Bitcoin Magazine 21bitcoin Now Pays Interest on Idle Euros, Payable in BTC

Austrian Bitcoin platform 21bitcoin will start paying 1.21% annual interest on customers’ uninvested euro balances from today — and letting them collect it in BTC, with no conversion fee.

The company says it’s the first provider in Europe to pay savings interest directly in Bitcoin.

The interest covers every euro in the account, including cash waiting for the next savings-plan purchase or reserved for an open limit order, the company said. There’s no minimum deposit and no lock-up. 

“Building wealth with Bitcoin does not begin with the purchase itself, but with the euros set aside for it,” said co-founder and CEO Daniel Winklhammer.

The money is paid by Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Bayern Mitte eG, a German bank that has owned a stake in 21bitcoin since 2023. 

Customer euros sit in a segregated trust account at the bank as instant-access savings. 21bitcoin says it passes the interest on in full and keeps no margin. The company is pitching this as a deliberate contrast to the high-yield promises that brought down several crypto lenders.

The rate is variable, and interest is subject to German withholding tax.