YouHolder Review Summary
YouHolder scores 4 out of 5 on P2P Empire. We have tested YouHodler for over a year, and our experience has been excellent. YouHodler offers competitive rates and responsive customer support.
Key Takeaways From Our YouHodler Review
- Solid legal setup
- Competitive rates
- Helpful support
- Easy-to-use platform
- Earn interest on crypto
If you are looking for a reliable platform to earn interest in your cryptocurrency YouHodler is one of the best options on the market.
Remember to get familiar with YouHodler's products, as some might come with additional risks.
Ready to earn passive income on your crypto?
Or explore other crypto lending platforms.
What Is YouHodler?
Are you considering depositing your crypto assets on YouHodler to earn interest on your coins? The crypto lending platform promises an annual interest rate of 8% on stablecoins or 3% on your bitcoin.
Is the offer from YouHodler too good to be true, or is YouHolder a legitimate platform? Find out in our YouHodler review.
⭐ Find the best bitcoin lending platform.
Pros
- Transparent business model
- Most reliable crypto interest account
- Easy swaps between FIAT and crypto
- Wide range of supported coins
Cons
- Trading features are risky
- Withdrawal fees
- Strict KYC
- $1,000 yield limit for the crypto interest account
Watch our in-depth YouHodler review here 👇👇👇
While we produced this video in late 2021, the platform improved in 2022 with more available coins and a dedicated statistics page.
YouHodler in Numbers
When reviewing any crypto lending platform, it is essential to look at its track record to understand better the risk and opportunities of depositing crypto in exchange for interest.
While the platform's development started in 2017, the launch happened in November 2018.
Since then, YouHodler has attracted more than 220.000 active users. Crypto holders hold on average $5,679 on YouHodler.
8.04% of users on YouHodler hold BTC in their crypto wallets. On average, users earn 8.05% interest per year.
YouHodler Promo
YouHodler runs various promotions. You can use our YouHodler referral code to get the most out of available bonuses. Keep in mind, however, that the platform focuses on providing the best crypto lending product in the industry rather than offering the highest bonuses.
YouHodler Requirements
Registering on YouHodler is straightforward. You need your email address to access your account. To use it, you must verify your identity with your ID and pass the KYC requirements, including submitting your personal information and a selfie.
The KYC requirements for crypto transactions are minimal. However, to transact FIAT, you must provide more information about yourself.
- Be over 18 years old.
- NOT reside in the following countries: USA, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Cuba, Germany, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Crimea
What’s worth mentioning is that the savings feature on YouHodler isn’t available for Swiss users.
When we chatted with the YouHodler support team, they informed us that currently, YouHodler doesn’t have a proper license to run the business in the USA.
While some platforms like Coinloan or Nexo don’t care much about the legal restrictions, it is good to hear that YouHodler aims to expand into different markets only with a dedicated license.
Ready to earn interest on your crypto?
Risk and Return
You will expose yourself to risks when depositing your money in your wallet at YouHodler. The risk will depend on the products that you will be using.
To better understand YouHodler’s services, please refer to our “Usability” section, where we explain how they work.
You will expose yourself to the counterparty risk regardless of which product you choose. As soon as you deposit your crypto on YouHodler, you will lose your utility of the coin in exchange for additional perks such as a loan or interest on your crypto deposits.
You can never eliminate the counterparty risk, but let’s review some points that will help you decrease it.
YouHodler stores your crypto on hot and cold wallets. Ledger Vault is offered cold wallets, which is the custodian of YouHodler. Ledger provides a crime insurance program that ensures your crypto assets for up to $150 M. The insurer is Arch UK Lloyds of London syndicate.
Storing your crypto assets on a cold wallet is industry-standard nowadays, as this reduces the risk that you might lose your crypto during a hacking attack on YouHodler.
In 2019, hackers exposed specific datasets from YouHodler's databank Source. According to our discussion with CEO Ilya Volkov, none of the sensitive data, such as credit card information, was exposed, as mentioned in the article.
While YouHodler is a member of the Blockchain Association, which acts as a self-regulatory entity within the crypto community, it doesn’t mean that your data is 100% protected at all times.
What are YouHodler’s rates?
When depositing your valuable crypto assets, you want to ensure that you also get the highest interest rates. YouHodler offers some of the best rates in the industry. The platform supports 54 digital assets at the moment.
