Crypto lending industry is thriving amid the bear market
As the bear market in crypto leads to job cuts at many firms in the nascent ecosystem, lending businesses continue to expand, according to a report by Bloomberg. Crypto lenders are in a unique position in that a bear market can actually increase demand for their services. "The bear market has certainly helped -- at least has fueled the growth,” Michael Moro, chief executive officer of Genesis Capital, which operates a lending unit, Genesis Capital, told Bloomberg.
Firms like Genesis can make money lending to investors looking to short bitcoin as well as to bitcoin "hodlers" who don't want to spend their own crypto at depressed prices. Genesis plans to double its staff in 2019 and expand into Asia, according to the report. Elsewhere, BlockFi reportedly grew its revenues and customer-base 10-fold since June, the report said. Salt Lending, another crypto lender, is "hiring more every month as its revenue ticks higher."
