Investment Review: MCO coin & Crypto.com App — Earning Interest on Crypto

So I’m pretty big on finding small income streams and diversifying what I do with my money, hence my first foray into cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

The industry is still in its infancy and there are very few legitimate projects making a good go of it and providing investors with returns so when I do find one I’m happy to try it out, especially in a bear market when prices are low, the risk is low.

If I’m able to acquire more stake at this point on my capital I am happy to do so and don’t really worry about the current fiat value. I’ve taken a risk before on the freebitco.in interest account which still seems to be ticking over a 1000 Sats a day.

I have also been soft staking Kucoin and NULs on the Kucoin exchange which brings me a few Sats each day, nothing to run home to but with prices so low the more stake the better for me.

MCO and crypto.com

A while back @trincowski told me about MCO token and the crypto.com app that offers investors interest on the capital you invest with them for a lock-up period. At the time I heard about it the token was $5.45 cents and seemed a little too steep for me so I waited it out until it hit a reasonable $3.20.

I downloaded the app and set up an account. Note you will need to do KYC to get a verified account which to me obviously has its downside but this is not a decentralised app, this is a centralised investment tool that uses cryptocurrency.

These hybrid companies will be what makes consumers more comfortable with crypto and a necessary evil I suppose. I think maximalists will stay away but for the interest of seeing what they can offer I went ahead and set up an account.

How crypto.com investing works?

Crypto.com allows you to send your cryptocurrency to them and then lock it in for a fixed period or flexible period and receive interest back on your lump sum. The interest is paid out every 7 days and added to your balance.

The application supports around 20 cryptocurrencies and you can earn interest as long as you hold the minimum fee per coin.

The interest rate model

On the crypto.com app and site, they advertise the highest possible return per choice but it is not necessarily the interest rate you will receive. This depends on several factors which I will run through to make it more transparent.

I was kind of annoyed and felt mislead by their messaging thinking I would get 8%. Their messaging should be clearly and perhaps start at the base level % and say earn from % not state a fixed rate.

The advertising rates are as follows:

However, they break down works like this.

If you hold no MCO tokens and you don’t stake them you can get

3 months

• Cryptocurrency gets you a 6% base interest rate if you lock the minimum required value for 3 months
• Stable coins get you a 10% base interest rate if you lock in the minimum required value for 3 months

1 month

• Cryptocurrency gets you a 4% base interest rate if you lock the minimum required value for 3 months
• Stable coins get you an 8% base interest rate if you lock in the minimum required value for 3 months

Flexible

• Cryptocurrency gets you a 2% base interest rate if you lock the minimum required value
• Stable coins get you a 6% base interest rate if you lock in the minimum required value

If you hold 500 MCO or more you get a better interest rate return

3 months

• Cryptocurrency gets you an 8% base interest rate if you lock the minimum required value for 3 months
• Stable coins get you a 12% base interest rate if you lock in the minimum required value for 3 months

1 month

• Cryptocurrency gets you a 6% base interest rate if you lock the minimum required value for 3 months
• Stable coins get you a 10% base interest rate if you lock in the minimum required value for 3 months

Flexible

• Cryptocurrency gets you a 4% base interest rate if you lock the minimum required value
• Stable coins get you an 8% base interest rate if you lock in the minimum required value

In case you’re wondering, stable coins get a better return because of the less risk because of price volatility and make collateral loans cheaper and easier to handle on the other side.

My experience with the app

The app works really well and transitions smoothly between screens and to fund your wallet you can choose between 3 options.

• Do so with fiat uploads only available in US and UK
• Send cryptocurrency directly to deposit address generated in-app
• Purchase directly with a credit card — any Master card or visa

I decided to use the credit card option thinking it would be the easiest and I thought I could save on transfer fees buying BTC to send to the app to buy MCO or buying on Binance and sending it to the app.

I first needed to validate my credit card and pay a $0.10 fee to do so, my bank rejected it so I had to call them to remove the block. I then validated the card with the 10 cent fee and I could now buy the MCO tokens I wanted.

I put in an order for 65 tokens around $210 and I had to pay a 7% transfer fee which was slightly annoying but I came this far and it saved me a few conversions so I proceeded.

My wallet was updated instantly and the funds were now available.

Investing your funds

Now that the funds are in your account, it doesn’t mean you will be earning interest. You need to tap on the balance and then select the option you would like, either a lock-up for 1 month, 3 months or a flexible option.

I chose the 3-month option since I wanted the best interest rate available to me. Since I only have 65 MCO tokens and took the 3-month option I get a 6% return on my investment.

That’s it, now all I can do is sit and wait to watch the interest I earn accumulate over the next few months.

How does crypto.com make money?

To pay you a guaranteed interest crypto.com needs to do something with the funds to make money right? Well, they do this by issuing out loans based on collateral in cryptocurrency and also act as a payment method with their MCO cards.

By users offering up capital for them to run their programs and charge transaction fees and interest on loans, you are rewarded for this faith in the system with a nominal interest rate.

Security measures

Since you do not own your wallet keys and you’re sending your funds to an account held by crypto.com you are completely at the mercy of the company. If the tank or exit scam your funds are not guaranteed and they could be lost forever.

The app does provide you with facial and thumbprint login as well as 2FA via Google 2FA, which offer a slight layer of protection against external attacks on your funds.

To invest or not to invest

If you would like to get on board you can use my referral link in the footer. If you do, you can get an extra $50 credited to your account to use for your investment as will I, win-win for both of us.

Remember the dangers and invest only as much as you can afford to lose.

I clearly indicate the downside and If you’re not willing to accept the risk I suggest you stay away from this investment opportunity.

This isn’t direct investment advice, I am only telling you what I am doing in the crypto space. I felt I would like to take the risk and see what this project can offer me and I’ll report back over the next 3–6 months on how it has performed.

Originally posted on Steemit

I have not been paid to create this review and this is my personal take on using the service and risking my own money. If you’re still keen to try it out you can join Crypto.com and earn an extra $50 worth of crypto by using my referral link or ID: 7svdqvmqx6

About the Author

Che Kohler is the co-founder of nichemarket, a South African Business Directory and digital marketing agency. He is an avid blogger who specialises in writing about marketing tech and cryptocurrency.