Here is a quick overview of the rates for the most popular cryptos:
| Coin | Interest Rate |
|---|---|
| BTC | 3% |
| ETH | 4% |
| XRP | 4% |
| LTC | 5.5% |
| DAI | 8% |
| USDT | 8% |
| USDC | 8% |
| EURS | 8% |
What’s likely the best feature of YouHodler is that you don’t need utility coins like the Crypto.com Earn or Nexo platforms to unlock higher rates. The reward scheme on YouHodler is relatively straightforward, and the list of supported assets is also comprehensive.
The offered rates change occasionally. Consult our dedicated table above to view the current rates.
YouHodler doesn’t share much about how they use your deposits publically; however, by contacting YouHodler, they have confirmed that they use it as “part of their liquidity pool to provide collateralized loans.” Continue reading to learn more about YouHodler's business model.
How does YouHodler make money?
We have investigated the business model of YouHodler and concluded that it's likely one of the most transparent models in the industry.
The platform uses your deposits ONLY to support their lending products within YouHodler. This business model is much more transparent as all loans are backed by collateral, eliminating the borrower risk.
Unlike many other crypto-lending platforms, YouHodler doesn't risk your deposits in DeFi protocols or speculate with them, which is the case with Nexo (one of the most questionable companies we have ever seen).
Do you enjoy this review? Show your support and invite us for a coffee ☕
YouHodler Fees
YouHodler makes money by charging fees to users who decide to use some crypto lending products apart from the savings account.
- Deposit Fees: Bank Wire = No FEES (except SWIFT 25USD / 25EUR), Credit Card = 0.9%, Crypto = NO FEES, Stablecoins = NO FEES
- Withdrawal Fees: USD SWIFT = 1.5% (min. 70 USD), EUR SEPA = 5€, EUR SWIFT = 55€, GBP,CHF = 0.15%, Crypto = NETWORK FEES ONLY
- Turbocharged: 0.5% - 2.1% for every loan up to 15 loans
- Multi HODL: 0.01% rollover fee, 0.3% - 0.4% profit share fee
- Loans: 1% - 8% fee
- Conversion fee: 0.2% - 2%
You can use YouHodler for FREE by transferring your crypto from your hardware wallet to YouHodler and earning interest on your deposits.
Unlike on many other crypto lending platforms, withdrawals on YouHodler are processed within a few minutes.
Is YouHodler Safe?
Reading the terms and conditions and checking the management's background are key factors that influence the safety of your assets on a dedicated platform.
Are you wondering whether YouHodler is safe? Find out in this video.
Who runs the company?
YouHodler’s CEO and co-founder is Ilya Volkov. His LinkedIn profile shows he has previous experience in the currency trading business under the Libertex Group in Moscow. In the past, Ilya also worked for Eurokommerz, a factoring company from Russia.
What regulatory requirements should you consider?
YouHodler is self-regulated, following industry standards and opinions from various lawyers in Cyprus (C.Samir & Co. LLC).
The platform’s CEO is also a member of the Crypto Valley Association, which promotes crypto adoption in Switzerland.
In our chat with YouHodler’s support, we learned that the company believes in intelligent regulation, so they also collaborate with regulators in Switzerland.
The services, however, still run under the NAUMARD Limited company, which is incorporated in Limassol, Cyprus. This company is the legal owner of the YouHodler trademark.
It's worth mentioning, however, that most of the management team operates from the headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Curious about how YouHodler operates? Watch our exclusive video from our visit to YouHodler's Lausanne, Switzerland headquarters.
Are there any suspicious terms and conditions?
When reviewing the terms and conditions, you should read the website and the terms for individual services like loans or savings.
The terms and conditions of individual products are complex, and if you are not a lawyer, you will have difficulty understanding what you are signing.
The Service Level Agreement is a bit more precise and gives you a better understanding of the responsibilities of the platform. We recommend reading those, especially if you plan to use the exchange feature on YouHodler.
Potential Red Flags
Currently, we are not aware of any potential red flags
Learn more about possible red flags in our guide about how to avoid investing in P2P lending scams.
What’s Our Opinion On YouHodler?
YouHodler is an exciting option to earn interest in your cryptos. The platform is headquartered in Switzerland while legally operating its crypto interest account from Cyprus.
While the crypto lending space isn’t regulated in Europe, the platform does spend a lot of resources on operating legally and offers certain protections for its users. Just recently, the platform obtained a cryptocurrency provider license in Italy.
