easyGroup – the
London-based creator and owner of the easy family of brands, including easyJet.com and easyHotel.com – has announced its entry into the crypto sector with the launch of
easyBitcoin.app, a mobile app which makes it simple and affordable for new users to buy and earn bitcoin. easyBitcoin is powered by Uphold, the leading infrastructure provider for on-chain finance.
With bitcoin recently reaching all-time-highs and becoming mainstream, more users are looking to start making it part of their savings strategy. Research firm Opinion Matters recently conducted a survey
1 of US consumers which found that:
- 88% of respondents said they trust bitcoin to grow their money over the next decade
- Bitcoin was named a top three investment choice by 39% of respondents. That's above gold – which made the top three for 29% of those surveyed – and just below real estate, a top three asset for 41%
- More than half of people (57%) prefer bitcoin over traditional savings accounts; 61% would invest a $10,000 windfall in bitcoin; 64% believe bitcoin is an essential part of any investment portfolio
While there is growing confidence in bitcoin as an investment, the research found that barriers remain to adoption – almost half of people polled (49%) said it was difficult to buy, sell, or hold bitcoin. Many popular platforms are overly complex, designed with sophisticated traders in mind.
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Founder, easyGroup said: "For too long, investing in bitcoin has felt like an exclusive club, out of reach for the general public with very high transaction costs. With the easyBitcoin.app, we're aiming to change that and provide simple access via your mobile phone, great value and a focus on earning bitcoin rewards whether you're buying or simply holding bitcoin. This isn't just about technology; it's about financial empowerment and making bitcoin a practical investment option for all."
When users buy bitcoin in the app, easyBitcoin offers three ways to earn additional bitcoin
2:
- 1% welcome bonus: users can earn extra bitcoin on the first $5,000 of recurring buys each month3
- 2% bitcoin rewards: customers who keep a recurring buy going for 3 months unlock 2% annual rewards on all their bitcoin holdings in the app
- 4.5%4 APY on USD balances with interest to be paid out in bitcoin.5
"Multiple ways to earn sets a new standard in crypto. Beyond appealing to the converted, receiving rewards in bitcoin on USD balances is the perfect draw for that huge segment of the population that has become aware of bitcoin, but has yet to take the plunge,"
said Simon McLoughlin, CEO of Uphold.
"We believe that the combination of
$2.5M of FDIC insurance on USD balances plus 4.5% interest, convertible instantly into bitcoin, is likely the most attractive, compelling and useful consumer product yet to emerge from crypto. We are thrilled to partner with the easyGroup to bring this to market."
A thousand dollars invested in bitcoin at the end of
July 2015 would be worth almost
$400,000 today, making it the best-performing asset of the decade. Better than equities, commodities such as gold and oil, and even Real Estate.
"After 16 years of market data, there's now a real basis to the claim that bitcoin could be the best savings technology ever invented," continued McLoughlin. "Today, it certainly deserves consideration in anyone's investment portfolio."
The easyBitcoin app represents the values of the easyGroup family of brands which has pioneered keeping things simple, building on innovation, and being for the many, not the few. Uphold brings ten years' worth of expertise in delivering crypto services to millions of retail users worldwide.
A UK version of the easyBitcoin app will launch later in 2025.
