AQRU review 2024

Overview of AQRU

AQRU was established to create a platform where customers have the chance to earn yields on their crypto holdings through a simple and easy to use platform. Its crypto services are based in Bulgaria and the site says it is not for UK retail investors but for investment professionals only. It offers a maximum 3% return when investing stablecoins such as USDT, USDC and DAI, and up to 1% with BTC and ETH. It has also expanded its services to include a crypto exchange, which charges one single all-in cost of 0.35% commission on each exchange and offers institutional exchange rates.

AQRU has kept its fee structure straightforward – there are no fees for bank or crypto transfers or when purchasing crypto, and no fees for fiat withdrawals. There is also no lock-in period, so investors can withdraw funds and receive them within 24 hours.

It’s important to understand that AQRU acts as a custodian of investors’ crypto assets and has full control once funds are deposited. It lends out digital assets to institutional and retail borrowers as well as participating on decentralised exchanges. However, it states that funds are 100% collateralised which makes funds easily accessible.

• The site is for professional investors, not UK retail investors.
• If you’re switching exchanges. You could earn a yield on your crypto assets, and benefit from a single charge on its exchange.

Finder Ratings for AQRU

• How we rate our crypto exchanges and platforms

  Finder's editors objectively assess each platform across a spectrum of performance metrics resulting in our Finder score, which is designed to help you assess a crypto platform's strengths and weaknesses. You can read more details in our full methodology.

  Our best crypto exchanges are those our editors have evaluated to be the best for certain product features or categories, out of all crypto exchanges registered with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.

What to know about AQRU

AQRU is designed to enable crypto investors to earn a yield on their digital assets. It does this by lending out crypto assets to institutional investors and retail borrowers, as well as participating in and supporting decentralised exchanges. The level of yields is driven by the market and paid out in cryptocurrency. As a result, as the crypto market develops further and matures, we may see rates reducing.

It promises no-lock in periods. It’s worth knowing that the company is not registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority as it is based in Bulgaria, but it is a subsidiary of Accru Finance, which is registered in England and Wales. Crypto is not regulated but companies with a UK base must register with the watchdog for anti-money laundering checks.

AQRU has a crypto exchange. Much like its earn service, this has transparent pricing and institutional exchange rates.

Supported cryptocurrencies

AQRU’s return rates are linked to stablecoins and the top tier cryptocurrencies of BTC and ETH. You can deposit the following coins via a crypto transfer:

• BTC
• ETH
• USDT
• XRP
• BCH
• USDC
• LTC
• AVAX

How much yield investors might earn on your crypto assets will depend on which cryptocurrency they choose to invest.

For its crypto exchange, investors can buy, sell or trade the following coins:

• BTC
• ETH
• DAI
• USDT
• USDC
• DOGE
• FTM
• CRV
• MATIC
• CRO
• UNI

Transferring fiat and cryptocurrency

There are several options for transferring fiat or cryptocurrency to AQRU. To deposit fiat, investors can choose between making a bank transfer or a credit card payment. There may be fees attached to card payments. Alternatively, investors can choose to transfer an existing crypto balance. Supported coins include BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC and DAI.

For crypto deposits, there is a minimum deposit amount of $100 of the deposited cryptocurrency. Similarly for fiat deposits, investors will need to make a minimum deposit of €100.

When it comes to withdrawals, investors can either withdraw crypto from their account or withdraw fiat to an account in their name. The account receiving funds must match the name registered to the AQRU account and must be within a country supported by SEPA.

Fees and costs

AQRU has minimal fees and aims to be transparent with the ones it does charge. There are no fees for bank transfers or crypto deposits. However, there are fees attached to card payments, but these are charged by the card provider.

There is a $20 withdrawal fee for crypto withdrawals, which is on the high side, charged in the asset you are withdrawing. But there is no fee for fiat withdrawals.

For its exchange, it has an all-in charge of 0.35% commission for each exchange transaction. AQRU also only charges the institutional exchange rates, so you can benefit from the same rate it gets on its own exchanges.

Fiat withdrawal and deposit fees

Crypto withdrawal and deposit fees

What is it like to use AQRU?

AQRU has a simple interface which makes it easy to get started investing your crypto assets.

Getting started

Signing up is simple, with the whole process taking less than 20 minutes.

ID verification

Powered by onfido, the KYC process can all be done through your phone.

Mobile app

AQRU’s app is easy to use, enabling deposits within a few clicks.

Does AQRU have good customer support?

If you want to contact AQRU you can submit a form through its website, use its chat feature or send an email to help@aqru.io. Response times vary slightly, although you should hear something back that same day. AQRU promises a response in under an hour if you use its chat feature.

Reviews on Trustpilot are also positive, with several reviewers commenting on how helpful and responsive AQRU’s customer service team had been.

	Support offered	Wait times
Contact us form		Same day
Live chat		Within an hour
Email support		Same day

List of services on AQRU

AQRU’s main selling point is its earning product, so its other services are fairly limited.

• Earning on AQRU

  AQRU promises competitive yields through its earn service on stablecoins, as well as BTC and ETH. You receive the same rate on balances of any size, so there is no pressure to invest more in order to unlock higher rates. AQRU also pays your annual yield daily and says it is “tracked to the second”, so you can maximise your earning potential.

  The benefit of this service is that there are no lock-in periods. So if you want to make a withdrawal you can do so without jumping through loads of hoops. As standard, you should receive your funds within 24 hours.

• Trading on AQRU

  Trading on AQRU’s exchange is relatively basic, so don’t expect advanced trading tools or analytic insights. The exchange interface is without fuss, providing you with the information you need. The main benefit is the clear fear structure. There aren’t any trading tiers or exchange rate spreads. Instead you pay on charge of 0.35% and the same exchange rate that AQRU has on its own exchanges.

Trust rating

• Past Hacks

  AQRU has not had any past hacks.

• Security audits

  AQRU has security protocols in place including encryption in transit and at rest, as well as address whitelisting. It has bank-level security for deposits and uses multi-sig technology from its wallet provider, Fireblocks.

• Insurance

  AQRU has a $30 million insurance policy in the event that crypto assets are stolen.

Signing up on AQRU

Go through a step-by-step guide on the sign-up process, and how to pass KYC.

• Step 1: Create a free account

  Visit AQRU’s website and click Sign Up.

• Step 2: Enter email address

  The next step is to enter your email address and create your password. You will then receive a message in your inbox asking you to confirm your email address. Simply click on the link provided and follow the instructions.

• Step 3: Confirm your email

  You will then receive a message in your inbox asking you to confirm your email address. Simply click on the link provided and follow the instructions.

• Step 4: Input your personal details

  AQRU will ask you to enter your personal information including your place of birth, your occupation and the source of your funds.

• Step 5: Verify your identity

  At this point your account is created. However, you won’t be able to invest or deposit anything until you go through the identity verification process.

• Step 6: Submit ID

  The website will prompt you to scan a QR code to be taken to your mobile so you can use your phone camera. You will need to take a picture of your ID document and then record a video of yourself. When prompted you will need to put your face in the frame on screen, turn your head to the left and then read out three numbers.

• Step 7: Submit proof of address

  AQRU also requires you to submit proof of address. This can be a utility bill, bank statement or government correspondence from the last three months.

• Step 8: Wait for approval

  Before you can start using AQRU’s services you will need to wait for your account to be approved. Although it said this could take up to 24 hours, in our road test we received approval in under 10 minutes.

AQRU comparison table

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Disclaimer: Star ratings are only displayed for products with 10 or more reviews.

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Finder Score for crypto exchanges

To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Fees, features and asset-support across the most popular platforms are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the exchange – simple.