BlockFi Wallet Review

Blockfi recently announced that it is closing its platform, citing challenges with providing service in a highly regulated environment. This means that users will no longer be able to access their Blockfi wallets and the Blockfi platform. All user funds have been returned to their respective bank accounts.

If you’re looking for a crypto rewards credit card and a simple way to trade your cryptocurrency, BlockFi may be a suitable option.

Established in 2017, BlockFi has its headquarters in Jersey City. Customers and the SEC have noticed BlockFi because of its high-yield cryptocurrency interest accounts. Additionally, it has experienced issues with its loan product. However, this may not be a major concern for the average investor looking to buy and hold for long-term value appreciation.

After being accused of failing to register its retail crypto loan product and other violations by the SEC, the company recently settled with the agency. In February, the SEC announced that BlockFi had agreed to pay fines totaling $100 million. As part of the settlement, BlockFi also agreed to discontinue providing its BlockFi Interest Account to customers in the United States.

About BlockFi Wallet

Using BlockFi, you may purchase and trade bitcoin quickly and easily and earn interest on your holdings. Established in 2017, it has rapidly become one of the leading marketplaces for crypto interest accounts.

Due to ongoing regulatory concerns, BlockFi has temporarily stopped accepting applications from new clients in the United States to open BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIAs). The SEC issued a fine of $100 million to the corporation in early 2024 because of problems with the registration of its loan product.

BlockFi is working with authorities to achieve compliance, despite recent challenges. It will also roll out BlockFi Yield, a revamped BIA, to consumers in the United States. After this occurs, BlockFi will become a top option for digital asset passive income.

About BlockFi Wallet

You may store, purchase, and sell several cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in your free BlockFi crypto wallet. To top it all off, if you have a BlockFi Earnings Signature Visa card, this is where your cryptocurrency rewards will be deposited. There is also a BlockFi hot wallet option.

What is BlockFi Wallet?

BlockFi, like other exchanges, simplifies asset management and trading through a free wallet. And if you sign up for BlockFi, you’ll get a wallet as soon as you make an account.

All newly listed assets, credit card rewards, and promotional bonuses are automatically sent to the BlockFi Wallet. The BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIAs) are still accessible and integrate flawlessly with the new wallet on the platform.

Wallet Features

You can store your cryptocurrency in a digital wallet called a BlockFi wallet that is connected to your primary BlockFi account. The fact that it’s an extension of the exchange rather than a stand-alone wallet doesn’t affect the fact that it’s packed with features that ensure your cryptocurrency investments are safe.

•     Exchange Cryptocurrencies with Little Effort

You can purchase, sell, and store any cryptocurrency BlockFi recognizes in its wallet. For its American consumers, BlockFi now accepts a dozen different cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, including BAT, Bitcoin, BUSD, Chainlink, DAI, Dogecoin, Ethereum, GUSD, Litecoin, PAX, and USDC.

For customers outside the United States, this card also supports several different cryptocurrencies.

Depositing cryptocurrency from an external exchange or wallet is an option for funding your BlockFi wallet. Alternatively, you can use ACH to buy cryptocurrency directly from your bank account. Just $20 gets you started in the market. BlockFi also features a straightforward trading interface, where you can enter the cryptocurrency you’re interested in buying and the quantity you’d want to purchase to receive an instant price quote.

In addition, the BlockFi wallet facilitates crypto-to-crypto trading, eliminating the need to convert cryptocurrency to fiat currency for every transaction. Using your wallet, you may also schedule automated buys and sales. Automated transactions may be set to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

BlockFi’s wallet supports fewer cryptocurrencies than major exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini. Even so, it is a flexible cryptocurrency wallet that makes investing simple for newcomers.

• The Absence of a Required Minimal Balance

There is no low balance threshold in your BlockFi wallet. Unlike other markets, this one has minimum trade size of $20. However, neither a large initial deposit nor actual cryptocurrency ownership is a prerequisite for using BlockFi.

Supported Coins

BlockFi, one of the best Bitcoin lending sites, supports about fifteen different coins.

Bitcoin is the default, but as of July 2024, you can also use Ethereum, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Chainlink, PAX Gold, Basic Attention Token, Uniswap, and Bitcoin Cash, or one of the “stablecoin” alternatives such as the Gemini Dollar, USD Coin, Paxos Standard, Multi-Collateral Dai, or Binance USD.

Fees & Limits

Adding cryptocurrency to your BlockFi wallet doesn’t cost you anything. In contrast, different cryptocurrencies have different withdrawal fees and restrictions.

Half of the supported assets on BlockFi currently allow for a free monthly withdrawal. Withdrawals of these cryptocurrencies incur fees only when they are made again during the same calendar month. You will be subject to various charges when withdrawing funds from the other accounts.

