Find out our review and tutorial on Celsius Network, a platform that allows you to borrow crypto-currencies and generate interest with Bitcoin (BTC) and a multitude of other crypto-currencies.
What is Celsius Network (CEL)
Celsius Network is a cryptocurrency funding and lending platform, opened in 2017 and based in London, UK.
On the Celsius platform, it is possible to both borrow crypto-currencies and invest them in order to receive compound interest paid on a weekly basis. It is also possible to borrow euros or dollars by placing crypto-currencies as collateral, which is an interesting way to finance yourself. There are a large number of crypto-currencies available on the platform, giving the investor a wide range of choices when determining their strategy.
Celsius Network also makes it easy to buy crypto-currencies by credit card or wire transfer, which makes it much easier to invest in crypto-currencies. Of course, it is possible to transfer crypto-currencies that you already own.
On the Celsius platform, it is possible to invest your crypto-currencies at APYs, i.e. annual rates of return, that can range from 5 to almost 20%. This makes it a much more interesting investment than the investment products offered by traditional banks, which do not even cover inflation.
Celsius is a regulated platform. The company that runs it is registered and audited by several financial authorities in North America and Europe, including FinCEN, the US Treasury Department that ensures compliance with financial regulations. Celsius claims to have nearly 1.5 million users on its platform.
It should be noted that Celsius, although it allows for the storage of crypto-currencies, the generation of interest and also borrowing, is not a decentralised platform. In fact, decentralised finance (DeFi) directly uses crypto-currencies placed on a wallet, which allows the user to remain in possession of their funds.
In this tutorial, we learn how to create an account on Celsius Network and perform basic operations in order to set up an investment strategy, and take advantage of the various services offered by the platform.
Tutorial: How to use Celsius
Celsius Network is a cryptocurrency lending platform. The coins and tokens you place on this platform will generate interest, paid every Monday on your account. This platform also has other features that we will discover.
The Celsius platform is available as a web and mobile application on iOS and Android. It is important to note that some options are only available on the mobile app. The web version has only recently been developed and still needs to be refined and improved.
How to register and secure your account on the Celsius platform
Registering for the Celsius platform is very simple. To create an account, you will need an email address and a password. You will also need to create a 4-6 digit PIN code, which is important to remember. Once you have done this, you will receive a confirmation email to validate your address.
Register on Celsius Network by entering the code below and get $40 in BTC for a minimum transfer of $400 on the platform
Registration is very simple
We recommend that you proceed immediately to secure your account. The best thing you can do to prevent your account from being hacked is to enable two-factor authentication. With the help of a mobile application such as Google Authenticator or Authy, your account will require, in addition to your password, an automatically generated code to confirm your identity.
This prevents your account from being compromised by a password leak. Unfortunately, password leaks are common on the Internet and potentially expose your accounts if you use the same password on multiple sites. This is why we recommend that you use a unique password for each site, especially those where you hold cryptocurrencies.
How to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies on Celsius
On the Celsius platform, features are unlocked as long as you pass identity verification. Also known as KYC, this is a regulatory requirement in Europe. You need to provide identification to confirm your identity on the platform.
Once this process is complete and your identity has been confirmed, you can transfer your cryptocurrencies to your Celsius account via the “Receive” menu.
There are many, many cryptocurrencies available
If you already hold crypto-currencies on a wallet or crypto-currency exchange platform, you can send them to your Celsius account through this channel.
Choose the cryptocurrency you want to receive to generate an address. Send your cryptocurrencies to this address and they will be automatically credited to your account.
If you want to remove your crypto-currencies from the Celsius platform and send them to your wallet on another platform, choose “Send” from the menu. Same process: choose the coin you have in your possession that you want to send, fill in the address and confirm the transaction.
How to generate interest via the Celsius platform
Any cryptocurrency deposited in your Celsius account will automatically generate interest. The main advantage of the Celsius Network platform is that it does not lock your cryptocurrencies, you are free to withdraw them at any time.
