Investing has become a piece of cake for the general public, all because of the numerous modern technologies that do not require you to be a Wall Street regular to operate. Using the several available investment apps, you can easily use your phone to buy stocks, or even fractions of stocks, within a few minutes.
Table of Contents:
- What Is Donut App
- How Does the Donut App Work
- How Can I Open a Donut Account?
- Features of the Donut App
- Pros and Cons of Using the Donut App
- Donut App Costs
- How Does the Donut App Protect Your Money?
- Takeway
Android version: download here
IOS version: download here
These apps help people save, invest, and augment their savings accounts, all in the comfort of their homes. Many of these automatic savings apps are also testing the waters in cryptocurrency.
Donut is one such example; it is an app that can enable you to metamorphose your spare cash into digital dollars. If you are sceptical of how that is possible, this donut app review will clear all ambiguities regarding donut crypto.
What is the Donut App?
Donut is an innovative app on a mission to develop a more inclusive financial world where users can conveniently grow their wealth with DeFi. DeFi stands for decentralised finance and uses blockchain technology and cryptocurrency to handle financial transactions.
DeFi is highly inclusive: it eliminates the need for a middleman by redirecting power to general people, much like an anti-bank. The Donut app works on DeFi and allows users to lend, trade, and borrow digital assets. This DeFi-powered savings app offers a relatively high annual percentage yield (APY) than most conventional financial institutions.
| App Stores | Reviews | Rating |
| App Store | 3k+ | 4.5/5 |
| Google Play Store | 200+ | 3.9/5 |
Donut DeFi is highly suitable for beginners in crypto who wish to avail of its benefits without investing in or buying coins. Users can easily earn strong yields, even without holding much prior finance knowledge.
Its intuitive interface and user-friendly design let users deposit and withdraw money in US dollars and then use their account to convert to the stablecoin USDC. They can earn 5% or 6% APY depending upon their balance.
Donut uses cryptocurrency as leverage to offer users APYs more than 30 times higher than the national savings account, an average of 0.17%. The app claims that users can benefit from 24-hour APY boosts, which may be as high as 40% in addition to a user’s existing interest rate.
For instance, if a user earns a 5% APY through the Save Plan, a 40% increase in the APY translates to earning 45% APY for 24 hours. Although a one-day boost may not seem like a lot, it is important to remember that Donut calculates and adds interest four times every minute.
However, Donut is not FDIC-insured like other conventional high-APY savings accounts. The accounts back their fund through the services of renowned lending partners such as Genesis and Wyre. Because of this, you are likely not to be able to open an account if you reside in New York because of New York cryptocurrency laws.
How Does Donut Work?
Donut currently works in two plans: Save Basic and Save Upgraded.
Both plans are automated when it comes to converting your USD to USDC – a fully backed stablecoin that is pegged against USD. Users with an account minimum of $5,000 can switch to the upgraded Save plan and begin their journey of higher APY earnings immediately.
The Donut app works by lending your digital dollars to global, decentralised markets at a high-interest rate on platforms such as Compound and Wyre. Users earn a fixed 5% APY on the basic option and a 6% APY on the upgraded plan, with interest accruing every second.
Users can add or withdraw their money any time they wish, as the app imposes no lock-in periods or commitments. Two new plans are said to be in the works: Build and Donut X. Although these plans are reserved for accredited investors, one can earn up to 10% APY through their use.
How Can I Open a Donut Account?
You can open a Donut account in less than five minutes and begin your quest to earn high saving rates. Here’s how:
- Go to the provider’s site and enter your phone number and press “Get Started.”
- Donut will send you a text containing a link to download the app.
- Once downloaded, follow the app’s instructions to open and link a bank account or a funding account (like Plaid) with your account and routing numbers.
Donut imposes certain eligibility restrictions on its users. They must be a US resident and at least 18 to apply for an account. New York residents are not presently eligible to use it because of state regulations.
Users must also provide certain documentation to be eligible for a Donut account. This generally includes personal information, such as:
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Phone Number
- Email Address
- Driver’s Licence
- Physical Address
- Social Security Number
Features of the Donut App
| Name | Donut |
| Available On | App Store and Google Play Store |
| Cost | Free – 2% Annual Fees |
| Features | Allows you to earn APY Award Boosts Allows substantial increase in current APY rate Offers recurring investments Aids users in attaining their saving goals through the Boxes feature Offers comprehensive earnings potential |
Boosts
Users can earn boosts, which are APY awards, after completing a particular task. The “Refer a friend” boost is a suitable example. All you need to do to earn it is refer the app to a friend. Once they make a deposit, both of you earn an additional 5% APY boost. Keep in mind that the waiting period for this particular boost is five days!