Since BlockFi has generous withdrawal restrictions, investors need not worry about running out of funds. The fees associated with making withdrawals often, however, can add up quickly. The fact that widely used cryptocurrencies like Ethereum charge money-out fees is a drawback.

To add, BlockFi claims there are no trading costs. This is correct, albeit you’ll still incur spread costs comparable to those at marketplaces like Coinbase and Gemini. Finally, the trading fees are comparable when comparing BlockFi to other exchanges. You can also compare BlockFi wallet vs interest account.

There is a BlockFi interest calculator option where you can calculate your yield. You can access it on their website.

Safety And Security

BlockFi manages a cold wallet. Sending USD to BlockFi is equivalent to sending USD as a USD-linked stablecoin. When you use your BlockFi account to acquire other cryptocurrencies, you essentially swap your stablecoin for them.

The underlying custody of your funds on the platform is handled by a third-party regulated custodian, such as BlockFi partner Gemini. BlockFi’s collaboration with other prominent crypto companies, such as Gemini, is an example of the enhanced security and safety it provides to its customers due to these relationships.

In addition, BlockFi provides safety features, including the option to restrict withdrawals to specific wallet addresses. This makes it more difficult for an attacker to empty your wallet and send the funds to an address that isn’t on your whitelist. BlockFi also supports two-factor authentication.

Instead of keeping your funds in a bank account, they are converted to a stablecoin. You will not be covered by the FDIC or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. To ensure public confidence in and the continued health of the United States financial system, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guarantees depositors’ money and monitors financial institutions for customer security. When a brokerage business fails, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) returns investors’ cash and securities. In this case, your funds are neither supported by any of these bodies.

BlockFi Wallet Alternatives

If you’re looking for a means to earn cryptocurrency passively, BlockFi is one of the greatest options. Because of this, the exchange and its associated wallet were widely used.

BlockFi’s interest account product will be just as popular whenever it returns to U.S. users. You can store your digital assets in other wallets besides BlockFi till then. You may compare Coinbase wallet vs BlockFi, Celsius wallet vs BlockFi, BlockFi vs Youhodler, and BlockFi vs Nexo.

Check out the list of alternatives below:

• Coinbase

When it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies, Coinbase is your go-to global leader. Additionally, staking various coins on the platform can yield up to 5% APY returns.

The Coinbase wallet, unlike BlockFi’s wallet, supports NFTs and is compatible with a wide variety of DeFi apps and projects. It is one of the easiest wallets and exchanges to use.

While Coinbase’s trading fees might add up, the wallet’s simplicity and the exchange’s widespread adoption are two key selling factors.

• Ledger

When it comes to crypto hardware wallets, Ledger is a top choice. The primary distinction between Ledger and BlockFi is that Ledger is a hardware-based crypto wallet.

When compared to BlockFi, Ledger’s support for over a hundred different cryptocurrencies is impressive. Ledger Live allows users to stake up to seven coins at once for staking incentives. This makes Ledger as safe as a hardware wallet and allows you to earn tokens.

However, a potential drawback is that Ledger wallets do not come cheap. The lowest-cost option is the $59 Ledger Nano S, and the highest-end option is the $149 Nano X.

• ZenGo

You can purchase, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies with ZenGo, just like BlockFi Bitcoin wallet. Because of ZenGo’s collaboration with Nexo, you can also accumulate interest in your cryptocurrency holdings.

In addition, ZenGo is expanding its Web 3.0 and DeFi connections. Connecting your ZenGo wallet to NFT markets like OpenSea or experimenting with crypto games like The Sandbox are examples.

ZenGo’s integration with Juno also enables cryptocurrency payments. It has slightly higher transaction costs than BlockFi. However, withdrawals are free of charge other than the typical blockchain-accepted network cost.

Check out our Freeway.io review and Coinloan review also.

Is BlockFi Wallet Safe?

You can purchase, sell, and trade Bitcoin with BlockFi, but your funds aren’t insured by the FDIC or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. BlockFi uses reputable third-party custodians, one of which is Gemini, to store its assets.

Security features provided by BlockFi include two-factor authentication and the option to specify withdrawal addresses from a limited set of wallets. BlockFi was hacked via SIM switch, however, the company claims no customer funds were stolen or compromised in any way. This should answer your “is BlockFi safe?” question. In addition, you might want to know is Finblox safe?, is okx legit? You can check out reviews of the platform.

Conclusion

The BlockFi Interest Account is the company’s most notable offering. However, this platform also provides a free, highly adaptable wallet to safeguard your digital assets.

If you’re looking for an easy method to get into cryptocurrency, the BlockFi wallet is still a good option. Moreover, when BlockFi Yield is released, the wallet and the entire platform will appeal more to investors.