🏛️Coinbase Launches High-Interest DeFi Yields to 70 Countries

⚗️The announcement that eligible customers globally can now earn yield with DeFi was met with a lot of excitement and almost crashed the site.

Coinbase Crypto exchange with around 70 Million users globally has announced that customers in over 70 countries are able to earn yield with their crypto holdings through the world of decentralized finance (DeFi). This is available to non-US customers right now and is available via Compound

“We are making DeFi more accessible, enabling eligible customers in more than 70 countries to access the attractive yields of DeFi lending on their DAI with no fees, lockups, or set-up hassle,” Coinbase said in a prepared statement.

At the heart of this move is Coinbase’s desire to make DeFi “more customer-friendly and approachable.”

Using the DAI stablecoin, customers can opt in to earn DeFi yield. Customers’ DAI holdings will be deposited with Compound Finance, which Coinbase describes as an “industry-leading” DeFi protocol. The interest on this yield is, however, variable.

For example, in October, Compound’s rates for supplying DAI fluctuated between 2.8% and 5.3%. “The higher rates reflect both the unique access to global liquidity and increased risk that can come with DeFi,” Coinbase said.

Despite rolling services out to 70 eligible countries, including major economies like Germany and the United Kingdom, Coinbase's DeFi yield is not yet available to customers in the United States.

Throughout the year, SEC and Gensler have repeatedly raised the red flags, saying that the DeFi industry—as well as the wider world of crypto—is in need of more robust consumer protection laws and regulations.