KEY POINTS
- US credit-card balances reached $1.29 trillion in the third quarter, up $22 billion from the prior quarter and $52 billion from a year earlier, the New York Fed said.
- A simplified model puts first-year interest at $2,236 on a $10,000 card balance and $720.20 on a Coinbase Bitcoin-backed loan, including the fee.
- The cheaper loan requires pledged Bitcoin that can be sold automatically if its value falls far enough.
US credit-card balances rose to $1.29 trillion in the third quarter, according to a New York Fed report published on Nov. 10. CryptoSlate used the figure as the starting point for a comparison with Bitcoin-backed loans, which advertise much lower rates but put the borrower's collateral at risk.
