Whether the market is soaring or crashing, every crypto trader has to ask themselves one question. "To HODL or not to HODL?" is the question, and it plagues us all. This is precisely why crypto-currency backed loan applications are taking off. They offer the best of both worlds: allowing traders to HODL their coins and receive money when they need it. There are already some promising players in this young game. So let's take a quick look and see which one is best for you.

CRYPTO-CURRENCY BACKED LOAN APPLICATIONS: NEXO

There's always one guy who has to claim the title of "world's first." And, in this industry, that guy is Nexo. The self-proclaimed provider of the "world's first instant crypto-currency loan" uses Onfido for its regulatory compliance. Onfido has a great reputation, as it seems Coinbase and a few other big names in the industry trust it as well. Moreover, the platform already has over $1 billion in instant crypto-currency loan requests. There is, however, a downside to all this. Nexo is well known for its hidden fees, limited number of crypto-currency backed options and confusing overall limitations.

CRYPTO-CURRENCY BACKED LOAN APPLICATIONS: SALT

Depending on who you ask, SALT Lending is the most widely used crypto-currency-backed lending app on the market. In fact, it has over $50 million in loans and over 30 jurisdictions worldwide. It also has over 64,000 platform users. Despite its popularity, SALT does not have the number of crypto-currencies that one can use as collateral. And, compared to the competition, the loan-to-value ratio is rather low (60%). Speaking of competition, there's one more app you'll want to check out.

CRYPTO-CURRENCY-BACKED LENDING APPS: YOUHODLER

Relatively new to the game is YouHodler (formerly YouToken Loan). This crypto-currency-backed lending app is famous for several reasons. First of all, YouHodler's banks are located in Switzerland, a fertile and crypto-currency-friendly country. In addition, YouHodler is an approved member of the Financial Commission Blockchain Association. As such, the company benefits from the Commission's rapid dispute resolution process and advanced compliance technology.

Most importantly, YouHodler offers one of the highest loan-to-value ratios in the market (80%), up to $10,000 in fiat/cash. Larger loans are also available to select borrowers. Perhaps the best parts of the app are related to the options. Users can choose to use BTC, ETC, LTC, BCH and XRP as collateral, and there will be more in the coming months. To make the user experience more convenient, the platform accepts all major cards, such as Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and American Express. It also has an edge over the competition, as it accepts all major types of online payments.

For those worried about transparency, there are no hidden fees, credit checks or underhanded schemes. It's simply a clean, simple and easy-to-use interface. Perhaps the only downside to YouHodler is that it does NOT serve citizens of the United States, China or Korea. But, with the ever-changing crypto landscape, who knows what will happen in the future.