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There are many companies in the cryptocurrency space that have explored the concept of crypto-backed lending. Since blockchain is such a disruptive technology, many believe that cryptocurrency companies can offer loans with better terms and transparency than those in the lending sector who offer fiat loans. Atomic Capital, which has been described as an “asset tokenization startup”, is entering the cryptocurrency-lending sector with an extremely aggressive offer.
Specifically, the company is offering U.S. dollar loans for up to 85% of the value of Bitcoin Core (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) pledged as collateral, CoinDesk reported. This is a vast increase from many competitors, which advertise that they offer U.S. dollar loans for 50% of pledged crypto assets. One of the main companies in the space is Blockfi, which offers the aforementioned loan-to-value (LTV) rate. The company can offer loans from $100,000 all the way up to $100 million.
Of course, common sense would tell someone that the higher the LTV, the less protection that the company has. In return, the company charges interest rates of 11%-13%, which is fairly high when compared to some of the competition.
Atomic Capital raised $3.4 million in a security token offering (STO) in October 2018, and also received a seed investment from Baroda Capital, as well. Interestingly enough, Atomic Capital won’t actually be offering the loans themselves. The company also boasts employees that have worked at some of the most well-known financial services companies in the world, including Deloitte and PwC.
Instead, the company will act as a broker for Lockwood Group, based in Luxembourg, which is widely known as one of the world’s richest companies when measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The CEO of the firm, Alexander Blum, claims that there is already $80 million worth of loans that have been requested.