Inflation-proof I bond rate sank to 6.89%, but so what? It’s still a deal.

It’s not every day bonds spark the kind of investor frenzy often on display on Wall Street or with cryptocurrency enthusiasts. But that’s where we were Friday, as thousands of people crashed a Treasury Department website in the race to beat a midnight deadline.

People scored nearly $1 billion in I bonds on TreasuryDirect that day, locking in 9.62 percent for six months. And while that stunning rate is no longer available, the new one is still great.