Nubank Rolls Out USDC Rewards and Expands Crypto Features for Its 88 Million Users

Latin America’s largest digital bank, Nubank, has rolled out several new features for its crypto users, including USDC rewards and expanded in-application functionalities.

The Brazilian neobank announced the new features in a blog post on Tuesday, offering incentives and use cases to users of its crypto platform.

Nubank now offers up to a 4% annual percentage yield (APY) for users who choose to hold USDC on its crypto platform. Interested users can opt into the program by clicking the “I Want to Participate” option in their Nubank wallet.

However, the new reward feature is subject to a minimum balance clause. According to the disclosure, only users with up to 10 USDC in their Nubank crypto wallet will be able to participate in the program.

The digital bank will automatically credit earned USDC to the participant's wallet every 24 hours. Additionally, the rewards will be instantly available for use, allowing users to trade or swap the received incentives immediately.

The yield program is strikingly similar to Coinbase’s USDC reward scheme. The leading exchange credits users who hold at least 1 USDC monthly with a prorated annual percentage yield (APY) based on the customer’s daily balance. However, Coinbase has recently discontinued the earn program for European users due to MiCA regulations.

Nubank's USDC reward is intended to complement its existing benefits for crypto wallet users. The virtual banking giant launched the USDC pilot program for selected users in March 2024 and, following a successful test, announced it would apply the incentive to all users.

Nubank also highlighted a growing preference for USDC among its user base. According to the announcement, 30% of its users now hold the Circle-issued stablecoin in their portfolio, while the number of USDC in the platform increased tenfold in 2024.

Furthermore, the neobank debuted an in-app functionality that enables users to swap their crypto assets last November. With this feature, Nubank crypto users can swap their Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, or Uniswap for USDC and vice versa.

Notably, the in-app functionality also keeps users informed about crypto market price fluctuations. For USDC, Nubank’s app will notify customers when the stablecoin moves by 0.5%, 1.5%, or 2% against the US dollar. It will also alert wallet users to a 3%, 6%, or 9% price variation on BTC, ETH, SOL, or UNI.

Nubank has a large user base, with over 88 million users in Brazil and an additional 6 million in other Latin American countries such as Mexico and Colombia. In December 2021, the fintech giant attained a valuation of $45 billion during its initial public offering (IPO), having operated for eight years prior.