Midas.Investments Review + Usage Tips (defunct)

Table of Contents

Company

Midas.Investments is a custodial crypto-investment platform with one mission — to provide passive income streams to crypto investors.

“In this young and growing technological arena, Midas has quickly established itself as industry leader offering a complete investment ecosystem to create a secure and user-friendly investment management platform supported by our media platforms delivering educational and informative articles for both new investors and current community.”

Established in January 2018, Midas.Investments started as a shared masternode service with a Discord server and google sheets to calculate rewards. Over the years, its business has pivoted multiple times.

Today, Midas.Investments is a custodial crypto-investment platform for staking core crypto assets and DeFi markets. Investors receive access to the vast range of crypto-assets, swap feature, and yield-automated-portfolios on the platform, which makes Midas the go-to place to build the yield-generating portfolio.

Midas Investments' LinkedIn profile:

• CEO since February 2018 is Mr Iakov “Trevor” Levin
  • Reddit: Q&A with Midas CEO Trevor | February 2022
• lists 16 employees scattered around the globe but they are mostly based in Russia and parts of Europe (UK, Germany, Portugal).

Business model

“Bridging CeFi and DeFi for long-term wealth generation”

Investors can choose from different strategies that the Midas team has developed over the years.

The first and foremost investment strategy is Fixed Yield, which allow investors to earn high APY (Annual Percentage Yield) rates on their crypto assets. This strategy is straightforward, but its potential is also capped.

On the other hand, some strategies, particularly CeDeFi strategies, make use of a variety of DeFi protocols and crypto assets to offer higher returns.

Midas has published a detailed write-up: Fixed Yield vs. CeDeFi: What is The Difference?

For the Fixed Yield strategy, I wondered how such high yields are possible? There is a wiki article addressing this question. Or you may prefer to watch the CEO explaining it in a video interview (skip to 02:39):

Midas Investments does not use leverage, and does not trade. Yield is generated through hedged strategies using following investment instruments:

• Lending and borrowing
• Hedged token farming
• DeFi Yield vaults
  • every DeFi position has alerts that tracks liquidity imbalances in pools.
• Concentrated liquidity provider on Uniswap V3

Midas Investments Platform

I suggest investing some time to watch this video which gives a good overview of the platform’s features.

Yield rates

Published un-boosted APY rates for popular crypto assets on 16 August 2022 shown below:

• BTC: 6.5%
• ETH: 7.8%
• AVAX: 10.5%
• BNB: 7.3%
• DAI: 11.6%
• FTM: 10.5%
• LINK: 4.1%
• LTC: 1% (low APY but useful as a means to move assets in/out of the platform)
• MIDAS: 27.4%
• USDC: 14.7%
• USDT: 14.7%

Midas Investments will review the interest rates periodically according to market conditions. Blog posts on interest rates review:

• “Rate Updates for Stablecoins, ETH and MIDAS & Future Plans” [23 May 2022]

In fact, the incredible interest offered makes me skeptical and worried that it might be a Ponzi scheme. The CEO Trevor addresses this in a Youtube video: “How your crypto-assets are managed inside the Midas ecosystem”

Investment Reports (recommended read)

Midas Investments started producing investment reports from July 2022. The reports will disclose portfolio strategies, risk management approaches, and yield that have been generated.

The aim of the reports are to provide the investment community with transparency on how yield is generated in contrast to obscure CeFi lending platforms.

Investment report archive:

• Jul 2022 (inaugural edition)
• Aug 2022
• Sep 2022
• Oct 2022
• Nov 2022

Corporate structure

Midas has established a group of companies which will manage every product that the platform currently offers and will offer in the future.

• Midas International (registration # C8414071): Midas International represents the parent company. This entity is registered in Seychelles and owns the Midas brand and technical infrastructure, carrying out the general business management for the entire group of companies. This company will be used for a potential equity raise.
• Midas Alpha, LLC (registration # 2287 LLC 2022): This company is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is responsible for managing the investment strategies while complying with global regulations in terms of user acquisition.
• Midas Prime (registration # 306056464): Midas Prime is registered in Lithuania and has been granted a European Virtual Asset Crypto License. This company allows Midas to offer custodial crypto services at the retail level, which will open up possibilities to merge CeDeFi vision with retail adoption. Future product offerings, including fiat on-ramp services and debit card services, will also be offered through Midas Prime.

