows you to withdraw at any time, and your interest will be compounded. Ultimately, this may affect the returns you earn on your crypto.
Here is an in-depth comparison between these 2 platforms:
Founder
Crypto.com was founded in June 2016. They are based in Hong Kong, and serves over 10 million customers.
Meanwhile Celsius was founded slightly later in 2017 and is based in New York.
They have a smaller user base of around 500k users.
Number of cryptocurrencies
Here are the different cryptocurrencies that you can deposit into either account:
Crypto.com allows you to earn interest on 36 different currencies
You are able to earn interest on 36 different cryptocurrencies on Crypto.com’s Earn!
However, the number of currencies that you can actually deposit depends on your country / region:
| Available Cryptocurrency | Supported Locations |
|---|---|
| BTC, CRO, ETH, LTC, XRP, BNB, BAT, LINK, MKR, DAI, PAX, ATOM, BCH, VET, ICX, ADA, ENJ, ALGO, KNC, eGLD, COMP, MANA | All |
| PAXG, TUSD, TAUD, TCAD, TGBP, USDC | All except Singapore |
| EOS, XLM, XTZ, CELR, DOT | All except for the US states of Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. |
| USDT, OMG, UNI | All except the US. |
If you are in Singapore like me, you aren’t able to earn interest on most of the stablecoins, except for USDT.
Celsius allows you to deposit 44 cryptocurrencies
Celsius has a really diverse offering. You are able to deposit 44 currencies into their platform.
The number of currencies on Celsius is slightly higher compared to Crypto.com.
Here are some currencies that you can earn interest with Celsius, but not on Crypto.com:
Buying cryptocurrency
Crypto.com allows you to buy crypto on their app via 2 methods:
1. Credit / debit card
You can use your debit or credit card to purchase crypto on Crypto.com. This is usually the fastest way of purchasing any cryptocurrency.
However, you will be charged a fee by Crypto.com for making the purchase. For Singaporeans, you will be charged a 3.5% fee.
You may also be charged a CCY conversion fee by your bank as well!
Buying crypto via your debit / credit card is the most convenient. However, the fees can be rather exorbitant.
2. Fiat wallet
Crypto.com also allows you to directly purchase your crypto via your fiat wallet.
If you are a Singaporean, you are able to link your Xfers account.
For other countries, you are able to link your bank account to Crypto.com’s fiat wallet:
| Currency | Method |
|---|---|
| AUD | NPP Network BPAY |
| CAD | Normal transfer |
| EUR | SEPA |
| GBP | FPS |
| USD | ACH Wire bank transfer |
From there, you are able to purchase cryptocurrencies directly from your fiat currencies.
Crypto.com does not charge any transaction fees. However, they may earn from the spread.
The amount of crypto that you get for the same amount of fiat currency may be lower than the actual market rate!
You can buy crypto on Celsius too
It is possible for you to purchase crypto on the Celsius app as well.
You can do this via 2 ways:
- Credit or debit card
- Bank transfer
However, the fees that you incur can be pretty hefty:
| Payment Provider | Fees |
|---|---|
| Wyre | 0.1% (ACH transfer, US only) |
| Coinify | 0.5% (manual bank transfer) 2% (EU credit card) 3.5% (non-EU credit card) |
Unless you are staying in the US, it may be better to purchase your crypto on another exchange first. Then, you can deposit your crypto into Celsius from that exchange.
Lock-In period
For Crypto.com Earn, you are able to choose between 3 different types of lock-in periods:
- Flexible
- 1 month
- 3 months
The longer you lock up your crypto with Crypto.com, the higher the interest rate you’ll receive.
Meanwhile, Celsius does not have any lock-in periods. This is similar to other platforms like BlockFi or Hodlnaut.
This means that you are able to freely withdraw your crypto any time you wish!
Interest rates
The main thing you’ll be interested in are the interest rates that either account offers you.
For Crypto.com, the interest you earn is based on the currency that you own.
For example, you will earn interest in BTC if you are lending out the BTC that you own.
You are able to earn better rates on your crypto with Crypto.com Earn with a higher CRO stake.
You would need to stake an equivalent amount of your fiat currency to get the Jade Green Visa card or higher.
Meanwhile, Celsius allows you to earn interest in 2 ways:
- In-kind reward (same currency that you own)
- Interest in CEL token
Celsius allows you to earn a higher interest rate, if you choose to earn it in CEL tokens.
However, the option to earn in CEL is not available if you’re from the United States.
