London-based fintech Plutus is attempting to capitalize on Crypto.com’s recent failings with a slew of app updates, including 8% card cashback and partnerships with more than 20 popular brands in the UK and EU, making it one of the most attractive crypto-linked debit cards.
- Crypto.com slashed earn and cashback rates and felt instant backlash from users
- Aggressive advertising has put Plutus front and center as an alternative
- Plutus increased card cashback from 3% to 8% for those that stake in PLU
- Plutus introduces 20 new perks, including up to 100% crypto rebates on Netflix, Spotify, Prime, Apple One, Uber, Aldi, Asos, and Deliveroo Plus
In the wake of Crypto.com’s failings, it appears Plutus has completely overhauled its business model to attract new users. They offer three flexible subscription plans — Starter at no cost, every day at €4.99, Premium at €14.99 — and four staking levels: Hero, Veteran, Legend, and GOAT — Greatest Of All Time. The Visa debit card partner has also increased its crypto reward cashback rates from 3% to 8% for those who stake its native crypto token, Pluton (PLU).
The new model intends to help Plutus achieve its projected 600,000 cardholders by the end of 2023. As mentioned, timely and aggressive marketing is enabling Plutus to capture users.
Strike when the iron’s hot
One central sticking point for CRYPTO.COM (CDC) customers is the proposed changes to staking rewards for high-level customers. To get an uncapped 8% CRO cashback in the CDC model, a user needs to stake €350,000, and the revised changes now mean they earn 8% APY on that staked CRO. Still, that’s a considerable investment of capital into a potentially volatile crypto asset whose lowest all-time value is $0.01 and its highest at $0.91. That’s quite a range.
Plutus customers can simply pay a monthly subscription and receive 3% crypto cashback with varied tiers that reward more perks. This is an attractive proposition that doesn’t require any crypto stake to utilize the services. To get 8% staking rewards on Plutus a user needs to stake 2,000 PLU, which at today’s price would cost $19,080.
That’s a vast difference from the €350,000 required over on CDC to receive comparable rewards. Notably, the staking level figures seen below replace subscription plan figures. For example, getting a Premium Subscription Plan plus Hero Staking equals 4% rewards in total.
CDC vs. Plutus
Staking €350,000 in CRO with CDC would generate around €28,000 in staking rewards in 1 year. On top of that, the customer will receive 8% cashback on card spending. Let’s say the person spends €100,000 on the card over the year. They would receive around €8,000 back in rewards. Of course, these figures are based on the price of CRO remaining static or fluctuating very little. Based on these simple figures, the customer would receive around €36,000 in rewards a year.
On Plutus, staking around $20,000 will give you 8% staking rewards over the year, around $1,600. Using the same level of spending as the first example, if the customer received 8% cashback on $100,000, they would receive $8,000. Taking total earnings in one year to around $9,600.
Just a little under a third of the rewards that CDC would avail but without risking €350,000. Moreover, most people don’t have €350,000 laying around to invest, so arguably, CDC was intended as a wealthy investor’s playground where money makes money.
PLU Token
The PLU token underpins the entire operation and has been performing exceptionally well these last few days as it onboards new customers and increases its trading volume. On Sunday, May 1, it started moving north from around $6 to hit more than $15 by Tuesday, May 3. Today it’s trading at around $10, double its value pre-CDC fiasco.
PLU has a max total supply of 20,000,000 tokens, and currently, there are 8,160 holders of PLU. Interestingly, PLU added around five new token holders a day in 2022, but between April 30 and May 3 added over 200.
Looking at PLU on Etherscan, we can see a significant spike in PLU transfers over the last few days, with nearly a million PLU transferred on May 2 as the news about CDC started doing the rounds.
Comparing the two
The CEO and Founder of Plutus took to Twitter yesterday to highlight some key differences between the two platforms and to announce that the number of cards issued in April was 225% higher than the month before and that card spending increased by 45% to $7.75m. The feedback loop experienced by Plutus cardholders intends to differentiate it further from CDC.
- Spend with the Plutus Card
- Earn PLU & stake it
- Seek to attain more PLU
- Unlock more benefits
As a result, the fintech platform expects demand to continue growing as Plutus moves past the growth stages of its lifecycle. However, debates are raging online as to whether Plutus could simply be the next iteration of CDC and pull the same trick in a few months. We can draw comparisons between the two services in crucial areas such as sustainability and staking rewards.
Plutus has a different model than CDC, and while they offer staking and a complimentary card tier, they also offer paid subscriptions. This should be a good business model that gives customers some confidence level. When users stake PLU to get card benefits, they have full custody over their PLU. It sits in the customer’s wallet, and they have the keys. Customers don’t lock anything in, meaning that Plutus couldn’t do what CDC did now because, on Plutus, a user has full access to the PLU and can just move it wherever.
In this instance, the old saying “not your keys, not your crypto” is as accurate as ever. Something that is easily forgotten or never learned by newer users but seems to be of paramount importance to Plutus.
The above does not constitute investment advice. The information given here is purely for informational purposes only. Please exercise due diligence and do your research. The writer holds positions in various cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, and RADAR.