Created previously in order to scale Midas' activities to B2B and institutional markets, these two Swiss legal entities are not directly affiliated with Midas:

• Self-regulated organization MDF AG – CHE-323.398.672
• Asset management Quantum Yield AG – CHE-456.985.026

Key metrics

• 200 million worth of Assets Under Management (AUM) [Feb 2022]
  • source: https://blog.midas.investments/change-of-interest-rates/
• 40k+ investors

Notable developments

• Release version 1.0 of MIDAS Token White Paper
• Launch of CeDeFi Investment Strategies [10 Aug 2022]
• Start implementing KYC process for all users [31 Mar 2022]
• Exit masternode market [Feb 2022]

Presence in Singapore

Unknown (Probably none)

Regulatory compliance

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Unknown

Other regions

Might not be a complete list:

• Lithuania: Midas Prime (registration # 306056464) has been granted a European Virtual Asset Crypto License

Reviews

One of my key concern is how legit is this platform and I tried to search for reviews:

• Reddit:
  • Midas Investments. Anyone using?
  • Midas Investments Legit? Pros / Cons to it?
  • Anybody out there using Midas.investment?
  • Has anyone tried Midas investments?
• TrustPilot: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/midas.investments
  • Rated as ‘Excellent’ with an average score of 4.7 from 124 reviews [Feb 2022]

Roadmap

• Rate Updates for Stablecoins, ETH and MIDAS & Future Plans

Youtube video on marketing plans for platform and MIDAS token [Jul 2022]:

Social media

• Discord: Midas.Investments
  • very active with 25000+ members [Jun 2022]
• LinkedIn: Midas.Investments
• Reddit: midas_community
  • 2000 members reached [Jun 2022]
• Telegram: https://t.me/midas_community

  The above is the one and only official Midas Investments Telegram chat channel.

  Be wary of scam artists adding you into fake Telegram channels. Examples of fakes include:

  

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Midas_platform
• Youtube: Midas Investments
  • 3.29k subscribers [Jun 2022]
  • account has been consistently publishing content over the past 3 years, and has become more active since end 2021
  • CEO Trevor features in most of the videos:
    • discusses various crypto concepts;
    • participates in Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions

The first Youtube video I watched; with Trevor discussing the reason behind why DeFi projects offer high yields. I played the video at 1.5x speed and was able to catch what he was saying pretty clearly.

Transparency

On 16 Nov 2022, Midas shared its Proof of Liquidity, revealing addresses for $91 mil AUM (out of $145 mil) and the decomposition across other parts of the portfolio.

The team is targeting 3rd party audit by the end of the year to verify the remaining assets without exposing their wallets to additional systematic risks.

Ecosystem

MIDAS token

MIDAS token is the blood of Midas.Investments platform designed to produce yield and give utility to holders.

The MIDAS token was launched on 1 December 2021. It is a token based on the Fantom blockchain network with a 5,000,000 MIDAS total supply. In October 2022, Midas.Investments announced that the MIDAS token will be migrated from the Fantom network to the Ethereum network in November 2022.

Version 1.0 of the MIDAS Token White Paper was released in October 2022.

Key utility: On a daily basis, the Midas team analyzes total payouts made to investors across all coins/tokens and initiates a 10% payout split to the MIDAS market.

More resources:

• MIDAS Wiki Page
• FtmScan Block Explorer

MIDAS Boost

The MIDAS Boost feature allows investors to enjoy extra interest if they opt-in to receive payouts in the Midas token.

Revamped in October 2022, the new Midas Boost is a five-tier system, comprising Base, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond levels, which increase returns depending on MIDAS holdings as a percent of a user’s portfolio.

The requirements for each tier: 

• Base: No MIDAS tokens are needed
• Bronze: At least 5% of the user’s total portfolio must comprise MIDAS tokens
• Silver: At least 7.5% of the user’s total portfolio must comprise MIDAS tokens
• Gold: At least 10% of the user’s total portfolio must comprise MIDAS tokens
• Diamond: At least 20% of the user’s total portfolio must comprise MIDAS tokens

See my FTM portfolio with MIDAS Boost toggled ‘on’ and ‘off’.

CeDeFi Strategies

Learn more about Midas’ CeDeFi investments strategies, including the risks associated with each, performance fees chargeable, on the Wiki page.

Strategy #1: 1.5x Long on ETH (LETH)

DeFi strategy with 1.5x leverage on ETH that also generates APR by providing liquidity in correlated liquidity pools. Users benefit from leveraged ETH exposure, as well as some yield on top of that.

Strategy #2: 0.5x Short on ETH (SETH)

DeFi strategy with 0.5x leverage on ETH short that also generates up to 3% farming APR by providing liquidity on Convex. Users benefit from an on-chain short instrument which also provides some yield, similar to a perpetual futures contract with a consistently favorable funding rate.

