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Amid these uncertain times, people are increasingly looking for new ways to make money.
And, with the booming cryptocurrency market, you have more chances to earn Bitcoin than ever.
Fortunately, as the digital asset market’s infrastructure is rapidly developing, opportunities abound for you to earn bitcoin as a source of extra income.
However, it’s nearly impossible to make a considerable income from bitcoin without investing your funds or putting in the effort to achieve your goals.
While there are multiple ways to earn free Bitcoin, you have to be ready to spend the time to make a decent income.
In this article, we have collected the best ways to earn Bitcoin and other crypto for free, and methods that require you to invest some of your funds to make money.
How to Stay Safe While Earning Bitcoin
Before we take a look into the best ways to earn Bitcoin, it’s crucial to talk about staying safe while making an income with BTC.
As mentioned earlier, you have to dedicate either time or money to earn considerable amounts of cryptocurrency.
There is no way around this.
For the same reason, when you see people claiming that their “secret methods” allow you to earn over $1,000 in BTC every day without any effort, you can almost instantly tell that these posts are outright scams or they are not telling you the full truth.
Unfortunately, many scams and fraudulent schemes in the cryptocurrency industry exploit people who are looking to earn free Bitcoin.
Scammers often impersonate famous persons – such as Elon Musk – or prominent companies to advertise fraudulent “giveaways,” encouraging people to send BTC to their wallet, promising that they will send back double the amount.
Obviously, these addresses do not belong to Elon Musk or other famous persons, and you won’t get back any of your coins after sending them to the scammers’ wallets.
With that said, many people are falling victim to these scams.
To avoid getting scammed while earning free Bitcoin, it’s essential to do your due diligence before taking any risks. Below, we’ve included some tips to stay safe:
- Remember the golden rule: “If the opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
- Check external, independent sources for reviews, comments, and feedback from users.
- Do a background check on the company or person advertising the method for earning. Are you dealing with a registered company or a real person? Or is it a fake name made up by scammers?
- Sometimes, scammers are not (directly) after your money, but instead are looking for your data. You should never disclose sensitive personal information to anybody unless you are 100% sure that you can trust that person or company.
- To stay safe, you should always check the documents you sign and the terms you accept.
- Even if you find a genuine method to earn Bitcoin, you should analyze its risks and ensure that you never risk more money than what you can afford to lose.
The Top 6 Ways to Earn Free Bitcoin
Now, after ensuring you are protected against scammers and fraud, it’s time to take a look at the best ways to earn Bitcoin!
1. Bitcoin Faucets
Overview
Maybe the oldest way to earn free Bitcoin is to use a BTC faucet. A Bitcoin faucet is a website that regularly distributes small amounts of BTC, allowing visitors to earn cryptocurrency for free.
The concept of Bitcoin faucets originates from early cryptocurrency advocates who gave away a part of their digital asset holdings to facilitate the crypto industry’s adoption.
While there are still some faucets without requirements to earn free Bitcoin, most of these solutions now require certain conditions that you have to meet in order to claim your digital assets.
The requirements can vary from completing surveys and interacting with advertisements to downloading the creators’ applications.
Upon completing these tasks, you have to specify your BTC address, where the operators will send your free Bitcoin.
While some faucets limit earning opportunities to a single occasion, others allow you to generate free BTC on multiple occasions.
Risk
Unless a faucet requires users to provide sensitive personal information or download a malicious app, the risks for earning Bitcoin by this method are very low.
Effort Required
You don’t need to put in too much effort to earn Bitcoin with faucets. Even if you have to meet some conditions to claim free BTC, completing these requirements is quite easy.
Earning Potential
As they are extremely popular among crypto enthusiasts and operators only distribute small amounts of BTC, the earning potential of Bitcoin faucets remains very low even for those who are willing to spend significant time to claim their free coins.
Pros
- Free method to earn Bitcoin without investment.
- Good introduction for those who are new to cryptocurrencies.
- Minimal risks involved.
- Requires minimal effort to claim free BTC.
Cons
- Earning potential is very limited.
- Most BTC faucets require users to complete tasks to earn free Bitcoin.
Where to Get Started
- Cointiply: One of the most popular Bitcoin faucets where you complete tasks to earn BTC.
- Bitcoinker: Roll dice to earn Bitcoin every five minutes.
- BTC Clicks: Earn BTC by clicking on ads.
- Satoshi Quiz: Take quizzes to generate a crypto income.
2. Crypto Cashback
Overview
As we have discussed in our Stacking Sats guide, cryptocurrency cashback programs are an excellent way to earn Bitcoin.
Similar to rewards programs on the traditional market, multiple cryptocurrency projects have introduced solutions that allow users to earn cashback on their purchases in BTC.
Crypto cashback programs work in a simple way. First, you have to install the creator’s browser extension or app and register an account with the service. Then, you can start shopping at the creators’ partner stores where you can earn a percentage of your order back in cryptocurrency.
