Crypto lender Dharma now allows sending money to any Twitter handle

DeFi • April 22, 2020, 3:45AM EDT
UPDATED: April 22, 2020, 7:03AM EDT
Koshiro K/Shutterstock

Dharma, an Ethereum-based peer-to-peer lending platform, has launched social payments.

The new feature allows Dharma users to send U.S. dollars to any Twitter handle, even if recipients don’t have a Dharma account. To get started, users would need to deposit funds into their Dharma accounts.

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Dharma said recipients would start earning interest “as soon as” someone sends them money, even before claiming it. It is not clear how much is the interest rate, Dharma currently offers a 3.5% interest per annum, according to its website.

Founded in 2017, Dharma pivoted to a new Compound-connected platform in August 2019. It means rather than offering a platform built on its own proprietary smart contracts, Dharma enabled users to tap into Compound’s liquidity pool. This allows lenders to immediately earn interest on deposits.

Dharma is backed by notable investors, including Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital and Y Combinator. The firm raised $7 million in February 2019 to build out a decentralized lending platform for large crypto traders and investors.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.