Thursday, March 7, 2019

A Great Risk-Free Rate?

Generally, savings accounts are considered to be close to a risk-free investment. Given what you have learned about risk and return, you would expect a low return, and you would be right. Bankrate.com states that the current average savings account interest rate is .10 percent, although the highest rate offered is 2.35 percent. But what if you could get a 6.2 percent return on your savings account? You can with a BlockFi Interest Account. BlockFi allows you to deposit bitcoin or ether and will pay you a 6.2 percent APY (or EAR). BlockFi is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services, but does not have the FDIC protection carried by most banks. As with banks, BlockFi depends on charging borrowers a higher rate than it pays to savers. Now the question remains: Is a savings account with BlockFi truly risk-free?