It’s important to mention that some crypto cards allow users to earn a cashback on all of their purchases. However, these projects often require users to stake, i.e., lock up a part of their coins for a certain period, the creators’ tokens.
Risk
Like with Bitcoin faucets, the risks are very low for earning crypto cashback rewards. However, we should emphasize that you have to spend money to earn BTC with this method.
Effort Required
You only have to dedicate time to installing the creators’ apps, selecting the stores where you spend your money, and earning Bitcoin cashback in return.
Earning Potential
As you gain only a small percentage of your purchase back as Bitcoin cashback, no matter how much you spend, the earning potential remains low for crypto rewards programs.
Pros
- A good way to earn crypto while spending at partner stores.
- Low risks involved.
- Minimal effort required.
Cons
- You need to spend money to earn BTC.
- Earning potential remains low even if you spend large sums at partner stores.
Where to Get Started
- Lolli: Install a browser extension and earn up to 30% Bitcoin cashback at partner stores.
- Fold: Use the creator’s app to get back up to 20% of your purchase as BTC cashback.
- MCO Visa Card: Stake CRO tokens to earn up to 5% crypto cashback on all your purchases.
3. Cryptocurrency Mining
Overview
Cryptocurrency mining is one of the oldest and most popular ways to earn Bitcoin.
To mine Bitcoin, you have to continuously operate specialized equipment, dedicating your computing power to maintain the blockchain network. In exchange for supporting the network, Bitcoin miners receive block rewards and a share of transaction fees.
While you only needed a simple desktop computer to become a miner during the early Bitcoin era, you have to source expensive, specialized hardware to maintain a profitable crypto mining business today.
Since cryptocurrency mining is a rather energy-intensive process, you have to also take electricity costs into account when calculating your profits.
Risk
As it requires an upfront investment and has ongoing costs to cover equipment, energy, and other expenses, crypto mining is certainly not a free way to earn Bitcoin.
Therefore, there are high risks involved, especially when bitcoin prices are falling (as you earn less in these periods).
Effort Required
In addition to higher risks, you need to dedicate time to learn the ropes of cryptocurrency mining, including setting up your equipment and operating your rig to earn BTC.
Alternatively, crypto enthusiasts can choose to purchase cloud mining contracts. In cloud mining, the service provider operates the mining equipment on behalf of the customer.
While cloud mining requires little effort, the earning potential is much lower than for standard cryptocurrency mining (as service providers often operate with high fees).
Also, as the industry is highly targeted by fraudsters, you need to be extra careful with cloud mining service providers.
Earning Potential
If you are willing to dedicate some time and take high risks, cryptocurrency mining can be a lucrative business.
Pros
- With the necessary skills, effort, and investment, cryptocurrency mining has good earning potential.
- You earn Bitcoin while supporting the network.
- Cloud mining requires limited effort from your side.
Cons
- You need to invest money into crypto mining before you can earn BTC.
- High risks, which are even higher for cloud mining contracts.
- You need to dedicate much of your time to learn the ropes and maintain the equipment.
Where to Get Started
- Bitcoin Mining Calculator: Calculate the expected income, expenses, and profit of your crypto mining business.
- Bitmain: The largest cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturer.
- Genesis Mining: Popular Bitcoin cloud mining service.
4. DeFi Lending
Overview
Decentralized finance or DeFi has become one of the hottest topics in the cryptocurrency space. In short, DeFi refers to the movement where cryptocurrency projects create decentralized, blockchain-powered alternatives to traditional finance solutions in the form of DApps (decentralized applications).
Currently, you can choose from various DeFi products, ranging from borrowing and lending to insurance and decentralized exchange solutions. Nowadays, DeFi lending solutions are the most popular products on the market.
Instead of going through the tedious process of credit checks and submitting numerous documents to banks, DeFi lending solutions allow users to borrow funds against their cryptocurrency holdings in a near-instant way via smart contracts.
In exchange, lenders receive interest on their funds for contributing cryptocurrency (usually stablecoins like DAI) to the pool, often yielding higher returns than traditional finance solutions (e.g., savings accounts).
Risk
Most DeFi lending platforms operate in a completely decentralized way, meaning that the service provider has no custody over your funds.
Also, smart contracts are responsible for issuing loans to borrowers and providing interest to lenders.
While this eliminates the risk for human error, cryptocurrency loans are overcollateralized. This means that the borrower’s collateral value exceeds the value of the funds you lend to him.
Suppose the lender fails to pay back the interest or the value of his collateral decreases to a specific level. In that case, the smart contract will use the collateral to automatically repay you the sum the borrower owes you.
Unless you use non-stablecoin digital assets for lending (as you have to take volatility into account in that case), there are only small risks involved in the process.
Effort Required
Besides purchasing, exchanging, and transacting crypto to your wallet, you don’t need to put much effort into earning with DeFi lending.
