Market Under Pressure
The Crypto market continues to face heavy downward pressure, amidst an onslaught of multiple factors. Fearful and inexperienced investors begin to sell off in this type of climate, which is clearly the worst thing to do. If you are unable to accumulate more Crypto as prices collapse, then there is another alternative that may be worthy of your attention. With ETH below $1900, there are very few ETH holders who are able to sell their holdings at this point for any form of profit. So, if you are unable to sell, you may want to consider increasing your ETH holdings while prices are bearish. There are a number of ways that one can achieve this, though all involve some level of risk. Something that all Crypto investors should always remember is that this is a risky market and that risk is part and parcel of the Crypto life.
I know some would advocate staking your ETH in the ETH 2.0 protocol, yet I would rather choose other avenues. ETH 2.0 staking is locked, which means that you have to wait a significant amount of time before you can regain control of your coins. I would much rather utilize some DeFi and lending opportunities, for the sole reason that I can take possession of my coins whenever I want, compounded by better returns.
CubFinance Auto-Compounding Vault
CubFinance recently retired their ETH Den and launched the ETH Kingdom vault, which is an auto-compounding vault that earns both ETH and CUB! The combined APY is currently 15.31% at the time of writing. This is a seriously great return, especially compared to other ETH vaults.
There are a lot CubFinance supporters who believe in the project long-term and are prepared to do the time and accumulate CUB for as long as it takes. You have to love and respect that type of conviction and commitment. Reminds me of when BTC was at 3K and so many people were fearing the worst. I was convinced that it was one of the biggest gifts of the decade. Similarly, CUB is trading at a great discount at approximately $0.63! Remembering that within 48 hours of launch, CUB broke the $14 mark!
This makes for a very attractive investment, as you can earn both ETH and CUB, which both have a very strong likelihood of increasing significantly in the long-term. Obviously the usual DeFi risks apply! If you do not know what these are then perhaps you should avoid this option. Otherwise, do your own research in order to understand the risks involved and decide whether or not you are willing to travel this road.
The Traditional Lending Avenue
There is also the good old faithful way of earning interest on your ETH holdings, being traditional CeFi opportunities. BlockFi are currently offering 4% APY, which may be a bit low for some. Celsius currently offer quite an attractive lending opportunity, due to better rates, as well as being able to earn your interest in CEL token. The current rate is 5.05% and CEL has been an amazing performer over the past year and is currently trading at a 50% discount off of the local high. Piling up CEL may be a very good move for the future! If you hold multiple assets on Celsius, you can also set all your rewards to be paid out in CEL.
Remember, that BlockFi also allow you to set your payout options, which is pretty cool. In other words, I can hold stablecoins and receive my monthly interest in BTC!
Celsius is also gaining a lot more adoption, as well as extending their business model into mining. The project is currently ranked number 43 according to market cap and could easily break the Top 20 in my opinion. It is just a matter of time, as the services offered are being met with much love and appreciation from the Crypto community. There are obviously many other options available, which you can research and check out as well. However, most users tend to gravitate towards Celsius and BlockFi.
Still Want To Take The ETH2.0 Option
Even though I am not really a big fan of staking ETH2.0, you may want to do so. Unless you have a really heavy bag of ETH, you will have to make use of an ETH2.0 pooling platform such as Mycointainer. Currently the return on Mycointainer is 8%, which is fairly good but like I say your coins are locked. It is also unknown when exactly coins will be released, making it a rather uncertain investment option. However, if you have a very long timeframe, it may be worth considering. You will have to weigh up the pros and cons, as well as potential risks.
I like having instant access to my assets. I generally don't make use of investment vehicles that have fixed lock in periods. I guess some will not be bothered by this and would consider ETH2.0 staking. There are many ways one can earn yield, especially through DeFi. I have only mentioned CubFinance, as it is currently the best option in my opinion. The Bunny yield optimizer was at one stage offering over 20% but has since seen that drop to 1.7%, which is definitely not worth the risk in my opinion.
You will have to do your own research and come to your own conclusions. Please do not consider this investment advice but rather an encouragement to research and seeking out financial advice if so required. Here's to increasing your ETH bags as we feel the chill of winter. All the best and see you soon!
