Crypto lending is booming as investors hunt for yield. It turned this company from niche startup to $1 billion unicorn in just 4 years.

Crypto lending is booming as investors hunt for yield. It turned this company from niche startup to $1 billion unicorn in just 4 years.

The in cryptocurrencies has sent investors searching elsewhere in the digital universe for sky-high returns. Many of them are getting into the fast-growing sector of crypto lending, which can net investors returns far above the measly 0.05% or so that banks offer on deposits. Retail investors can get crypto "savings" accounts that typically offer annualized returns of between 5% and 12%. Braver braver souls can lend to decentralized finance projects in the wilder corners of the market and earn several thousand percent. One beneficiary of the crypto lending boom has been Amber Group, a Hong Kong-based startup that has after a June fundraising round - and after just four years in existence. Amber offers high-frequency and algorithmic trading, derivatives and various other fancy products. But, like many crypto lenders, its core business model is simple. It takes crypto from "savers" who want to lend, and lends crypto to institutions or people that want to borrow it, for example hedge funds shorting bitcoin. Its products offer returns ranging from 3% and 40% or above. Focused on Asia, it mainly serves institutions, but is expanding its offering to retail customers. "What we are doing essentially is similar to a bank," Amber's chief