Seashell Emerges From Stealth Mode With ‘Inflation-Resistant’ High-Yield Savings Accounts

The fintech, which provides lending services for crypto holders wanting fiat currency, also closed a $6 million seed funding round led by Khosla Ventures and Kindred Ventures.

AccessTimeIconJan 13, 2022 at 2:15 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:47 p.m. UTC
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Fintech Seashell has emerged from stealth mode with the launch of its high-yield Seashell Save app and the announcement of a $6 million seed round co-led by Khosla Ventures and Kindred Ventures.

Seattle-based Seashell bills its offering as an “inflation-resistant” savings app. The U.S. consumer price index, an inflation metric measuring costs across dozens of products and services, rose 7% in December compared to the prior year, the largest increase since 1982.

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  • The national average interest rate for savings accounts is just 0.06%, according to Bankrate data. Seashell hopes to close that gap by offering up to 10% interest to Seashell Save users, with the exact interest rate determined by the amount deposited and the length of time a user has had the account.

    “The way banks work is that they take your deposits and loan them out; we loan [funds] to people who are willing to pay more for it,” said Seashell founder and CEO Daryl Hok in an interview with CoinDesk.

    The borrowers include crypto holders wanting fiat currency, who are willing to pay fees and a higher interest rate to access the money. Seashell overcollaterizes cryptocurrency-backed loans to offset the potential market volatility. Crypto borrowers using staked assets as collateral would also provide the staking rewards.

    The funding round also included Coinbase Ventures, Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev, “Shark Tank’s” Mark Cuban, unicorn investor Elad Gil, former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo and the founders of a number of Web 3 projects, including Terra, Polygon, Avalanche and Solana.

    Seashell Save, available on Android and iOS devices, allows users to open a verified account and immediately transfer money from their bank to start earning interest. The app is free to set up and users can withdraw money at any time with no fees or penalties. The app’s waitlist is currently open and the accounts are expected to launch at the end of the first quarter on a rolling basis to allow for stress testing, said Hok, who previously served as COO at blockchain security firm CertiK.

    Seashell competes with the likes of Eco, a high-yield USDC savings app, but says it differs from alternative solutions due to its U.S. compliance-first approach. Hok said the company worked with its lawyers from the start under the assumption that everything is a security, ensuring the company can meet the highest regulatory standards.

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    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Brandy Betz

    Brandy covered crypto-related venture capital deals for CoinDesk.


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