Here are some examples of the annual interest rates generated through the Celsius Network platform (rates valid at the time of writing):
- SNX (Synthetix): 14.05% ;
- USDT (Tether): 8.50%;
- USDC (USD Coin): 8.50% ;
- MATIC (Polygon): 7.08% ;
- AVAX (Avalanche): 7.05% ;
- BTC (Bitcoin): 6.20% up to 0.25 BTC deposited, 3.05% above;
- ETH (Ethereum): 5.35% up to 30 ETH deposited, 3.52% above;
- ADA (Cardano): 4.06% ;
- XRP (Ripple): 2.50%;
- MANA (Decentraland): 0.50%.
It should be noted that it is possible to increase these interest rates significantly by holding a certain number of CELs, the platform’s token.
The interest is expressed in APY (annual yield) and is paid every Monday. This interest is automatically reinvested, which explains why the returns are so high on this platform: they are compounded weekly.
This is called compound interest: interest that is invested immediately to generate interest itself. Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying that “compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world”. And for good reason: this snowball effect can generate incredible returns over the medium to long term.
How to trade crypto currencies directly on Celsius
In 2022, the Celsius Network platform will launch its “Swap” service, which will allow you to exchange one cryptocurrency for another directly in its application. This feature is currently being implemented and is therefore not available at this time. The platform’s developers have stated that they will not charge any fees for exchanges.
The swap service is currently in beta testing and should be available to all Celsius platform users very soon.
This is a development to watch very closely, as the ability to trade crypto-currencies directly on the platform will allow investors to “switch” their funds to the corners offering the best interest rates. This will offer a very interesting strategic palette and allow one to take full advantage of cryptocurrency lending.
How to borrow cryptocurrencies through Celsius
The “Borrow” feature of the Celsius platform allows you to take out loans in cryptocurrencies or US dollars. This is done by locking in a sum of cryptocurrencies as collateral and getting a loan in return.
The borrowing function of the Celsius platform offers several options. For example, there are three annual interest rates offered: 1%, 6.95% and 8.95%. Naturally, the lower the rate you choose, the more cryptocurrencies you will be required to place as collateral. There is even an option to choose CEL, the native token of the Celsius platform, and benefit from lower rates, down to 0.75% annually.
Here we are borrowing $1,000 for a term of 3 years. We will have to place 0.0933 BTC in collateral and the total interest will be $29.88.
Borrowing on the Celsius platform can be done over a period of 6 months to 3 years.
It is important to note, however, that this feature is not available worldwide. It is not yet available in France at the beginning of 2022.
What are the fees associated with the platform and what is the purpose of the CEL token?
There are no fees applied to the Celsius Network platform. The latter is paid when you place your cryptocurrencies in lending. That is to say that in exchange for the interest it pays you, Celsius Network will itself lend the cryptocurrencies entrusted to it in order to generate interest.
However, there is a fee for buying crypto-currencies on the platform. If you decide to buy your crypto-currencies by credit card or bank transfer, a fee will apply for the amount in euros you are about to spend. In the case of payment by credit card, for example, this percentage will be 5%, which is quite significant. It is therefore better to make a bank transfer, or to buy your cryptocurrencies on another platform and then transfer them to Celsius.
The Celsius platform has its own token: the CEL. This token can be seen as a liquidity token. When you get CEL on the platform, it helps its liquidity and lending mechanisms. Therefore, Celsius rewards CEL hodlers with higher interest rates. For this purpose, Celsius calculates the proportion of CELs in your portfolio on the platform. Depending on this percentage, your account will get a higher or lower benefit and more attractive returns.
What is CelPay
CelPay is a very handy feature when you want to pay someone in cryptocurrencies. With CelPay, you can send any cryptocurrency you hold on the platform without any fees.
Pay instantly in cryptocurrencies with CelPay
To use CelPay, all you need is an account on the platform. All you have to do is enter the Celsius Network account of the person you want to pay, the cryptocurrency and the amount, and you can even attach a message.
Our review of Celsius Network
Celsius Network is a good cryptocurrency lending platform that makes it very easy to start earning interest. Its returns are very interesting and its features, although not all available in France, are particularly attractive.
As registration is free and easy, it would be a shame not to give Celsius a shot. There are also no fees for placing cryptocurrencies on the platform, so it’s a low-risk experience.
Finally, Celsius is a serious company, registered with the US and UK authorities (among others), which is an essential security for any investor.
