Swyftx, one of Australia’s largest crypto exchanges, has become the first local exchange to offer users zero-fee yields on cryptocurrency deposits.
Swyftx exchange will begin offering interest-bearing yields on a wide range of cryptocurrency assets — the first Australian-operated crypto exchange to do so.
Swyftx’s new product, called Earn, will offer Australian and New Zealand residents the ability to earn interest on 21 different digital assets, including large-cap cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) and stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).
Swyftx Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Parsons, said the exchange’s Earn feature was one of the most competitive in the crypto industry, as the Brisbane-based company will allow customers to withdraw their assets from Earn at any time, with no exit fees, lock-ups or minimum notice period.
Parsons added that this fee-free flexibility is the main differentiator between its Earn product and similar ones offered by larger, multinational exchanges such as Binance and Crypto.com.
“Very few global exchanges are offering crypto users the level of interest rates that we are without also having lock-in periods.”
Swyftx stated that the amount of yield that can be offered to lenders ultimately depends on the volatility of the underlying asset. Large-cap stablecoins such as USDC and USDT are set to bear interest rates of up to 6.7%, while mainstay crypto assets like BTC and ETH will offer up to 5.1%. Slightly more risk-on assets such as Polkadot (DOT) will offer returns of up to 12.7%, while DeFi token KAVA is set to offer up to 25.8%.
Earn will also offer yields on TrueAUD (TAUD), an Australian-dollar pegged stablecoin. Users can expect to earn up to 5.3% APY on TAUD deposits.
Swyftx clarified that the rates offered by Earn will be variable, with Swyftx providing a seven-day notice period for any changes.
Parsons said that he expects Earn to appeal to a large array of Australian investors. Currently, around 28.8% of all adults in Australians own, or have owned cryptocurrency according to a 2021 survey from the Independent Reserve’s Cryptocurrency Index.
“Our expectation is that you’ll start to see many more Aussies using crypto wealth services as they become more familiar with digital assets,” added Parsons.
“We’re looking at significant pockets of traditional finance and thinking ‘you know what, we can out-compete you.”
While Swyftx may be the first Australian crypto exchange to offer yields on cryptocurrency deposits, other Fintech startups have begun offering similar yield-bearing products to Australian consumers as well. On March 17, Australian fintech startup Block Earner began offering mainstream direct access to the world of decentralized finance (DeFi).
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Block Earner co-founder Jordan Momtazi, said that Australia’s current economic climate makes products that offer yields on savings quite attractive, especially as it is practically impossible to achieve similar returns using methods offered by traditional financial institutions.
Related: Swyftx signs major sponsorship deal with Aussie National Rugby League
The regulatory situation in Australia, concerning yield-bearing crypto deposits, is far more relaxed than in the United States. The SEC is continuing its hard-line stance against crypto lending and related interest-bearing digital assets.
In late-Jan. of this year the SEC launched a probe into high-yield digital asset lending products offered by Gemini, Celsius and Voyager Digital. Then, on Feb. 14, the SEC slapped crypto-lending company BlockFi with a $100 million fine for failing to register high-yield interest accounts that the agency deemed to be securities.
