Bitrue, the crypto investment platform that made its name as a leading XRP bourse, is continuing its reinvention as a hybrid exchange that combines CeFi with DeFi. In 2020, Bitrue’s executives have made no secret about their desire to incorporate the best elements of decentralized finance into their centralized exchange.

On November 2, the platform’s yield farming and mining service went live, giving users a means of earning a passive return on their staked assets. Yield farming was the wildly popular use case for DeFi that dominated the summer, promising to supply new tokens to users who locked them into decentralized protocols. Bitrue has taken that model and applied it to a centralized platform, giving its users exposure to yield farming without the systemic risk, such as smart contract bugs or high gas fees.

Bitrue #YieldFarming is now live 🥳 If you’ve updated your app to v4.3.0 you’ll see the new #Defi option on your homepage. The 1st investments will start in about 3 hours with up to 500% APY on $BFT & $FNX, with more opportunities coming soon. Read more – https://t.co/2u5XKMy7E5 pic.twitter.com/HWYqIMFTUP

— Bitrue (@BitrueOfficial) November 2, 2020

Farming Meets Mining at Bitrue

Yield farming has now officially launched in the Bitrue app; users who are running the latest version of the mobile app will find the option under “DeFi.” The initial period set for locking funds stands at seven days, during which Bitrue will invest user funds into various DeFi protocols, and collect earnings on their behalf. Users who lock up their USDC will receive FNX in return, with an estimated APR of 60%.

To supplement this service, Bitrue is also launching a service called Bitrue Mining Pools. This is to all intents and purposes the same as yield farming in that it generates a return for users who stake tokens. In this case, locking XRP and BFT into mining pools will enable Bitrue users to earn BFT and the APR is calculated at 500%.

A Taster of What’s to Come

Bitrue has promised that its initial yield farming and mining pools are just a taster of what it’s got in store. New pools will be added, providing additional ways to earn yield from staking assets. In addition, Bitrue has thrown a bone to new users who sign up for the exchange and complete KYC verification. Upon depositing at least $100 of assets into their account, users will be eligible to receive a sign-up bonus of 200 BFT.

Yield farming and mining aren’t Bitrue’s first foray into DeFi, incidentally; earlier this year the exchange launched Power Piggy, a service that enables users to earn passive interest from lending. Bitrue CEO Curis Wang has spoken enthusiastically of his desire to see CeFi and DeFi married to create a hybrid solution that builds upon the strengths of each crypto vertical.

For beginners, the world of DeFi can be daunting due to the complexity of interacting with decentralized protocols, and the number of attack vectors, ranging from impermanent loss to “rug pulls.” Centralized exchanges can overcome many of these issues by delivering automated strategies that earn yield on behalf of their users. If the hybrid model Bitrue has pioneered takes off, expect to see many more exchanges implementing this approach in the near future.