Nexo vs Celsius – Which Platform Is Better?

Last updated on September 20th, 2021

There are quite a few crypto platforms that allow you to earn a high interest rate on your crypto.

2 of them include Nexo and Celsius.

How are they different and which one should you choose?

Here’s what you need to know:

The difference between Nexo and Celsius

Nexo and Celsius mainly differ in the number of cryptocurrencies each platform offers you. Celsius may be slightly better as they offer higher interest rates for stablecoins, and they have free withdrawals too.

Here is an in-depth comparison between these 2 accounts:

Founder

Nexo was founded in 2018 and their headquarters is in London. Meanwhile, Celsius was founded in 2017 and is based in New York.

Nexo has a large user base with over 1 million users!

Celsius is smaller with only over 470k users.

Number of cryptocurrencies

Here are the different cryptocurrencies that you can deposit into either account:

Nexo allows you to earn on 21 cryptocurrencies

You can earn interest on Nexo with 21 different currencies:

Celsius allows you to deposit 44 cryptocurrencies

Celsius has a much larger offering! You are able to deposit 44 currencies into their platform.

Some of the currencies that are not found on Nexo include:

1. BUSD
2. GUSD
3. XAUT
4. BAT
5. UNI

Celsius has a much more diverse offering compared to Nexo!

Buying cryptocurrency

You are able to buy crypto directly on Nexo. However, the only crypto that you can buy is NEXO, which is Nexo’s native token.

You are able to buy NEXO via a variety of currencies, both fiat or crypto. However, there are some currencies like SGD which are not supported.

It is also possible for you to purchase crypto on the Celsius app!

You can do this via 2 ways:

1. Credit or debit card
2. 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.

Exchanging cryptocurrencies

Once you’ve transferred cryptocurrencies to Nexo, you can use their exchange to trade them for other currencies.

This can be done on Nexo’s app.

However, this option is not available for Celsius! This means you can only transfer in the currency that you wish to earn from.

Interest rates

The main thing you’ll be interested in are the interest rates that either account offers you.

Both platforms allow you to earn interest in 2 ways:

1. In-Kind (i.e. the token that you’ve deposited)
2. Earning in their native token (NEXO or CEL)

Both Nexo and Celsius have their own tokens:

1. NEXO
2. CEL

These platforms allow you to earn a higher interest rate. This will occur if you choose to receive your interest in their native tokens!

You will earn an extra 2% if you choose to earn in NEXO. However, the extra interest you earn in CEL depends on the currency.

Here are the interest rates that you can earn for some common currencies:

Currency	Nexo APY (NEXO)	Celsius APY (CEL)
ETH	8%	6.35%
BTC	8%	4.40%
USDC	12%	11.21%
TUSD	12%	11.21%
PAXG	8%	6.92%
EOS	8%	5.60%

APY stands for annual percentage yield. This takes into effect the compounding interest that you earn on your crypto.

Overall, Nexo seems to be providing the higher interest rates for these common currencies. However, these rates are always subject to change!

As such, you may want to see which currency you intend to hold and see which platform offers you the higher rate.

Nexo also allows you to earn interest on fiat currencies

Apart from crypto, Nexo also allows you to earn interest on your fiat currencies.

You are able to earn up to 12% APY! However, you would have to earn your interest in the form of NEXO to receive this high interest rate.

If you wish to earn in-kind, you will still get a 10% interest rate. This is still really high!

There are 3 currencies that you can earn from:

1. USD
2. GBP
3. EUR

However, I can’t find the USD option in my account. I only have the option to deposit either GBP or EUR.

This could be because I am from Singapore.

High interest rates means high risks

While the high interest rate seems really attractive for your fiat currency, I would suggest against leaving all of your money with Nexo.

This is because the reason why Nexo can offer such a high interest rate is due to the people whom they are lending to.

You are able to take a loan from Nexo without having much requirements. The only thing that you need to provide is collateral, in case you default.

As such, there is a higher chance that a lender may default from their payment! This is why Nexo offers such high interest rates on your money.

If you are aware of the risks involved, then you can place some of your money inside Nexo.

However, I strongly recommend not to treat Nexo like a savings account and leave all of your money inside!

Both platforms have a loyalty program

Both platforms have a loyalty program, which is quite similar. This depends on how much NEXO or CEL tokens you hold, as compared to your entire portfolio.

This is Nexo’s program,

as well as Celsius’.

If you intend to hold NEXO or CEL for a long time, these programmes may benefit you!

How you earn your rewards

For Nexo, your interest is paid out daily. With this daily compounding effect, you are able to receive even higher returns!

However, you will need to hold your assets for at least 24 hours first, before the payout will be issued to you.

For Celsius, your rewards are calculated for each week, between Friday to the next Friday.

Your interest is calculated, and then paid on the following Monday.

