TL;DR
- Krak BTC Vaults let Bitcoin holders earn up to 2.5% variable APY in BTC automatically, without blocking, without minimum deposit and with total exposure to the price preserved.
- Vaults now cover both sides of a wallet: USDC Vaults for yield on stability (up to 8% APY) and BTC vaults for a return on conviction, built on the same infrastructure that already prevails $180 million spread across 38,000 users.
- BTC vaults close a stealing Bitcoin in three steps unique to Krak: earn BTC on every purchase via 2% discount on the cardearn BTC every payday via 1% salary matchthen let this BTC compound in a vault.
- Available now in the United States (except NY and ME), EEA and Canadawith deposits accumulated immediately and withdrawals accessible after a 5-day block.
Most people with money in the market understand the basic idea of making your assets grow for you. You don’t leave money sitting idle in a checking account without earning anything when there is a high-yield savings account. You don’t leave stocks uninvested when index funds are at hand. You place capital where it is composed.
This logic has always clearly applied to one side of your portfolio. Until now, there was one blind spot: Bitcoin.
Two advantages. Two types of wealth creation.
Krak Vaults was launched with a clear principle: your money should earn while you hold it. For users putting digital money to work, that meant USDC, a stablecoin automatically earning up to 8% (variable) APY. No active management, no blocking, no complexity. Deposit, win, withdraw.
Before we go any further, a quick note on the two assets at play here, as they serve very different purposes in a portfolio.
USDC is a stablecoin: a digital dollar. Its value is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, meaning it does not fluctuate with the crypto market. It is designed for greater control and stability. When you earn yield on USDC, you earn on something that behaves like cash: more predictable, uncorrelated to the extreme volatility of crypto market cycles, and liquid. For the part of your portfolio where you want a return without extreme volatility, USDC delivers.
Bitcoin is a completely different type of asset. It’s not related to anything. It appreciates (and depreciates) based on supply, demand, adoption and macroeconomic conditions. Investors hold Bitcoin for the same reason they hold shares in high-growth companies: the belief in long-term appreciation. Bitcoin has been one of the best performing assets of the last decade. It is volatile, of course, but this volatility has always been oriented upwards for incumbent patients.
The Vaults product now serves both types of lockout. USDC Vaults offer you a return in terms of stability. BTC Vaults give you a return on conviction. Together, they represent a layer of returns for two fundamentally different types of wealth creation.
Overview of BTC vaults
Today, Krak is launching BTC Vaults, a yield strategy for Bitcoin holders who want their asset to do more without changing their exposure.
Here’s what that means in practice: You deposit Bitcoin into a vault, and it automatically starts accumulating Bitcoin rewards up to 2.5% APY. Your BTC balance increases. You remain fully exposed to every price movement, up or down. You have not sold, covered or changed your position. You simply added a layer of performance on top of the belief you already had.
When Bitcoin moves 20% in a quarter, you are fully participating in that movement. Yield is additive and not a compromise.
How it works
The experience is designed to be frictionless, intentionally. There is no wallet to manage, nor minimum balance to respect.
- Open the Krak app and navigate to Vaults from the home screen.
- Select BTC Vault alongside existing Balanced, Boosted, and Advanced USDC strategies.1
- Deposit any amount or any asset. No minimum. Krak automatically converts to BTC.
- Winnings are automatically compounded into Bitcoin. No registration, no rebalancing, no decisions required. Rewards start accumulating immediately.
- Withdraw at any time. Funds are accessible after a 5-day lock-in period.
That’s it. The product does not require you to become a cryptography expert. It asks you to make a decision: let your Bitcoin earn while you hold it.
The numbers that count
More than $180 million has already been generated by Vaults from 38,000 users worldwide. This foundation was built on USDC. BTC Vaults extend the same infrastructure to the most widely held crypto asset.
For a look at what yield means over time: A $10,000 BTC Vault deposit generating a variable APY of around 2.5% can amount to around $10,250 after the first year, all in Bitcoin.
The flywheel: a system that no other fintech has built
BTC vaults do not exist in isolation. For Krak users on eligible markets, they are the third element of a closed-loop system designed to passively accumulate Bitcoin, without ever requiring a deliberate purchase.
This is how the loop works:
Step 1: Earn BTC with every purchase. The Krak Card pays up to 2% cashback,2 possibly in Bitcoin. Every time you spend, a fraction of it is automatically converted into BTC and reaches your balance.
Step 2: Earn BTC every payday. Krak’s Salary Match feature offers a 1% match on your payroll, optionally in Bitcoin. With each pay cycle, your BTC position increases without any action on your part.
Step 3: Let this BTC generate yield. BTC Vaults close the loop. The Bitcoin you accumulated through your spending and salary now earns up to 2.5% (variable) APY on top of itself.
The calculation, concretely:
A Krak user spending €2,000/month on their card and earning €5,000/month in salary, receiving both in BTC rewards, accumulates approximately €1,095 in Bitcoin per year without purchasing a single sat.
Add three years of capitalization:
- Year 1: ~€1,095 earned in BTC
- Year 2: ~€1,122 earned in BTC
- Year 3: ~€1,151 earned in BTC
Over three years, this could reach ~€3,368 in Bitcoin. Built from expenses and salaries.
No other mainstream fintech has connected these three mechanisms into a single system. Revolut offers cryptocurrencies but does not offer any BTC yield. Cash App allows you to buy Bitcoin but it doesn’t earn anything. Chime and SoFi don’t touch crypto at all. Krak is the only app where your everyday money turns into Bitcoin, and your Bitcoin turns into more Bitcoin.
For the long-term holder
If you’ve held Bitcoin for multiple cycles, you already know the main thesis: patience, conviction, and time in the market. You didn’t trade. You have accumulated.
BTC Vaults are designed exactly for this posture. You don’t need to change anything in your strategy. You don’t need to learn a new protocol or accept new risks. You are simply adding yield to a position that you were going to hold anyway.
To start
BTC Vaults are now available in the Krak app for users in the US (excluding NY and ME), EEA and Canada. No minimum deposit. Withdraw at any time.
If you already hold Bitcoin on Krak, you are just one click away from implementing it.
¹ Timing of withdrawal depends on the selected strategy and network conditions. Geographic restrictions apply. See this help center article for more information on Krak Vaults.
2 The rate depends on the average of assets held at Krak, Kraken and Kraken Pro. Geographic restrictions and General conditions apply. See Help Center for more information.
The APY is variable and not guaranteed; there is a risk of loss. Chain interactions involve technological, market and operational risks (see Terms of use). Kraken does not control third-party protocols. Vaults are an unregulated product and are provided by Payward Wallet, LLC. Fees apply. Geographic restrictions apply.
A variable spread will apply when spending between assets. Third-party ATM fees may apply.
Spending cryptocurrencies may be a taxable event, as converting to fiat currency may create capital gains or losses. Consult a tax advisor tailored to your specific situation. Learn more. Cashback is generally not taxable. Consult a tax advisor suited to your situation. Learn more.
Mastercard® is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. The card is issued by Monavate under license from Mastercard International Inc.
Features are subject to change. Certain features, applications and services may not be available in all regions or languages and may require specific hardware and software. For more information, see Feature Availability.
