Bitfinex launches peer-to-peer (P2P) digital token loan portal

By Edil Corneille

Taipei-based Bitfinex, a digital token trading platform, has launched Bitfinex Borrow, a peer-to-peer (P2P) digital token loan portal that is said to provide a seamless interface for users to borrow. Bitfinex Borrow enables borrowers to use their bitcoin or Ethereum holdings as collateral to obtain a loan in either Tether (USDt) tokens or US Dollars (USD).

“Bitfinex Borrow is an intuitive and user-friendly service that will facilitate responsible borrowing, with the taking out of personal and corporate loans from our highly liquid peer-to-peer lending markets,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex. “We launched this service after carefully considering the needs of our sophisticated and growing customer base.”

Borrowers can choose between a variable interest rate based upon the Flash Return Rate (FRR) or a fixed-rate loan. The annual and daily interest rates, as well as total lending and repayment amounts, are automatically calculated by Bitfinex Borrow based on the amount of digital tokeny put down as collateral, loan amount, borrowing period and preferred interest rate option. Borrowing rates vary from about 5.5 per cent Annual Percentage Rate (APR) to about 18.25 per cent APR. The rates, payment amounts and collateral price reflected represent an estimate, based on current market conditions, of the interest rates and amounts payable based on the loan amount, collateral and duration selected. These values are hypothetical and not guaranteed to be the same as, or reflective of the actual interest rate, payment obligations or collateral price applicable to a loan a user decides to take.

Users can make a partial or full repayment on both the principal and interest of the loan by moving funds back into their Margin wallet, thereby reducing their daily interest rate. Users will have to manage their own risk of fluctuating bitcoin or Ethereum prices. While fully verified users will have full access to Bitfinex Borrow, users verified at the intermediate level will not be able to withdraw the borrowed funds from the platform.