Borrowers of both platforms

How can both of these platforms afford to pay you such a high interest rate on your crypto?

Nexo loans out your crypto to institutions on an overcollaterised basis.

Meanwhile, Celsius lends your crypto to their approved borrowers. Your crypto is also secured with collateral too.

Celsius also claims to return up to 80% of the interest that they earn from lending your coins. This allows them to offer such high interest rates to you.

Deposits

Celsius does not have any minimum deposit.

This means that you can deposit any amount into either account, and still earn interest on it!

However for Nexo, you are required to have a minimum deposit to start earning the high interest rates:

Currency	Minimum Deposit
BTC	0.001
ETH	0.01
XRP	5.00
BCH, LTC	0.01
EOS	0.50
XLM	20
LINK	0.3
TRX	150
PAXG	0.001
BNB	0.05
Stablecoins	1

The minimum amounts are not too high, but it may affect how much you need to transfer to your account!

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:

1. Coinhako
2. Luno
3. Gemini
4. Coinbase

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.

No lock-in period

Both Nexo and Celsius do not have any lock-in periods. This means that you are able to freely withdraw your crypto any time you wish!

However, you may want to take note of the withdrawal fees that you’ll incur!

Withdrawal fees

Celsius does not charge you any fees when withdrawing from your account!

You are able to freely withdraw your currencies in your Celsius wallet at any time.

However, Nexo does charge fees for withdrawals that you make. The number of free withdrawals each month depends on your loyalty tier.

Tier	Number of Free Withdrawals
Base	1 free withdrawal
Silver	2 free withdrawals
Gold	3 free withdrawals
Platinum	5 free withdrawals

The withdrawal fee that you are charged depends on the gas fees that are being charged by the network!

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 multiple times, especially if you’re only a Base member.

Taking loans

If you are looking for a loan, you can take one from either platform:

Celsius has lower interest rates

Celsius allows you to take a loan on their platform.

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:

1. The loan tenure (6-36 months)
2. Loan to Value (25% – 50%)
3. 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.

The interest rates start from 1%.

Nexo charges a higher interest rate for loans

You can start taking a loan from Nexo starting from 5.9% APR.

You will need collateral as well, which is:

1. $500 USD for bank transfers
2. $5,000 for stablecoin transfers

Here are some of the currencies you can borrow in:

Type of Currency	Currencies Available
Fiat Currencies	40+ (EUR, GBP, USD)
Stablecoins	USDT, USDC

Platform

Nexo has both a web platform,

as well as a mobile app.

Celsius also has a web platform,

as well as a mobile app.

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?

Nexo has a rather secure platform

Nexo has partnered with BitGo and Ledger Vault as their security partners.

BitGo is the main custodian of your crypto assets, and has a pretty strong track record.

Nexo also has $375 million worth of assets being insured by both partners!

Moreover, Nexo only loans your assets to credit lines that are overcollateralised between 200-500%.

This should help to reduce the risk of the institution defaulting from the loan!

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 Nexo and Celsius:

	Nexo	Celsius
Year Founded	2018	2017
HQ	London	New York
User Base	1 million	470k
Number of Currencies	21	44
Fiat Currencies	Present	Absent
Buying Cryptocurrency	Only for NEXO	Available
Interest Rates	In-Kind NEXO (higher interest)	In-Kind  CEL (higher interest)
Accrual of Interest	Daily	Every Monday
Deposit Fees	None	None
Minimum Deposit	Yes	No
Lock-in Period	None	None
Withdrawal Fees	Depends on loyalty tier and gas fees	None
Loans	Present	Present
Platform	Web and mobile app	Web and mobile app
Security	Insured up to $375 million	Insured by Fireblocks  and PrimeTrust

Which platform should you choose?

The interest rates that you earn are pretty similar for both platforms. Again, it depends on the currency that you’re holding to see if one platform offers a higher interest.

Here could be some reasons why you choose one platform over the other:

Choose Nexo if you higher interest rates

Nexo provides higher interest rates compared to Celsius, especially if you choose to earn in NEXO tokens. Nexo also seems to be a very secure platform. With a huge insurance guarantee, it will reduce your fears, even in the event of a hack!

If you intend to receive higher returns, you may want to choose Nexo. However, the interest rates may be subject to future changes!

Choose Celsius if you want to earn in more currencies

Celsius is the more flexible platform due to the wider variety of currencies that it has on offer.

Moreover, it does not charge any withdrawal fees at all. These fees can be really costly if you want to send your crypto in the blockchain.

As such, Celsius may be the better platform for you.

Conclusion

Both accounts allow you to earn extra interest on your crypto, which is similar to Crypto Earn.

The main considerations when you’re choosing between the platforms could be:

1. The currency you wish to hold
2. The interest rates you wish to earn
3. The number of withdrawals you intend to make each month
4. How secure the platform you want to invest in

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