• River has introduced a new product that provides users with interest on cash deposits, which can be paid in USD or BTC.

• The "Bitcoin Interest on Cash" feature pays a variable rate of interest, which currently stands at 3.8% as of Oct. 22.

• River's aim is to give bitcoin users the best of both worlds between maintaining a cash buffer of savings to meet expenses as they arise, while also earning BTC.

Bitcoin financial services company River Financial has introduced a new product that provides users with interest on cash deposits, which can be paid in BTC or USD.

The "Bitcoin Interest on Cash" feature pays a variable rate of interest, which stands at 3.8% as of Oct. 22, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

Not a bank itself, River has teamed up with Lead Bank, a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), meaning user deposits are protected up to the value of $250,000.

River's aim is to give bitcoin users the best of both worlds between maintaining a cash buffer of savings to meet expenses as they arise, while also earning BTC. This gives customers a reason to keep their cash on River's platform, rather than in a bank.

The company is attempting to differentiate itself from other bitcoin yield-bearing products that have been offered in the past, and which have had a habit of ending in tears. River stipulates that it is offering yield on customer cash, not their bitcoin.

"River protects your assets with FDIC-insured cash...and bitcoin that is always held in reserve," the firm said in the announcement.

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