Amid the regulations uncertainty and ongoing catfight between RBI, banks, and crypto exchanges. One of the oldest crypto exchanges in the country, ZebPay launched India’s first crypto-based lending platform on 27th May 2021. That’s a very bold step from ZebPay coming out after the news broke out last week that India is reconsidering its stand on cryptocurrency ban.
The new lending platform by ZebPay will allow its users to lend their cryptocurrency to ZebPay and earn interest on that. The returns will depend on which token is used for lending, its value during a particular period, and how long it’s loaned for. ZebPay will offer both open and fixed-term lending on the platform.
For now, only Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Dai tokens are supported for lending and depending on the term of the deposit. Users will be able to generate returns of upto 3% on their Bitcoin (BTC), upto 7% on Ethereum (ETH) and Dai (DaI) and upto 12% on Tether (USDT).
Fixed-term lending will include 7-day, 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day periods, and the rate of return will vary based on the period. Tokens cannot be withdrawn till the term ends, and a penalty will be applied for withdrawing tokens in advance. The returns will be deposited back to investors’ trading wallets automatically after the term period.
We have always believed that crypto will enable a multi-fold increase in investors’ wealth. With the launch of the ZebPay Lending Platform, we want to give users the opportunity to grow their investments further, by making their existing crypto holdings do all the work
Avinash Shekhar, Co-CEO, ZebPay
The lending feature is live on the ZepPay web platform and Apps. Users may need to update to the latest version of their apps to start using the lending feature. This feature will definitely help those users who are facing difficulties in fund deposits and withdrawals and unclear about taxes. They can put their funds at rest and gain interest on that till we get the bill which is delayed because of the Covid-19 crisis in the country.
Indian government so far has not made a clear stand on crypto. In 2018, RBI had barred all banks from allowing customers to trade in cryptocurrency that was later ruled out by the Supreme Court in February 2020 following a petition filed by Indian fintech entrepreneurs and experts.
Last week, Economic Times reported that India’s government is reconsidering its stance on cryptocurrencies with the formation of a new regulatory panel as the earlier recommendations made by a committee headed by former finance secretary Subhash Garg in 2019 for a blanket ban on crypto-assets had become outdated. However, RBI is informally pushing banks to cut ties with exchanges making it difficult for them to operate properly.