Strategy #3: DeFi Token Farming

This strategy taps into top-tier liquidity pools in all of DeFi with the most valuable tokens, based on Midas’ investment research. Each token in this strategy aims to address pain points of DeFi and includes tokenomics revolving around the protocol’s cash flow.

A basket of incentivised liquidity pools representing the most profitable cash-flow models in protocols with DeFi tokens on Convex Finance which may generate high ROI while investors also benefit from price appreciation of the underlying tokens.

Strategy #4: GLP Index token

DeFi strategy which generates yield by providing blue-chip liquidity for leveraged traders on GMX, a decentralized perpetual exchange. Users supply liquidity into an index called GLP and earn fees generated from traders’ liquidations, swaps as well as gain from trader losses.

Yield Automated Portfolio (YAP)

Extract from Wiki page:

Each YAP is made up of a selection of cryptocurrencies, grouped together and weighted by market capitalization (market cap). The market cap of a cryptocurrency is calculated by multiplying the number of units of a specific coin by its current market value against the US dollar.

When a cryptocurrency goes up in value, its market cap will increase and therefore the value of the YAP will rise, and conversely, when cryptocurrency prices fall against the US dollar, the value of the YAP will fall.

There are several benefits to YAP investing, rather than multiple individual cryptocurrencies. Firstly, it can be a more cost-effective way of investing in cryptocurrencies, as it allows you to take a view of the sector as a whole without having to buy each individual coin. Investing in a YAP can also help to spread some of your risks, as you aren’t being exposed to a single coin.

If you are familiar with stocks investment, the concept is rather similar to ETFs.

Educational Content

Official Blog

The official blog of Midas Investments contains useful information like:

• DeFi discussions
• analysis of crypto markets
• platform news and promotions

There are blog articles produced all the way from late 2019.

Financial Independence Course

Midas Investments offers a FREE financial independence course for beginners. Quick and fun lessons on how to invest wisely and achieve financial freedom.

It doesn’t take long to complete; as it consists of just a few web pages with cool info-graphics and nicely drawn cartoons.

✔️ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

100% of profit are paid in crypto you invested

Profit is paid out in the crypto invested in; unless you choose to opt in to MIDAS Boost and receive your payouts in the MIDAS Token.

No limits, no lock-ups, rewards are paid every day

No lock-ups and daily payouts offers flexibility to investors to swap around or move funds.

No minimum investment sum required

You can start investing with any amount at Midas Investments.

Social login

You can conveniently sign up and login with a Google or Discord account.

❌ Drawbacks

Expensive to withdraw some of the cryptocurrencies

From what I read on Reddit, it is expensive to withdraw some of the crypto assets. The workaround suggested by netizens is to convert them to BUSD and withdraw for just US$0.50.

Usage Notes and Tips

Overall impression of Midas.Investments

I like that Midas.Investments proactively engages their clients via Discord, YouTube videos, Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions, and blog posts to discuss their strategies and future plans.

Their transparency, accountability, and conviction to prioritize investor funds over high risk strategies, gives me a sense that Midas.Investment is a responsible corporate entity, and that makes me willing to invest with them.

Onboarding

I signed up and logged in with my Google account in February 2022. It probably took 10 seconds?

For Google account sign-ups, you can enable 2FA protection under your profile settings. The 2FA is implemented via an OTP sent to the Google email address used for signing up.

KYC by sumsub

Midas.Investments is a crypto asset management platform specializing in creating yield services utilizing Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols. We comply not only with Swiss regulations presented by FINMA but with global regulations also.

To strengthen user protection, risk management protocols, and overall security, we will implement new KYC requirements for all users beginning on March 31, 2022.

There was no KYC implementation when I signed up in February 2022, but starting 31 March 2022, KYC was implemented for all users.

The service provider for the KYC process is sumsub.

For address verification:

[Update on 13 Apr 2022]: Midas Investments announced mobile bills will be accepted for proof of address

We accept:

• Bank statements
• Utility bills (The documents that you provide shouldn’t be older than 3 months)
• Internet/cable TV/house phone line bills
• Tax returns
• Council tax bills
• Government-issued certifications of residence, etc.

We don’t accept:

• Screenshots
• Mobile phone bills
• Medical bills
• Receipts for purchases
• Insurance statements

I submitted my KYC information on 31 March 2022 using my mobile device. The process required me to take a photo of my identity card. I mistakenly uploaded a PDF of my mobile bill for the proof of residence and it was rejected as stated in the list above.

Funding

Sent some BTC to the deposit address and received them in minutes on Midas Investments' platform.

Support

For support, there is a button on the bottom right of the webpage which allows you to:

• initiate a chat session
• search the knowledge base

You can also visit the Wiki or ask your questions on Discord.

There is no support via email.

Referral Benefits