We have exchanged several messages with YouHodler’s support to learn more about their operations. Their answers were more insightful than those we received from competitors, such as Nexo.
YouHodler offers a variety of services. And while the crypto savings account option is likely one of the most user-friendly ways to earn interest on your Bitcoin, YouHodler's remaining services should be used with caution.
The Multi HODL, Loans, DUAL, and Turbocharge features come with additional risks and fees, which aren’t always as straightforward. While the potential upside of leveraging your crypto deposits for other returns is very tempting, it may easily backfire.
If you decide to use some additional features, we highly recommend studying the terms and fully understanding what you are doing before it’s too late.
What we appreciate the most about YouHodler is this small detail in their terms and conditions.
While many platforms become the legal owner of your coins as soon as you deposit your crypto, this isn’t the case with YouHodler. The coins will remain under your ownership if you only use the savings feature.
During our talk with YouHodler, we learned that the platform uses deposits to fund loans. So it would help if you took “ownership” of your coins with a grain of salt. Legally, it gives you a slightly better position when depositing your coins than on other platforms or exchanges.
Recent changes on YouHodler
On the 28th of September 2022, YouHodler lowered the yield limit to $1,000 for all users that didn't use YouHodler's DUAL, MultiHODL or loan features. The recent crypto crash, followed by bankruptcies, harmed YouHodler's revenue as many users withdrew their digital assets. To decrease YouHodler's cost, the platform lowered the yield limit for its crypto savings accounts.
The low yield limit of $1,000 can only be increased by using additional features such as the DUAL, MultiHODL or loans, which come with increased volatility. If you only use the crypto interest account, you will only be able to earn a yield of up to $1,000 worth of deposited crypto assets.
Suppose you want to be 100% sure about the safety of your coins, and you don’t need the 3% interest on your bitcoin. In that case, it’s more reliable to store your cryptos on a dedicated hardware wallet like Trezor, which is our favorite choice to keep our digital assets safe.
Ready to protect your crypto?
Our Experience
We have been testing YouHodler's features since the beginning of 2021, and our stake on the platform ranged between €2,500 and €8,500 (depending on the volatility on a specific day 😏).
YouHodler's crypto interest account was one of the best ways to earn passive income on your crypto deposits. The platform offers 8% interest on fiat-backed stablecoins, including USDT, USDC or EURS, making it a great alternative to P2P lending platforms we review here on P2P Empire. Unfortunately, the recently introduced yield limit of $1,000 significantly limits the return you can earn on the platform.
Users who prefer not to be limited by a yield limit can use some suitable alternatives, such as Yield App, Ledn or Haru Invest.
Additional Information
YouHodler is one of the more suitable places to earn a yield on your crypto. The platform pays out the interest on your crypto deposits every Friday. However, be aware that the platform also offers high-risk trading features such as the Multi HODL or Turbocharged feature, which can lead to the total loss of your committed funds.
Our rating of YouHodler is focused on its "savings account" feature, which we compare to other crypto lending platforms.
We have tested all platform features and fully understand how the platform makes money, which is why we recommend YouHodler as one of the market's most trusted crypto lending platforms.
Some crypto fans argue that they haven't heard of YouHodler, making them question their services. Keep in mind that the amount of money a company spends to promote its products doesn't represent the quality or legitimacy of its services.
Usability
YouHodler isn’t just a crypto savings account, as the platform offers a variety of additional products and services. Here’s a breakdown of features that you can use on YouHodler.
Exchange
Exchange is essential to YouHodler as the platform doesn’t offer any interest in your fiat currency.
To earn interest on your coin, you must either deposit your crypto (the cheapest option) or stablecoins to YouHodler or transfer fiat to the platform and exchange it for crypto.
As we conduct our YouHodler review, the platform supports the following coins:
| Supported Cryptos | Supported Stablecoins | Supported Fiat Currencies |
|---|---|---|
| BTC, ETH, LINK, UNI, COMP, MKR, LTC, XRP, XLM, BNB, PAXG, DASH, EOS, BCH, HT, REP, BAT, ADA, DOT | USDT, USDC, PAX, TUSD, DAI, HUSD, EURS, and more. | EUR, USD, GBP, CHF |
Note that you will only earn interest on your stablecoins or cryptocurrencies.
When exchanging currencies, you must respect the minimum exchange amount and pay the exchange fee, typically between 1% and 2%.
Crypto Savings Account
To earn interest on your crypto, you only need to deposit your coins to YouHodler’s wallet. You will automatically make interest on your deposits if you don’t use them for other features like the Multi HODL, Turbocharge, or Loans.