Earning Potential
While interest rates vary, you can usually earn between 2-15% annually by lending your stablecoins to borrowers on DeFi platforms.
The more funds you lend, the better your revenue will be.
Pros
- You can usually earn better interest on your funds with DeFi solutions than with traditional savings accounts.
- Only limited risks involved when lending stablecoins (e.g., DAI, USDT).
- Smart contracts eliminate human error while overcollateralized loans solve the issue of non-paying borrowers.
- No custody of your funds.
Cons
- You need to make an investment to earn Bitcoin with DeFi products.
- Risks are higher for using standard, non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies (e.g., BTC, ETH, LTC) for lending.
Where to Get Started
- Maker DAO: Decentralized organization and ecosystem featuring leading DeFi lending solution.
- Compound: Earn interest on your stablecoins by lending them to the decentralized finance ecosystem.
- Aave: Open-source and non-custodial money market protocol where you can earn interest on various cryptocurrencies.
5. Staking Crypto
Overview
Cryptocurrency staking is also a good way to earn Bitcoin. And with the rise of the DeFi industry, there are more options to stake crypto than ever.
The concept of staking is very similar to cryptocurrency mining. In blockchain networks based on the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, validators confirm transactions and maintain the ecosystem by staking cryptocurrency.
In practice, staking means that you lock up some of your coins for a specific time, and the network will choose between you and other stakeholders to verify the next block. If selected, you will earn rewards for validating blocks.
To maximize their chances, users have created staking pools where stakeholders lock up their funds in the pool together, sharing the rewards among participants upon successful block validation.
Risk
While staking is similar to DeFi lending, the risks are a bit higher for the former.
Usually, projects require you to stake standard, non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies. This means that your staked coins could be subject to excessive price movements while locked up in your wallet.
And, as you need to lock them up for a specific period, you won’t be able to sell them (or interact with them in another way) to avoid losses.
Also, some service providers require users to utilize their own wallets for staking digital assets, which can involve higher risks if those wallets lack the necessary security features.
Effort Required
Most staking pools do not require much effort from the stakeholders’ side as you only have to transfer your coins into a wallet and lock them up for a specific time.
Earning Potential
Your staking rewards are based on the coin you choose to lock up and the pool you use for staking.
Pros
- You can earn a passive income on your cryptocurrency.
- No need to interact with your coins once they are locked up in your wallet.
- Based on the service provider and the coin you stake, the earning potential can be high.
Cons
- High risks involved mainly due to market volatility.
- Keeping coins at dedicated staking wallets involves higher risks.
Where to Get Started
- Trust Wallet: Crypto exchange Binance’s official wallet that allows you to stake different digital assets.
- Coinbase: Leading digital asset exchange that also features a staking service.
- Staked: Non-custodial staking service supporting a wide variety of cryptocurrencies.
- Everstake: Staking service platform where you can earn a 5-20% annual interest on your coins.
Beyond Bitcoin: ASK, a New Crypto You Can Earn While Engaging with Advertisers
Most people see traditional advertising as annoying rather than as an opportunity to earn rewards, and for a valid reason.
Ads running through the advertising networks of tech giants – such as Google and Facebook – continuously bomb consumers with offers while they are trying to enjoy their favorite online activities.
In this traditional model, consumers don’t get anything in return while advertising networks use consumers’ data to increase their profits.
To solve this issue, Permission.io has created a blockchain-based advertising platform where consumers are in charge of their data. In exchange for providing permission to receive targeted offers and engage with advertisers, consumers are rewarded in Permission.io’s ASK cryptocurrency.
To get started, simply create an account or add the Permission Browser Extension to Chrome to begin passively earning crypto as you surf the web.” In exchange for providing permission to receive targeted offers and engage with advertisers, consumers are rewarded in Permission.io’s ASK cryptocurrency.
Permission.io users can use the digital assets they earn to shop at the Permission.io Store and eventually other 3rd-party eCommerce sites.
While users can earn 100 ASK for registering an account at Permission.io, they are also rewarded in cryptocurrency for referring friends.
If you are interested in earning ASK by sharing your time and data, we recommend checking out the official Permission website.
It’s Time to Earn Free Crypto
From mining cryptocurrency and lending your coins to engaging with advertisers, it’s easier now to earn Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies than ever.
However, as we have mentioned earlier, it’s crucial to stay safe as scammers and fraudulent projects are actively targeting the cryptocurrency space.
It’s also important to remember that you can only earn BTC by dedicating your funds, time, or both.
And usually, the more effort you put into a method, the higher your potential will be to earn.
Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any investment product. It is only intended to provide education about the cryptocurrency industry. Nothing in this post constitutes investment advice or any recommendation that any cryptocurrency or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Further, there is no guarantee that any cryptocurrency discussed in this article will have any value at any given time. Do your own research thoroughly before making any investments of any kind.