With real world interest rates moving up and up and up... it wasn't going to be long before Coinbase started offering similar rates on the USDC stablecoin. After all, these are back by treasury bonds and all of that... so, it would just be rude not to pass on some of that to holders of the UDSC stablecoin!
In general, I have parked my USDC stablecoins on-chain at PoolTogether. PoolTogether is a no-loss lottery that gets its yield from the various DeFi protocols and then runs a verifiable lottery to see who will pick up the prizes. During the days of zero real world interest rates, it was fine to just park it there... my days of exploring the various DeFi protocols were long past, and I just wanted somewhere to sit it that didn't have too much on-chain and smart contract risk, and with the chance of indirectly picking up some of that sweet DeFi degen yield.
Still, it did bother me that I was putting eggs in one type of basket... and the fact that Coinbase was going to offer 5% APR on USDC holdings was enough for me to split my USDC into a new basket with different risks and rewards. So, a guaranteed drip of yield versus the thrill bumps of the lottery... with CEX risks (which I hope are smallish with Coinbase...) versus the wild-west risks of being on-chain.
I did split it evenly, and also pooled in some extra from Binance seeing as Binance doesn't allow for Earn products in Australia anymore. As usual, I bounced everything through low-cost chains (BSC) or Layer 2s to WooX, where I have free withdrawals on any supported chain (even Ethereum!!!)... always handy to have when bouncing tokens around!
From WooX everything went onwards to Coinbase to start accruing those sweet real world yields! 5 percent is alright... Anyway, whilst I was on Coinbase I noticed that I still had various earn tasks that hadn't been done... nothing much, but to quickly answer a few quizzes and complete some on-chain transactions through the linked wallet... well, it costs about 5 minutes and there was about 80 AUD worth of tokens to be picked up. Not huge, but if it is there and I have nothing better to do!
So, now I have the two USDC pools... on on a CEX collecting a regular 5 percent yield, and the other on-chain that is pooled into a no-loss lottery. I'm feeling happier that everything isn't all in one place... and I will see over time which one will win out. Actually... barring disaster that wipes out one pool or the other, it is just gambling... the small spikes vs the slow steady growth. Nothing wrong with either, but it is sheer luck which one will end up winning out!
I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x
Handy Crypto Tools
Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
WooX: The centralised version of WooFi. Stake WOO for fee-free trades and free withdrawals! This link also gives you back 25% of the commission.
GMX.io: Decentralised perpetual futures trading on Arbitrum!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
KuCoin: I still use this exchange to take part in the Spotlight and Burning Drop launches.
