How We Track Crypto Savings And Yield Rates

How We Check Exchange And App Rates

Editors check each platform's own rate page or app screen every week and record the rate, its conditions, any lockup, excluded states and the date checked. We don't copy rates from comparison sites, and we don't accept rates sent to us by a platform without checking them ourselves.

Each row on the tracker records:

• Base rate and top rate: The rate anyone can get, plus the highest advertised rate and what it takes to get it
• Source of the yield: Lending, staking, stablecoin reserve interest or DeFi
• Lockup: Whether you can withdraw any time or your coins are tied up for a set period
• Where it's available: US availability and any states left out
• Minimum balance: If the platform sets one
• Date checked: The day an editor last confirmed the rate

When a rate page won't load, needs a login we don't have, or shows two different numbers, we mark the row unconfirmed instead of guessing. Rates that only appear inside an app get checked in the app by an editor.

Where DeFi Rates Come From

DeFi rates come from DefiLlama's yields data, which our collector pulls every hour. We track stablecoin lending on Aave, Compound, Spark and Morpho, plus staking through Lido and Rocket Pool for ETH and Jito and Marinade for SOL. DefiLlama gets the credit on every DeFi rate we show.

We only include pools with $50 million or more in deposits. Small pools can post very high rates for a few days because a handful of large deposits or a short-term reward program moves the number, and those rates can vanish as fast as they appear. A larger pool has more lenders and borrowers, so one deposit or withdrawal moves its rate less. Size doesn't make a pool safe from code bugs or hacks, which our crypto hacks tracker covers.

The Savings Account Benchmark

The benchmark on our tracker is the top high-yield savings account rate from The College Investor, our sister site, which ranks FDIC-insured savings accounts. An editor updates it by hand when the top rate changes.

The benchmark answers one question: is the crypto rate high enough to justify the extra risk? A high-yield savings account at an FDIC-insured bank is covered up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each account ownership category. No crypto rate on our tracker carries that protection. When a crypto rate matches or trails the savings benchmark, the savings account offers the same return with less risk.

What "Up To" Means

"Up to" is the highest rate a platform advertises, and most people don't earn it. Platforms reach that top number by stacking conditions, such as:

• holding a set amount of the platform's own token
• paying for a membership or subscription
• locking up your coins for a fixed term, such as 30 or 90 days
• keeping a minimum balance, or staying under a maximum balance that earns the top rate
• living in a state or country where the higher tier is offered

That's why our tracker shows two numbers for each product. The base rate is what you get by opening an account and depositing. The top rate is the "up to" figure, with its conditions listed next to it. If a platform advertises only an "up to" rate and won't show a base rate, we say so.

Rates are shown as published, as APY or APR, and we note whether the platform quotes them before or after its commission. APY includes compounding and APR doesn't, so the same rate quoted as APR earns a little less over a year.

How To Read Risk On The Tracker

The source of a yield tells you more about its risk than the rate does. Every row on our tracker names the source:

• Lending: The platform lends your coins to traders or borrowers and passes on part of the interest. If borrowers don't repay, or the platform fails, your balance is at risk. Celsius and BlockFi customers waited months or years for their money after both went bankrupt in 2022.
• Staking: Ethereum and Solana pay new coins to the validators that secure their networks. The platform keeps a commission and passes on the rest. Rewards are paid in the coin, so a price drop can wipe out the reward, and some exits take days or weeks.
• Stablecoin reserve interest: Issuers earn interest on the cash and Treasuries behind each coin. The GENIUS Act bars issuers from paying interest to holders directly, so exchanges that share in that income call their payouts "rewards." The platform can cut the rate at any time.
• DeFi: Smart contracts match lenders and borrowers with no company in the middle. The risks are code bugs, hacks and the stablecoin losing its $1 price, rather than a company failing.

Alongside the source, each row shows the lockup, the insurance (none, for every crypto product) and the platform's record of freezes, settlements and exits. Our crypto fines and penalties tracker holds the full regulatory history.

What To Watch Out For

Crypto yields carry no FDIC or SIPC protection. The FDIC says deposit insurance doesn't cover crypto assets or the failure of a crypto company, and SIPC doesn't cover digital assets that aren't registered securities. If a platform fails, you become a creditor in its bankruptcy.

Every rate on the tracker can change without notice, and a rate checked last week may already be different. An unusually high rate signals unusually high risk, as our piece on how high-APY crypto deals work explains. Crypto rewards are also taxable income when you receive them, according to IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-14, which our page on crypto tax rates covers.

FAQ

How Often Are Crypto Yield Rates Updated?

Editors check exchange and app rates every week, and each row shows the date it was last checked. DeFi rates update every hour from DefiLlama.

Why Do You Only Show DeFi Pools With $50 Million Or More?

Pools with $50 million or more in deposits have steadier rates and more users. Small pools can show very high rates for a short time that disappear within days. Pool size doesn't protect against hacks or code bugs.

What Does "Up To" Mean On A Crypto Savings Rate?

"Up to" is the highest rate a platform advertises, and it comes with conditions such as a loyalty tier, a lockup or a minimum balance. Our tracker shows the base rate anyone can get next to the top rate.

Why Compare Crypto Rates With A Savings Account?

A high-yield savings account at an FDIC-insured bank is the low-risk choice for cash. If a crypto rate doesn't beat the top savings rate by a wide margin, you're taking on more risk for little or no extra return.

Do Platforms Pay To Be On The Yield Tracker?

No. Platforms can't pay to be listed or to rank higher. Some platforms pay us when readers sign up through our links, which how we make money explains, but that doesn't change which rates we show or how we sort them.