The interest will be added weekly (every Friday) in your deposited currency.
It’s important to mention that all savings funds are protected by Ledger Vault and insured for up to $150M. YouHodler is currently one of the best crypto lending platforms to earn a yield on your crypto.
Dynamic Yield Limit
YouHodler has recently introduced a limitation on the amount of crypto which will generate yield in your account - "the dynamic yield limit."
The default limit for most users is set at €1,000 (or USD). If you deposit more crypto into your YouHodler wallet, you won't earn any yield on it, unless you increase this yield limit.
To increase your limit, you must become more active on the platform and start using other services such as MultiHODL, DUAL Asset, Turbocharge, or the in-house exchange.
You must take higher risks or use the exchange to increase your limit. Remember that the MultiHODL is a hazardous short-term trading feature with leverage. This strategy can quickly reduce your total portfolio amount.
Is the Yield Limit Good or Bad?
YouHodler is interested in increasing its revenues to pay out competitive rates to crypto-hodlers, which is why the yield limit has been introduced.
Keep in mind that the platform is not engaged in highly speculative yield-generating activities outside of YouHodler's ecosystem, which significantly reduces the risk compared to other platforms that rely on DeFi protocols and other speculative investments.
YouHodler DUAL Asset Review
YouHodler dual is a new feature on YouHodler that lets you trade the market volatility by staking some of your assets in exchange for a high reward of 100% to 365% APR.
Too good to be true? We thought so. Let's look at how this feature works.
With YouHodler DUAL, you continually trade with two currencies. One currency is crypto such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, or Cardano, and the other currency pair is stablecoin such as USDC or USDT.
To use YouHodler DUAL, you must select a currency pair first. In the second step, choose the input currency you wish to stake on YouHodler.
The staking period ranges from 12 hours to 2 days. The APR you receive depends on the staked time and the currency pair. YouHodler has recently introduced dynamic APR for all DUAL Asset deals to reflect the current market conditions.
How does DUAL Asset work?
↪️ Let's say we select the BTC/USDC pair.
🔒 We want to stake 1000 USDC for one day.
The input currency is USDC, and the offered APR is currently at 145% (dynamic range).
After we have selected the input currency and the staking period, we can review the chart below to see how much USDC or BTC we earn.
⬆️Should the price of Bitcoin increase during the staked period, we receive 3.97 USDC in interest and 1000 USDC that we staked after 24 hours.
⬇️Should the price of Bitcoin decrease during the staked period, we receive 0.0000181 BTC in interest and the 1000 USDC but converted into Bitcoin.
You will always earn the exact APR for both currencies; just the payout currency changes depending on how the market has developed during the staking period.
YouHodler supports, at the moment, 33 cryptocurrency pairs which you can use to trade volatility.
⚠️ Can you lose your assets with DUAL?
You will have more assets (in number) regardless of the outcome after the staked period.
The win-win situation occurs when the price change of the currency pair is not less than the APR rate.
Let's revert to our example and assume that the price of bitcoin drops during the staked period.
That means that at the moment when the payout happened, you received more BTC, but its value is a bit lower.
This is something that is called impermanent loss. This is a loss only if you decide instantly sell BTC. In that case, you will get less USDC than you had initially.
On the other hand, if you receive your payout in a volatile asset, once the asset's price grows, you can convert it back to other coins or open another Dual Assets deal.
YouHodler's DUAL Asset feature causes a lot of confusion for some users. We suggest educating yourself about how this feature works to better understand its functionality before using it.
How does YouHodler make money out of Dual?
The platform makes money from conversion fees on Dual deals. While you are receiving the exact APR shown, there is a spread that YouHodler is earning on every deal. Dual is a revenue-generating tool that is also increasing your Yield limit.
Keen to earn more crypto?
Multi HODL
Multi HODL is a unique feature from YouHodler that lets you leverage a part of your deposited funds to potentially increase your profits by making a bet on the increase or decrease of the currency value.
Using Multi HODL will initiate a chain of loans, meaning you take a loan with your crypto as collateral, buy crypto, and repeat this process up to 25 times.
You leverage your crypto holdings to increase your profit potential.
How does it work?
- You choose the currency pair.