Here are the interest rates for some currencies that you can deposit on both platforms. This first table is comparing the ‘lower tier‘ interest rates,
| Currency | Crypto.com (≤ Ruby Steel) | Celsius In- Kind APY |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | 4.5% | 6.20% (Up to 1 BTC) 3.51% (After 1 BTC) |
| ETH | 4.5% | 5.35% (Up to 100 ETH) 5.05% (After 100 ETH) |
| USDT | 10% | 8.88% |
| PAXG | 2% | 5.50% |
| COMP | 2% | 4.60% |
| EOS | 2% | 4.45% |
while this table is comparing the ‘higher tier‘ interest rates.
| Currency | Crypto.com (≥ Jade Green) | Celsius CEL APY |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | 6.5% | 4.40% |
| ETH | 5.5% | 6.35% |
| USDT | 12% | 11.21% |
| PAXG | 3% | 6.92% |
| COMP | 3% | 5.78% |
| EOS | 3% | 5.60% |
APY stands for annual percentage yield. This takes into effect the compounding interest that you earn on your crypto.
Depending on the currency you own, one platform may have a higher interest rate compared to the other.
You can earn extra interest on your CRO if you stake it on Crypto.com’s Exchange
If you own CRO and want to stake it on the Crypto.com app, you can earn up to 6% interest on your CRO .
However, you are able to earn a higher interest (10%) if you stake at least 5,000 CRO on the Crypto.com Exchange instead!
You will need to stake your CRO for at least 180 days, before you are able to withdraw your CRO.
Celsius offers extra rewards based on the amount of CEL you own
Celsius also allows you to earn even more interest if you’re holding the CEL tokens. This is based on the amount of CEL that you own in your Celsius portfolio.
Depending on the amount of CEL that you hold, you are able to earn even more interest!
Interest rates may change
Like all other accounts, the interest that you earn on your crypto is not guaranteed.
Both accounts reserve the right to change the yields at any time.
For Crypto.com, they do not have a periodic review of the interest rates. As such, they may choose to change their rates at any time.
For Celsius, the interest that you earn changes on a weekly basis. This is rather volatile, and it may fluctuate quite a bit.
How interest is being paid out
Crypto.com pays your interest by crediting it to your Crypto Wallet.
This means that you aren’t able to earn interest on your payouts. As such, Crypto.com’s Earn only pays out a simple interest to you each time.
Meanwhile, Celsius calculates your rewards for each week, between Friday to the next Friday.
Your interest is calculated, and then paid on the following Monday.
Celsius may be the better option since it gives you weekly payouts. This way, you are able to compound your returns even faster!
Deposit
There is a minimum quantity of each cryptocurrency that you need to deposit to start earning interest for Crypto.com.
You can view the minimum required amount on Crypto.com’s help page. For some currencies, you may need to deposit a large amount of fiat currency to start earning interest!
Meanwhile, Celsius does not have any minimum deposit.
This means that you can deposit any amount into either account, and still earn interest on it!
Depositing your money via the blockchain
When you are depositing money into either account, you will be given a crypto wallet address to send your crypto to.
You can send your crypto from any exchange that allows you to do so. Some examples include:
It is very important that you only send crypto of the same currency to the wallet. If not, all of your crypto will be lost!
You will also need to make sure that the address that you’re sending to is exactly the same!
The string of letters and numbers are really long. If you make any mistake when typing out the address, your crypto will be lost forever!
As such, you may want to directly copy and paste the address instead.
No deposit fees
You are also not charged any deposit fees for either account.
However, you’ll need to consider the fees you’ll incur when sending your crypto from an exchange!
This depends on the exchange that you’re using, and some of them may be very hefty.
Some exchanges like Gemini allow you to withdraw up to 10 times each month without incurring any fees.
Withdrawal fees
For Crypto.com, you are charged a fixed fee when you withdraw your crypto from Crypto.com.
You can view the full list on Crypto.com’s app,
and here are some of the fees that you’ll incur:
| Currency | Withdrawal Fee |
|---|---|
| BTC | 0.0004 |
| ETH | 0.01 |
| BNB | 0.1 |
| ADA | 2.0 |
| USDC | 14.0 |
The fees can be pretty hefty, depending on the currency that you’re withdrawing.
Meanwhile, Celsius does not charge you any fees when withdrawing from your account.
As such, it may be more cost effective to deposit your crypto into Celsius. This is because you won’t incur any fees when you’re withdrawing your funds in the future!
Taking loans
If you are looking for a loan, you can take one from either platform:
Crypto.com has more flexible loans
Crypto.com allows you to deposit 14 different currencies as collateral,
and you can borrow your funds in 4 different stablecoins.
The interest that you pay depends on the amount of CRO that you’ve staked:
| Amount of CRO staked | Loan Interest |
|---|---|
| < 50,000 | 12% |
| ≥ 50,000 | 8% |
Celsius also has loans on their platform
Celsius allows you to take a loan on their platform too.
Here are the currencies that you can loan:
| Type of Currency | Currencies Available |
|---|---|
| Crypto | TUSD, GUSD, PAX, USDC, USDT ERC20, DAI |
| Fiat | USD |
To take a loan, you would need to have some cryptocurrency kept as collateral.
