I’ve been thinking about Banking again.
About a week ago, I read this article: What the Quiet Money Is Actually Doing in January 2026 and it rekindled the thought that maybe I should be putting a bit more into earning crypto interest, especially if we’re expecting price rises in the big three (BTC, ETH, SOL) this year on top of infrastructure stuff that gives them an extra pump.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I know what the “quiet money” is doing or anything. I was already thinking about adding some SOL to my savings, as I’ve mentioned, and that article just sort of reminded me at the right time – and tickled the part of my brain that thinks “wouldn’t it be cool if I banked more and prices skyrocketed?” 🙂
So I spent a little time re-checking the interest rates on offer.
20% on SOL and ETH
Bizarrely, nowhere that I found from a basic online search for rates lists CoinEx in their numbers, but it turns out they’re still excellent if you’re banking less than $1,000 or so in ETH or BTC. They’re also in the top places to bank for USDT and USDC, though I don’t do that (I want more crypto, not more inflation-affected stablecoins).
What I did find from wandering through menus on a variety of exchanges is that MEXC offers much better rates on ETH and SOL for people with thousands to invest.
I’m talking about getting 20% per annum on ETH or SOL.
The downside is that you have to invest it manually for 7 days at a time. Unlike SOL staking at MEXC or CoinEx BTC/ETH banking, you can’t just click and leave it there (as far as I can gather without being able to try it – the investment may autorepeat).
You also need a minimum amount to access the higher rate: 2 ETH or 40 SOL.
MEXC also does nice rates on USDT/USDC with the same 7-day setup – similar to what CoinEx offers, so you’re better off there unless you want to invest from $5,000 to $100,000 in one big lump (at MEXC).
Those options are all still a ways off for me, but one day… yeah, baby, yeah!
PAXG
I’m not sure how I missed PAXG. It’s a crypto fully backed by gold: each PAXG represents “one fine troy ounce of a London Good Delivery gold bar, stored in professional vault facilities”.
In other words, it’s gold on the blockchain.
Given how gold is also a store of wealth, I may add some PAXG to my ongoing banking. I expect no interest on it (though apparently some places do that, something to investigate), so it’d be a small addition, mostly as a nod to long-term investment in a real world commodity everyday people think is valuable.
Kraken Lightning
In other news, my on-ramp Kraken – the slowest exchange with the worst transaction fees I’ve seen – is now charging 0.1% withdrawal fees on the Lightning network.
They’re the epitome of doing everything old-world-style and screwing themselves in the process lol.
Another Blogger
Another random post I noticed in the last week was from Yurii_uspeh, who is on their own long walk to crypto riches. Starting with only $0.04, it’s going to be a wild journey (I suspect), so check in, follow and share the ride! I’ll be watching them to see if I can pick up any extra ideas for my own crypto…
See you on Sunday for the next weekly update? I hope so!
