Retail platform YIELD App has launched a beta version of its web platform, giving retailers direct access to the fast-moving DeFi market.
The new platform, which only allows DeFi access for the masses, registered 2,000 early users and raised $ 3 million during the private beta phase. Investors include BnkToTheFuture, Alphabit Fund, Digital Strategies, PALCapital, Yeoman’s Capital and Chronos VC in a hybrid fund.
The platform allows direct investments in the YIELD App’s DeFi Alpha Fund I, which reportedly offers up to 20% APY through interest on stable coins and token holdings. App users can deposit and withdraw stable coins USDT and USDC as well as the native YLD token.
Tim Frost, CEO and Co-Founder of YIELD App, said his product will help investors diversify into DeFi at a time of increasing uncertainty in the global economy due to Covid-19.
“Central bank policies since 2008 have resulted in negative interest rates in Europe which have resulted in money savers generating negative real returns,” he said. “Decentralized finance typically offers higher returns than traditional financial investments, but the inherent risk and complexity of the ecosystem has prevented even the most savvy of users from participating.”
Aside from the “inherent complexity”, DeFi’s other major obstacle is the overuse of Ethereum (ETH), the platform on which most decentralized financial protocols are based. Frost tells Cointelegraph:
“The fees for transporting assets through the ETH blockchain can be so incredibly high that every transaction becomes worthless. As a company, we implement thousands of investors in sophisticated strategies, limit the number of individual transactions and pass the savings on to our customers. “
DeFi was one of the most notable crypto growth stories of 2020, but market participation has been largely limited to early adopters and tech-savvy cryptocurrency traders. The YIELD app is designed to bridge the gap between DeFi and traditional retail investors by offering high yield savings accounts, interest bearing checking accounts and debit cards.
At the time of writing, more than $ 54 billion was tied to DeFi protocols, with the credit, payments, and derivatives platforms gaining wide acceptance.
Frost believes that high yielding accounts remain one of the biggest drivers of adoption for DeFi in the short term compared to traditional savings accounts. “When people see the incredible power of DeFi, I think the choice will be made quickly,” he said.
