OKEx has launched the private beta release of their new lending product, OK PiggyBank. Last week, it was announced that they would be debuting this product on Monday (Nov 26th) morning, and it has now gone live.

Lending allows users to lend their cryptocurrencies to the exchange so that margin traders can borrow their assets to trade with. In exchange, the users receive interest income on the cryptocurrencies they deposit into lending. Similar services are currently offered also offered on Bitfinex. 

OK PiggyBank is connected directly to users accounts and is accessible via the website. There is no minimum deposit requirement. To follow the release of their private beta, OKEx created an FAQ document for OK PiggyBank. In the FAQ, the company reveals that only cryptocurrencies with margin trading will be supported, which include: BTC, ETH, EOS, XRP, USDT, LTC, and ETC. It’s yet to be determined if OKEx will support lending of fiat currencies.

Late last week, OKEx created a document titled “How to Activate OK PiggyBank?” This how-to guide shows that at the moment, OK PiggyBank is only available for specific users who receive an inviation. OKEx explains that, “the official release will be available soon, please stay tuned.”

Looking at the guide, it seems that depositing currencies into OK PiggyBank is fairly easy, making it accessible for all to obtain passive income from lending.

 

We always strive to provide greater value to our users and offer them access to a much wider range of convenience and rewards..With the launch of this new service, users can better manage their assets and also enjoy stable returns regardless of market volatility.

Andy Cheung, Head of Operations, OKEx

 

With the launch for OK PiggyBank, OKEx is also changing their rules on margin trading. The changes mean that:

  1. Interest will be accrued hourly instead of daily to lower users’ cost;
  2. The daily interest rate will be updated every hour according to the demand and supply in real time;
  3. The interest rate for borrower will be updated once every 24 hours;
  4. Interest must be repaid every 7 days – no limit on loan period.

Although OKEx has just launched PiggyBank, it seems that it could be a major driver of traffic to OKEx.Lending services allows HODL’ers to receive passive interest on their sitting cryptocurrencies in a low-risk manner, and could prove a substantial development for OKEx, which has recently been named “Crypto Exchange of the Year.”