- You choose whether you expect the price to go up or down
- You select the source of your deposits and the amount which you would like to allocate to Multi HODL
- You choose the “Multiplier” (the higher the multiplier, the tighter the margin call)
- You define when you want to take profit
- You define the maximum potential loss you are willing to take
- You accept the terms and start
YouHodler's Multi HODL tool allows you to leverage your position only on selected USDT and BTC pairs.
What’s the catch?
Leveraging your crypto can be tempting; however, the chances of making a profit are slim. We have tested the YouHodler Multi HODL, and can't recommend it for risk-averse investors. The odds are always against you, and you can't predict the price movement in such a short period.
YouHodler has, however, recently introduced a Stop Loss function that enables you to take profit in the "profit zone" which wasn't previously supported. This should enable you to minimize losses with Multi HODL.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
We test various platforms and features to get familiar with the offers and report them here on P2P Empire. We put our funds at risk to be able to produce high-quality reports. Please be aware that not every feature is worth your investment. The Multi HODL tool is a high-risk trading feature that can lead to the total loss of your committed funds.
Crypto Loans
If you have read our crypto lending platform comparison, you already know the benefits of crypto-backed loans.
YouHolder offers you to deposit your crypto in exchange for a loan in USD or EUR. The platform provides, by default, three different deals.
- LTV 90% for 30 days
- LTV 70% for 60 days
- LTV 50% for 180 days
The higher the LTV, the less crypto you need to deposit. With an LTV of 50%, you will need to deposit twice the amount of crypto assets from the loan you are planning to borrow.
By selecting one of the deals, you can learn more about the loan terms. The “loan fee” varies between 2% and 8%.
In the scenario below, you will get a secured loan of $27,306, and you will need to return $29,490 after 180 days. The loan fee in this scenario is $2,184 for just six months.
YouHodler also allows you to request special conditions or even set a close price which will automatically sell a part of your collateral when the price increases to cover your loan.
Turbocharge
Turbocharge is a feature that allows you to take a loan and deposit it as collateral to take a second loan. You can repeat this process up to 15 times.
You can also set a closing price, where YouHodler will sell your collateral to repay the loan. By clicking on the “Turbocharge” button, you will see the exact payment schedule of your crypto loan.
Note that when leveraging your crypto assets, you increase the risk that the platform will liquidate your assets when the value of your crypto plummets. Any borrower needs to pay attention to the Price Down Limits (PDL). If the price of your coin drops, all turbo loans will be sold, which means that YouHodler liquidates your collateral.
The minimum loan amount on YouHodler equals 100 USD, 100 EUR, or 100 USDT. As with regular loans, the turbo loans won't be paid out to you. YouHodler will add the turbocharged loans to your account, and if the currency's value increases, you might exit your position, repay the loan, cover the fees, and make a profit in the best-case scenario.
YouHodler doesn’t support forked currencies.
If a fork of your cryptocurrency is conducted, we recommend withdrawing your assets as it’s likely YouHodler won’t support the forked currency, which means you won’t get any rewards.
🧾Does YouHodler deduct taxes?
YouHodler doesn't deduct taxes from savings account earnings. The platform allows you to download a transaction report with the amounts of interest you earned. You can, however, only get this file by requesting it directly via YouHodler's live chat. You can use this file to report your income to your tax authorities.
Liquidity
You must pay a small withdrawal fee to withdraw your fiat or coins. You will pay €5, SWIFT (USD) 5% or min for withdrawals by SEPA transfer. 70 USD, SWIFT (EUR) €55.
The minimum withdrawal amounts by wire transfer are $500 / €500. The minimum withdrawal amounts in crypto are between $10 and $50 (in crypto equivalent). For stablecoins, the minimum withdrawal amount is €5.
Withdrawals of your cryptos should not take more than a few minutes or hours, depending on the cryptocurrency you are withdrawing. Be aware, however, that you need to be a verified user to withdraw your assets. If you wish to participate in any fiat transaction, YouHodler will request proof of address from you.
Withdrawing FIAT can take up to 24 hours.
While it may seem like YouHodler's services are more expensive than those offered by competitors, you should understand that YouHodler is a for-profit business and the listed fees allow the platform to expand it's footprint and develop new services.
Support
YouHodler’s support is far better than most of the support options from other crypto lending platforms. The platform also has a dedicated help section where you can learn more about the terms and conditions and how certain products work.
We recommend checking out the help section to learn more about individual products such as the Multi HODL, Dual Asset or Turbocharged loans.
You can contact the support team either through their live chat function or send them an email to support@youhodler.com
