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Health, Wealth, and Happiness

April 24, 2023

“Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!”

- John Bogle

In today's issue: With the closure of the banks Silvergate and Signature, the industry has even more of a banking problem. Where are the crypto banks?

We've updated our list of the Best Bitcoin Banks, giving you options for moving to more crypto-friendly institutions.

This is our up-to-the-minute guide to the best bitcoin banks that you can use without fear of having your account closed down, whether you're an individual bitcoin investor, a merchant accepting bitcoin for payments, or a startup in the crypto space. Read on.

Must Read

Today's most important story for crypto investors.

Weekly Fundamentals #60 – Liquid Staking

(Token Terminal)

If you have interest in how liquid staking works, what platforms are leaders in the liquid staking space, which are growing the fastest, and what metrics to look at when considering liquid staking projects, then today's Must Read is for you!

Lido remains the largest liquid staking platform for Ethereum. It's even growing its lead, something many thought wouldn't happen post-Shapella as investors began unstaking ETH.

However, there are other platforms growing at faster rates. Frax Ether is currently the fastest growing platform thanks to its high APYs on its liquid staking products. Ether.fi is also growing rapidly, particularly in terms of daily active users (one of our favorite metrics here at BMJ).

Investor takeaway: Now that unstaking is live for Ethereum (thus de-risking the entire ecosystem), liquid staking providers are beginning to experience solid growth rates. It's also likely we'll see increased competition in the space, and newer players are well worth watching as they often bring innovative new models and increased yields for early adopters.

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Best Bitcoin Banks, Rated and Reviewed for 2023

by Daniel Joel

What are crypto banks? Crypto-friendly banks (or “bitcoin banks”) are modern, advanced financial institutions that recognize crypto as a form of exchange or payment. They're friendly to crypto businesses, and may even offer custody or exchange services for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

Why are crypto-friendly banks so important? Many banks will shut down your account if you're investing in crypto or running a blockchain business. Account closures usually come with little to no explanation regarding why they occur (we speak from experience).

A new generation of “crypto-friendly banks” combines regular banking services with a crypto-friendly attitude, but you should exercise caution before opening an account. Banks must be licensed in your jurisdiction, so do your research. You can start with our guide below.

Crypto-Friendly Banks Under Fire

Crypto-friendly banks have been in the spotlight after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank. For SVB, a bank run happened after investors panicked and withdrew their money out of fear of insolvency. Regulators stepped in to shut the bank down.

Signature Bank also suffered the same fate when New York state regulators closed it down to mitigate risks less than two weeks after Silvergate announced its closure. While these failures temporarily affected crypto’s easy and fast payment rails, there are still great crypto-friendly bank options out there.

This is our guide to the best bitcoin banks you should be able to use without the fear of having your account suddenly closed down, whether you're an individual bitcoin investor, a merchant accepting bitcoin for payments, or a startup in the crypto space.

Note: These may not be "banks" in the traditional sense, but financial providers that offer services similar to traditional banks. In other words, don't expect to walk into a local branch. With a few exceptions, crypto banks are online banks.

Sources: Individual website terms, S&P ratings, customer reviews from TrustPilot and Facebook

Monese

Offered in: The U.K. & Europe
Launched in: 2013
Current account fee: Free
Credit rating: Unrated
Customer reviews: 4.1
Crypto friendliness: 4.0
BMJ Score: 4.0

Monese is a UK firm that provides alternatives to conventional banks by offering banking transactions and account services. The bank offers its services in the UK and in 31 countries throughout the European Economic Area. It also offers accounts in pounds sterling, Romanian leu, and euros.

The Monese debit card functions in a similar manner as any other debit card. Users can buy online, withdraw money from ATMs worldwide, make in-store purchases, and utilize cashless transactions. In addition, users may use the platform to make top-ups, modify individual data, and check financial records.

Good for: Monese is great for those in Europe and the UK who seek digital banks. It serves European consumers well, though it's not available to U.S. citizens.

BankProv

Offered in: The U.S.
Launched in: 1828
Current account fee: $0-$1000
Credit rating: Unrated
Customer reviews: 3.0
Crypto friendliness: 3.5
BMJ Score: 3.5

BankProv, previously known as the Provident Bank, is the 10th oldest bank in the U.S. It's been around for nearly 200 years, and it just recently entered the crypto space. The bank primarily targets crypto companies by providing API banking solutions and crypto-backed loan services. All USD deposits held at BankProv are 100% insured, as BankProv is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF).

