Nook, a new crypto savings app developed by former Coinbase engineers, recently raised $2.5 million in funding. Investor representations include Coinbase Ventures, Defy.vc, and UDHC. By leveraging those tools, the company wants to make it easier for non-crypto-native users to increase and diversify their digital asset holdings. Nook is a decentralized finance (DeFi) marketplace, where users can access services including Aave. With crypto lending, users can lend out their crypto to borrowers and earn interest in return.

The new platform provides users with unprecedented access to a wide range of DeFi applications. Nook estimates that accessing the average lending platform can take a user through 14 different steps, which they aim to streamline.

Nook’s value proposition is in lowering the risks of crypto lending and borrowing. Some users have made as much as an astounding 8% return a year. They achieved this by lending their Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to borrowers on Moonwell via Nook. Moonwell has all borrowers overcollateralize their loans, meaning they deposit more crypto than they take out in loans to back up their investments.

The Nook crew, including Isaacson, departed Coinbase as part of a wider exodus earlier this year to set out on their own adventure. Jayson Hobby, former CEO of lending protocol Compound and another Coinbase alumnus, is launching an equally thrilling venture Legend. That new project recently raised $15 million in funding from a16z and Coinbase.

"What we’re trying to do is make the experience a lot easier, make the messaging a lot more clear…and stick to a clear setup where we are within the regulatory confines and we are following the rules," - Joey Isaacson

Requirements like user-friendliness and regulatory compliance drive Nook’s mission to make crypto savings simple.

"Once we can make that connection and continue to build up our community, we see a few revenue options down the road," - Isaacson

Isaacson imagines new revenue possibilities as the platform’s user base continues to grow.

"We can’t guarantee it, but that has been the result that users have been seeing," - Isaacson

Isaacson is cautioning against expecting these returns, although users are already realizing their potential.