A step ahead of law, crypto platforms now offer guaranteed returns up to 250%!

Keeping regulators and regulations on tenterhooks, crypto platforms have innovated yet again by offering guaranteed returns on cryptocurrencies --known for their extreme volatility. The returns on offer start from 1% and go up to as high as 250%.

ZebPay, for instance, offers a bank fixed-deposit like product where crypto investors can lend their cryptos for a fixed number of days to earn fixed guaranteed returns. The rate of interest varies depending on the token and time period.

Another platform Cashaa, which calls itself a banking platform to manage fiat and crypto, offers a bank saving account-like product providing a maximum interest rate of 24% on cryptocurrencies.

A different platform, UniFarm is a slightly more sophisticated one where a bunch of projects come together to create a reward pool. It guarantees an annual percentage yield (APY) between 36% and 250%. The annual percentage yield is the real rate of return earned on an investment, taking into account the effect of compounding interest. It guarantees absolutely no market exposure.‌ Here's a look at some of these products to get a better grip of the "guaranteed" returns idea in cryptos.

The simplest one is a fixed deposit of tokens. ZebPay allows investors to deposit their cryptos for 7-day, 30-day, 60 day and 90-day periods. The rate of return will vary depending on the period you opt for. The returns earned, along with the principal amount will be deposited into your trading wallet at the end of the term. The current annualised yield on bitcoin is 1.5%, ethereum earns 2% annualised, Binance Coin earns 6%, Polygon (Matic) earns an interest of 9%. Tether and Binance USD get a higher rate of 10%.

ZebPay also allows an open term deposit, where your tokens are not deposited with them. You are free to transfer your crypto back to your trading wallet at any time. In an open-term deposit, returns are calculated and deposited into your trading wallet daily. Returns under the open term deposit scheme are lower than the fixed deposit scheme.

Cashaa, which claims to be the world's first cryptocurrency financial institution with physical branch locations, has also launched bank-like- saving accounts, fixed deposit products. It will enable users to store, buy, sell and earn interest without risking assets to unknown DeFi projects, the platform says. "We are taking another step forward in terms of finding a balance between regulation and providing benefits to the crypto community, and expect Cashaa to also do well as a consumer brand," says Kumar Gaurav, founder & CEO, Cashaa.

Cashaa also allows no-lock-in deposit accounts where an investor can earn up to 13% returns. Fixed deposit plan which offers returns up to 24% locks funds for a period between 1 month and 12 months. These deposit accounts calculate and pay out interest daily.

UniFarm, which guarantees an annual percentage yield (APY) of up to 250%, is a crypto farming solution which offers various projects to investors to choose from. Users can stake any one token and get multiple tokens as rewards, says the platform. For example, if there's a UniFarm pool of tokens -- $ORO, $MATIC, $REEF, $CNTR, and $FRONT, you could stake any of these tokens and start earning all the tokens as rewards.‌ If the APY falls below the minimum APY that the platform has promised, it will introduce additional $ORO tokens after 8 weeks of farming to meet the required APY.

Average APY on the projects have been 40% to 50%, says Tarusha Mittal, COO & co-founder, UniFarm.