How Crypto Interest Accounts Work

If you remember the crypto interest accounts of 2021, when BlockFi paid 8.6% and Celsius promised 12%, forget them. That entire category is gone, and this page will not pretend otherwise. BlockFi and Celsius went bankrupt in 2022, Gemini Earn froze $2 billion of customer funds when its lending partner collapsed, and regulators spent the years since rebuilding the rules around what’s left.

Here’s the good news: you can still earn yield on crypto and stablecoins in the U.S. in 2026, legally and on regulated platforms. The honest numbers are just smaller: roughly 3.5%-5% on stablecoins and cash, and 2%-5% on staked assets. Anything promising you more than that deserves hard questions about where the yield comes from.

Rates and availability below were last verified in August 2026 and change often, so always confirm the live rate in the platform’s app. Some links on this page are affiliate links; see our editorial integrity policy.

The Three Ways to Earn Yield on Crypto in 2026

The old “interest account” was one product. What replaced it is three legally distinct products, and knowing which one you’re buying matters more than the headline rate:

1. Staking – You earn the blockchain’s own protocol rewards for helping secure networks like Ethereum and Solana. This is real yield generated by the network itself, not by re-lending your coins. Available on Coinbase and Kraken after the SEC’s cases against both were dismissed in 2025, but your state matters (Coinbase staking is still blocked in California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wisconsin). Expect 2%-5% before platform commissions.
2. Stablecoin and cash rewards – Coinbase pays about 4.1% on USDC, PayPal pays 4% on PYUSD, and Crypto.com pays up to 5% on swept USD cash. These are legally structured as loyalty rewards, not interest, a deliberate design that routes around the GENIUS Act’s ban on stablecoin issuers paying yield. That structure works today, but regulators have proposed closing the loophole (more below).
3. Lending-funded earn products – The old model, where your deposits fund loans and you get a cut. In the U.S. this is only now tentatively returning: Nexo relaunched here in 2026 through a partnership with Bakkt after exiting under SEC pressure in 2022. Rates can be higher, but the model’s U.S. track record is being rebuilt from zero.

What to Look for in 2026 (It’s Not the APY)

The 2022 collapses taught a clear lesson: the platforms that failed all advertised the highest rates. Compare on these instead:

State Availability

The single biggest factor determining what you can actually use is your state of residence, not the platform’s marketing page. Staking is blocked in several states, PayPal’s PYUSD rewards exclude New York, and every platform’s list is different. Check availability for your state before comparing anything else.

Where the Yield Comes From

Staking rewards come from the blockchain itself, so they’re transparent and verifiable. Stablecoin rewards come from interest earned on reserves (T-bills) and shared back with you. Lending yield comes from borrowers paying interest, which is fine if the platform is honest about its loan book. If a platform can’t explain its yield source in one sentence, walk away.

Rate Durability

Every rate on this page is a program rate, not a contract. Rewards programs can be cut or restricted at any time, and one pending regulation (below) could reshape the whole stablecoin-rewards category. Treat quoted APYs as a snapshot, never a promise.

Commissions and Gating

Advertised staking rates are usually quoted before the platform’s 25%-35% commission. Crypto.com’s best rates require staking CRO tokens or paid plans; Nexo’s require holding NEXO tokens. The fine print is where the real rate lives.

The Regulatory Wildcard to Watch

The GENIUS Act, the 2025 federal stablecoin law, bans stablecoin issuers from paying yield to holders. Coinbase’s and PayPal’s rewards survive because they’re paid by the platform, not the issuer. In February 2026 the OCC proposed extending that ban to affiliates and third parties, which would directly target this workaround. The rule wasn’t final as of August 2026, but if it lands, stablecoin rewards as a category could shrink or vanish. If part of your plan depends on that ~4% USDC yield, keep an eye on this.

Platforms That No Longer Offer U.S. Yield Products

Worth naming clearly, because outdated articles (and worse, active scammers) still promote these:

• Gemini – Gemini Earn shut down in the 2023 Genesis bankruptcy (users eventually recovered their assets in full) and Gemini offers no yield product at all today. Anyone soliciting a “Gemini Earn” signup in 2026 is almost certainly running a scam.
• Ledn – Still a lender we recommend for Bitcoin-backed loans, but its Growth (interest) Accounts remain unavailable to U.S. customers.
• BlockFi, Celsius, Voyager – All bankrupt in 2022. They exist today only as cautionary tales.

FAQs About Earning Interest on Crypto

What Happened to Crypto Interest Accounts?

The 2020-era products paid high yields by re-lending customer deposits to institutional borrowers, mostly invisibly and sometimes recklessly. When markets turned in 2022, the borrowers defaulted, the platforms froze withdrawals, and BlockFi, Celsius, and Voyager all went bankrupt. The SEC then forced the survivors to shut down or register U.S. yield products. Today’s replacements pay less because they take dramatically less risk with your money.

What Is the Interest Rate on Bitcoin?

Here’s the honest answer almost no comparison site gives: for U.S. customers, there is essentially no meaningful, proven Bitcoin yield right now. Bitcoin can’t be staked, and the lending model that once paid 4-6% on BTC is only just returning via Nexo’s new U.S. product, whose live rates you should verify in-app. If someone quotes you a confident “Bitcoin interest rate” in 2026, be skeptical. Most U.S. holders seeking yield hold stablecoins for rewards instead, or put their Bitcoin to work the other direction, as collateral for a low-cost loan.

Is Staking Safe?

Staking on a major exchange carries platform risk (they hold your coins) and slashing risk (rare protocol penalties), but no credit risk: nothing is being lent to anyone. After the SEC dismissed its cases against Coinbase and Kraken in 2025 and regulators clarified that protocol staking isn’t a securities offering, staking is the most regulatorily settled yield option in the U.S. The main catch is state availability and the platform’s commission cut.

Are There Alternatives Outside Crypto Platforms Entirely?

Two are worth knowing about. Staked-ETH ETFs (like BlackRock’s ETHB, launched March 2026) pass staking rewards to shareholders through a normal brokerage account, but you’re taking full ETH price risk: it’s an investment, not a savings account. And tokenized money-market funds like Franklin Templeton’s BENJI pay T-bill yields (~3.5%-4.5%) in a regulated 1940-Act fund. Neither is a “crypto interest account,” but for a yield-seeker, the second is about the safest 4% in the ecosystem.

How Do I Get Started?

Same as any regulated financial account: sign up, verify your identity (government ID, selfie, and SSN for U.S. customers), enable two-factor authentication, and deposit. Every platform in our comparison is app-based and takes minutes. Just read the rate screen inside the app before depositing. That number, not any marketing page (including ours), is the rate you’ll actually get.

Final Thoughts

The crypto yield landscape of 2026 is smaller, slower, and more honest than the one that blew up in 2022, and that’s a good trade. A verifiable 4% on stablecoins from a regulated public company beats a mystery 12% from a platform that won’t survive the next bear market. We’ll keep this page updated as rates move, the OCC rule resolves, and new products launch. Check the verification date at the top, and when in doubt, trust the number in the app over the number in the headline.