Collect
Collect resembles a roundup feature and is an automated investment tool that can help you add anywhere from 5% to 7% APY on your current rate. As soon as your spare change touches the $10 mark, Donut automatically deposits the money from your default bank account to your Donut account.
Recurring Investments
Donut offers an innovative recurring investment feature that allows users to choose the sum of money they would like to invest and how often.
This sum could be $15 every Sunday or $30 every Monday and is withdrawn from your linked bank account and deposited to the Donut account automatically.
Boxes
This feature aids users in reaching their savings goals by creating up to three Boxes. All you need to do to create a Box is tap “Boxes” and click “Create Box.”
You can then proceed by giving your Box a name, choosing a suitable icon, and making your first transfer. Remember that your default savings account goes under “Main Account.”
Earnings Potential
The earning potential feature offers an exciting prospect: users can see the probability of their balance growing in the future.
Pros and Cons of the Donut App
✅ Pros
High APY
Donut’s basic plan offers a 5% APY, and accredited investors can earn as much as 6% APY through Donut X, which is yet to be launched. However, other stablecoin accounts offer high APYs, while crypto savings accounts that accept USD deposits usually do not.
No fees or staking
Donut does not require a minimum balance or a fee, provided you do not upgrade your plan. Unlike other crypto savings accounts – such as Crypto.com, Yield, and Nexo, Donut does not require users to lock away or stake their assets for the maximum APY.
Higher rewards through APY boosts
Users can earn even higher rewards through Donut’s promotional boosts offered throughout the year.
Referral bonus
Users get a 6% APY bonus on top of their current APY for every referral. Once the person they referred to makes their first deposit, the bonus lasts six days. Referral bonuses are stackable.
Automatic roundups
Donut’s collect feature allows automatic roundup purchases from linked accounts or cards. Users can deposit the difference to their Donut account and augment their savings by activating 2x, 5x, or even 10x multipliers.
❌Cons
Barred smaller deposits
Donut only accepts deposits of $10, reducing smaller transactions.
Unavailability in New York
Donut is not available for the residents of New York due to the state’s noncompliant regulations around DeFi.
Limited ways of funding
Donut offers comparatively limited ways of funding your account, i.e., through bank transfers or Plaid. Although users can use their debit card to pay for the roundup program to invest the difference, they cannot fund their accounts directly through their debit card.
Overdrafting due to the Round-Up Feature
Donut users experience an overdose of overdrafts because of the roundup feature. That is why it is important to ensure that your linked account has a suitable balance before choosing a multiplier. It will help you boost savings and prevent the app from withdrawing more money than is available.
How Much Does Donut Cost?
The Donut app is free to download; users get one USD just for signing up. The app claims to “bake a small fee into the backend” when it comes to the expenditure and is generally about 2% per year. Several other companies – such as Celsius and BlockFi – do not charge annual fees and offer comparable interest rates.
How Does the Donut App Protect Your Money?
Donut account balances are not insured by the FDIC, SIPC, or any other regulatory body, similar to all other crypto savings accounts. Donut works in partnership with the FDIC-insured Evolve Bank to store your virtual currency in a digital wallet until you want to use it. However, federal guidelines are not compliant with virtual currency.
Like conventional banks, Donut borrows the money credited into its accounts and lends it to a regulating lending partner – such as Genesis or Wyre. Users earn the interest portion a vetter borrower pays as an APY on loan.
Donut is relatively transparent about its use of methods that safeguard the users’ money, one of which is over-collateralisation. This process requires borrowers to sign out a large amount of collateral before approval, typically 1.25 to 2 times higher than the amount they intend to borrow.
Despite this, the risk remains since a user’s original balance is theoretically protected because of the high collateral. In case of a price crash, Donut can sell or liquidate the borrower’s collateral and convert the stablecoin DAI to USD to cover a user’s balance.
Since the Donut app accounts are encrypted based on AES-256 standards, the app necessitates two-factor authentication for account access.
The Rundown
Donut is quite an innovative and authentic app for beginners in the crypto world, allowing them to augment their wealth by putting DeFi to use.
This high-yield, fancy DeFi-powered savings account supports fun features like roundups and Boosts to help you reach your savings goal. Although there have been some reports of glitches and overdrafting loads, this app is rising in popularity.
