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Coinbase Now Pays Canadians Up to 4.5% Just for Holding USDC
Crypto exchange Coinbase is giving Canadians a way to earn money on their crypto without doing anything. If you hold USDC — a stablecoin tied 1:1 to the US dollar — you’ll now get 4.1% rewards paid weekly. If you subscribe to Coinbase One, that bumps up to 4.5% on up to $30,000 worth.
This is the first time Canadians can earn rewards on USDC with Coinbase. For comparison, most Canadian chequing accounts pay 0% interest, and even savings accounts usually don’t come close to 4%, said Coinbase on Tuesday.
Toronto fintech Wealthsimple offers 1.75% interest for its chequing account for anyone, then up to 2.25% for Premium or Core clients with direct deposits, and up to 2.75% for Generation clients.
USDC is different from other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Its value doesn’t jump around — each coin is backed by U.S. dollars and short-term government bonds. That stability makes it more like digital cash than a gamble.
There are no lock-ins or hoops to jump through: if you hold USDC in Coinbase, you automatically earn rewards. You can still sell, spend, or move your USDC whenever you want.
Coinbase is pitching this as an alternative to the big banks, where fees are high and interest is low. Whether Canadians will move their money into a stablecoin instead of a bank account is another question—but the 4.5% return is hard to ignore.
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Meh. The 4.5% thing is just hype, likely commission or affiliated link.
Basically, you’re locking into a U.S.‑dollar‑pegged token, so by liviing in Canada your returns swing with the exchange rate. There’s no deposit insurance, so if Coinbase or the issuer goes under, you’re done.
Getting USD in from a Canadian bank means a cross‑border wire transfer with fees that can eat the whole year’s interest if you’re not moving a big chunk.
The top rate only applies if you’re paying for their premium plan and only on the first thirty grand, and they can change it whenever they feel like it. Then you still owe tax on the rewards. Add it up and the “deal” disappears fast.
If this was such a deal, it would be all over RFD.