The amount of interest that you pay depends on 3 factors:
- The loan tenure (6-36 months)
- Loan to Value (25% – 50%)
- Whether you’re paying your loan in CEL or Cash
You can use the in-app calculator to determine the amount you’ll need to pay in interest.
Platform
Crypto.com’s Earn feature is found on their app,
while their Exchange platform is only available on desktop.
Meanwhile, Celsius is a mobile app-only platform.
I do find the platform a bit laggy, so they could really improve on the user experience!
Even though Celsius has a website, you can’t login from the platform.
Security
If you intend to leave your funds with either account, you will be more at ease if they are secure.
So what measures do both of these accounts have?
Crypto.com uses Ledger Vault Technology
Crypto.com uses Ledger Vault Technology to manage your assets. This allows Crypto.com to securely and efficiently manage your funds.
Crypto.com also holds your assets in cold storage. This means that your assets are stored offline, so that hackers can’t get access to them.
Moreover, the funds that you have with Crypto.com are insured up to USD $360 million!
With such measures in place, Crypto.com is making sure that all of your assets stored with them are secure.
Celsius is insured, but only for assets under their custody
Celsius does not disclose the security measures that they have.
However, the assets under their custody are insured by Fireblocks and PrimeTrust.
Your assets are only insured when they are under the custody of Celsius. Once they are loaned out to borrowers, your assets are no longer insured!
However, Celsius is a pretty well established company. Its services are available in more than 100 countries around the world.
As such, I believe that your assets should be rather secure with this platform!
Crypto lending is risky
The reason why both platforms are offering such high interest rates on your crypto is because this is quite a risky business.
Cryptocurrency is very volatile, and it may fluctuate in price by a lot!
The amount of crypto that you have in your portfolio really depends on your risk profile.
As such, you should decide if you are willing to take the risks when it comes to investing into any cryptocurrency!
Verdict
Here is a comparison between Crypto.com and Celsius:
| Crypto.com | Celsius | |
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2016 | 2017 |
| HQ | Hong Kong | New York |
| Number of Currencies | 36 | 44 |
| Buying Cryptocurrency | Fiat or Credit Card | Available |
| Interest Rates | In-Kind (Interest depends on amount of CRO staked) | In-Kind CEL (higher interest) |
| Accrual of Interest | Every week | Every Monday |
| Type of Interest Received | Simple | Compound |
| Deposit Fees | None | None |
| Minimum Deposit | Depends on currency | None |
| Lock-in Period | Flexible 1 month 3 months | None |
| Withdrawal Fees | Depends on currency | None |
| Loans | Present | Present |
| Platform | Web (for Exchange) App (for Earn) | Mobile app only |
| Security | Ledger Vault technology | Insured by Fireblocks and PrimeTrust |
So which platform should you choose?
I am leaning towards Celsius, because:
- The interest rates are usually comparable, if not higher than Crypto.com
- Your interest is credited weekly
- There are no withdrawal fees
- There is no lock-in period
Due to all of these advantages, I believe that Celsius is the better platform.
The only time you may want to consider Crypto.com is if it offers you a higher interest on the currency you own. Then again, you’ll have to take note of the lock-in period!
The main drawback with Celsius is that the interest rates change weekly. This heavily depends on the market rates and can be very volatile.
Even if the interest rates drop, you can choose to withdraw your crypto for free!
Conclusion
Both accounts allow you to earn extra interest on your crypto.
Here are some things you’ll need to consider:
- The type of currency you intend to hold
- The number of withdrawals you wish to make
- The amount of interest that you wish to earn
- Whether you’re ok with locking in your crypto for a certain amount of time
👉🏻 Referral Deals
If you are interested in signing up for any of the products mentioned above, you can check them out below!
Crypto.com Referral (Get up to $25 USD worth of CRO)
If you are interested in signing up for Crypto.com, you can use my referral link and enter the code ‘x2kfzusxq6‘.
We will both receive $25 USD worth of CRO in our Crypto Wallet.
Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Sign up for a Crypto.com account
- Enter my referral code: ‘x2kfzusxq6‘
- Stake enough CRO to unlock a Ruby Steel card or higher
The amount of CRO that you need to stake depends on the card you wish to get, and the currency you are staking in.
You can read more about the referral program on Crypto.com’s website.
Crypto.com Exchange Referral (Earn $10 USD- $50 USD in CRO)
If you are interested in creating a Crypto.com Exchange account, you can use my referral link and enter the code “x2kfzusxq6“.
Depending on the amount of CRO you stake on the Crypto.com Exchange, you are able to earn between USD $10 to USD $50!
Here are the amounts that you’ll need to stake to receive the bonuses:
| Amount of CRO Staked | Referral Bonus You Receive |
|---|---|
| 1,000 – 4,999 CRO | $10 |
| ≥ 5,000 CRO | $50 |
If you’ve already signed up for the Crypto.com app, you can still sign up for this bonus! This is because the Crypto.com App and Exchange are 2 different platforms.
You can read more about this referral program on Crypto.com’s website.
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