Investing

From Abra’s CEO – This Week in Crypto – July 30, 2020

Today’s Topics:

  • Abra launches Abra Interest Account – Generate 9% on US DOLLAR DEPOSITS!!
  • Failing Currencies? Just Move to USD and Bitcoin
  • Tweet of the Week

This week on Money Talks, Friday at 9 AM PDT (noon EDT)

On this week’s episode of Money Talks: This week we will focus the entire episode of Money Talks on Abra’s exciting new Abra Interest Account product. As always, we answer all your burning Abra questions!

Note you may want to update or install your Abra app before the show starts to get a head start on the demos we’ll be doing!

Join us Friday at 9 AM PDT: https://youtu.be/A0IHvWskRE8

 

The Revolution has Begun – Generate 9% on US Dollar Deposits, 4% on Crypto Deposits with Abra

Our steady march towards becoming your global crypto bank continues with this week’s major milestone for Abra and our global user base. 

This week we announced that all Abra users can generate 9% on USD and 4% on Bitcoin and Ethereum deposits.

Stablecoins supported at launch are TUSD, USDT, USDC and PAX. Cryptocurrencies supported at launch are Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Earn interest on bitcoin and Stablecoins

The Abra Interest Account is a breakthrough for investors. For the first time investors can make US dollar or crypto deposits into an app and then automatically generate interest on those deposits of up to 9%.

Funds can be deposited via bank wire, ACH (US), cash at retail (where supported), transferred via external crypto wallets or transferred from an existing Abra trading balance.

We’ve already seen a large volume of registrations just in the first 72 hours since we turned on this feature. We have a backlog of users waiting to get in and are working as fast as we can to get through the line.  So I suggest you register asap to avoid a longer line.

 

Why are we doing this?

Our mission is to democratize access to financial services. We created Abra to have a single app where users can save, invest, send, trade and now generate. Abra is the only global app that makes it truly easy to do all of these things. We find it ridiculous that banks earn a huge income stream on your deposits but consumers effectively generate nothing. We’re going to change that. Abra is the app that we want for ourselves and that our users are telling us that they want.

 

So how does Abra Interest Account work? 

Abra Interest Accounts are accessible only from the Abra app on iPhone and Android. These are a new type of account inside the Abra app. We partnered with Prime Trust, a US Chartered Trust Bank based in Nevada, to issue these accounts. Once you register for the Abra Interest Account in the Abra app your personal details will be verified by Prime Trust. This can either be instant or can take a few hours depending on the details provided.

After being approved (push message received to your Abra app) you can deposit your US dollar stablecoins, Bitcoin or Ethereum into the Abra Interest Account.  

We update the interest rates offered weekly.  Rates are set similar to how a bank sets rates for cash deposits with the difference being that the rates we’re able to offer are much higher than that what a bank typically  offers on USD deposits.  

How is Abra able to offer a 9% interest rate on USD deposits when a bank can’t even offer 1%? The answer is Abra’s Institutional Lending Desk. Our lending desk, run by Young Cho, Abra’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and a veteran of the lending business enters into lending relationships with borrowers throughout the crypto universe. As our volume of assets under management (or AUM) continues to grow we will continue to diversify our crypto investment portfolio in order to continually lower risk. All new potential institutional borrowers go through Abra’s investment committee process which reviews the borrowers and determines a risk profile which sets various parameters for terms including interest rates, collateral requirements, and other relevant terms. Ultimately our investment committee, including myself, must approve all new institutional borrowers.

We have big plans for growing Arba’s Institutional Lending Desk in the coming months in order to meet the exploding demand for crypto assets.

We also plan to add other cryptocurrencies to the Abra Interest Account in the coming weeks and months so stay tuned for that.

 

Failing currencies? Just Move to USD and Bitcoin

One of the things I’m most excited about regarding our new Abra Interest Account product is the fact that it works globally. That means people in countries with failing currencies can convert their currencies to bitcoin and deposit them into the Abra app and store them as Bitcoin or USD.  Either way they can generate interest on their deposit and not be a victim of their government’s own hubris.

We’re seeing this with our large and growing user base in the Philippines and have seen strong interest across Latin American countries as well, including Mexico and Central America.

So many government issued currencies have failed that it’s almost impossible to keep track.  Here is a short list: Lebanese Pound (2020), Argentinian Peso (2019),  Venezuelan Peso (2018), Zimbabwe Dollar (2006-2012) and the list goes on and on. In the case of Argentina, this Tango is nothing new.  It just keeps happening over and over again. I recently saw a google sheet tracking the history of failed currencies and it was in the hundreds over a few hundred years. We welcome all of you in these markets with open arms and look forward to helping you preserve and grow your hard earned money.

 

Tweet of the Week

I had to go with Abra for this one. This is just too big of a deal for us to not go with this one. If you’re not following Abra on Twitter you’re missing out on phenomenal content!

See you all Friday on the next Money Talks. The Revolution has begun!

 

Peace and Love,

Bill

 

*Disclaimer: Abra Interest Accounts are issued by Prime Trust a Nevada Chartered Trust Company. Rates for Abra Interest Accounts are subject to change. Digital currencies are not legal tender, are not backed by any government, and Abra Interest Accounts are not subject to FDIC or SIPC insurance protections. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information provided here is a general market commentary, and does not constitute investment advice. Abra does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do conduct your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Abra will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information.

 

 

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About Abra

Established in 2014, Abra is on a mission to create a simple and honest platform that enables millions of cryptocurrency holders to maximize the potential of their assets. Abra enables both individuals and businesses to safely and securely buy, trade, and borrow against cryptocurrencies – all in one place. Abra’s vision is an open, global financial system that is easily accessible to everyone.

Why Abra

Based in the United States, Abra is available in over 150 countries and makes it easy to convert between crypto and a wide variety of local fiat currencies. With over 2MM customers, $7B in transactions processed, and $1.5B in assets under management, Abra continues to grow rapidly. Abra is widely loved and trusted – in April 2022, pymnts.com reviewed and rated Abra amongst the top 5 most popular crypto wallets in the market. Abra is backed by top-tier investors such as American Express Ventures and First Round Capital.

How Abra Protects Your Funds

Abra places clients’ financial objectives and security first. Abra practices a culture of risk management across all levels and functions within the organization.

Abra employs a state-of-the-art enterprise risk management framework that comprises a comprehensive set of policies, procedures, and practices detailing all applicable risk-related objectives and constraints for the entirety of the business. Abra has instituted a complete set of requisite systems and controls that continuously enforce these policies, procedures, and practices to manage all operations, including credit and lending. Abra’s independent Risk Committee comprises experienced compliance, risk, securities, and fraud operations professionals with backgrounds in industries ranging from traditional and digital assets banking, payments, remittance, to fintech.

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