Good for: BankProv may be a great option for blockchain companies that deal heavily in crypto as it's tailored to support their involvement in the space.

Wirex

Offered in: The U.K. & Europe
Launched in: 2014
Current account fee: Free
Credit rating: Unrated
Customer reviews: 3.4
Crypto friendliness: 3.7
BMJ Score: 3.5

Wirex is a digital money provider and a crypto-friendly financial facility for trading cryptos situated in London, U.K. While Wirex isn't a traditional bank, it's an option for those who wish to trade modest amounts and have ways to move idle funds into savings platforms.

Wirex’s technology has allowed two million+ users in 130 countries to conduct more than $2.5 billion in crypto and fiat currency exchanges since 2014. Wirex also offers the interest-paying X-Accounts, which enable customers to earn up to 16% on their crypto and fiat deposits.

Good for: Wirex is a low-cost option for crypto investors, allowing them to purchase, swap, and send 20 fiat currencies and cryptos with low fees, high limits, and no extra costs. Users can also earn up to 16% APY via X-Accounts, with instant access to withdraw those funds when needed. Finally, the Wirex Visa Card is issued by Sutton Bank and offers up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance on prepaid card funds.

Juno

Offered in: India, Singapore, the U.K., and Canada
Launched in: 2019
Current account fee: $0
Credit rating: Unrated
Customer reviews: 4.0
Crypto friendliness: 3.5
BMJ Score: 3.5

Juno is not a traditional bank, but a fintech company that's partnered with Evolve Bank and Trust (a technology-focused financial organization) to provide numerous banking services. This includes depositing, buying, selling, and withdrawing crypto to external wallets with no extra costs.

Users can pay bills from their Juno accounts and access a fee-free network of over 80,000 ATMs. Juno currently supports 36 cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

Good for: Customers looking to earn rewards on their cash and crypto. You can earn up to 5% for the first $25,000 deposited.

Revolut

Offered in: The U.K.
Launched in: 2015
Current account fee: Free plan | Premium- $9.99 | Metal- $16.90
Credit rating: Unrated
Customer reviews: 4.3
Crypto friendliness: 3.0
BMJ Score: 3.0

Though Revolut is not a traditional bank, it offers several banking services. With a Revolut account, you can get direct deposits, send and receive funds, earn interest on your savings, and link all your bank accounts in one place for easy tracking and budgeting. You can set up joint accounts or sub-accounts, which is handy for those with partners. Revolut also offers trading in crypto, stocks, and precious metals.

Good for: Revolut is an excellent option for those looking to move into digital banking, especially if currency exchange is an important feature. Frequent travelers can take advantage of fee-free currency exchanges and local currency withdrawals from their Revolut balances.

BitcoinIRA

Offered in: The U.S.
Launched in: 2016
Current account fee: 0.99%-4.99% of initial deposit
Credit rating: Unrated
Customer reviews: 4.5
Crypto friendliness: 4.0
BMJ Score: 2.7

While it’s not a bank, Bitcoin IRA is one of the most popular crypto IRA platforms. It allows you to trade on the platform 24/7 and supports 60+ assets including bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano. It also allows you to roll over your existing IRAs and 401(k)s into a Bitcoin IRA.

The platform offers users up to $700M in protection and works with crypto custodial services provider BitGo to securely hold your crypto. The minimum investment for a new Bitcoin IRA account is $3,000. There's also a one-time deposit fee of 0.99%, and a 0.08% security fee billed monthly.

Good for: Customers seeking retirement accounts, as BitcoinIRA accounts are tax-advantaged.

Our Top Picks

While plenty of banks advertise themselves as “crypto-friendly” (and you can expect more to follow), we’ve researched the banks with reliable track records and satisfied customers. As they require banking licenses, these banks are not available in all jurisdictions. Our top picks are:

For corporate U.S. customers,BankProv gets high marks for supporting the banking needs of crypto companies.
For U.K. and European customers, Monese has good customer reviews and an established track record.
For customers in India, Singapore, and Canada, our top pick is Juno, which has good customer reviews.

ICYMI