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Want to earn cryptocurrency for free? Let’s break down 14 strategies that can help you earn cryptocurrency without spending a dime.
Strategy
Description
Difficulty
Time Commitment
Claim a Crypto Signup Bonus
Claim a new signup bonus from a crypto exchange!
Very Easy
Low
Referral Bonus
Get a reward for referring your friend to a platform!
Very Easy
Low
Learn and Earn
Get rewards for completing short ‘Learn’ modules on crypto exchanges!
Very Easy
Low
Use Brave Browser
Use the Brave Browser and get rewards for browsing the web!
Very Easy
Low
Interest rewards
Get interest while holding crypto on participating platforms!
Very Easy
Low
Get a Crypto Rewards Card
Get a crypto card that offers cashback rewards!
Easy
Low
Shop and Earn
Use an extension like Lolli to earn rewards!
Easy
Low
Staking rewards
Stake your cryptocurrency to earn rewards!
Medium
Low
Yield Farming
Get started on DeFi and earn yield from different protocols!
Medium
Low to Medium
Play-to-Earn Games
Earn rewards from play-to-earn crypto games.
Medium
Medium to High
Affiliate Program
Earn rewards for promoting crypto products to your audience!
Medium to Hard
Medium
Freelance
Use freelance crypto sites and get paid for tasks!
Medium to Hard
Medium
Airdrops
Get an airdrop for being an early user for a crypto project!
Medium to Hard
Low
Claim a Crypto Sign-Up Bonus
Many cryptocurrency exchanges offer sign up bonuses to new users to incentivize them to sign up.
Here are a couple of examples of exchanges that offer sign-up bonuses:
KuCoin: KuCoin gives users a mystery box worth up to $500 for signing up!
Coinbase: Coinbase currently offers up to $200 of rewards for new users!
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: You can sign up for a new account on a cryptocurrency exchange in just a few minutes. However, it’s important to remember that most exchanges won’t give you your sign-up bonus immediately after you create an account. For example, Coinbase requires you to make a purchase to claim your bonus.
Referral Bonus
Many cryptocurrency products offer referral bonuses when you get friends and family to sign up for the platform. For example, when you refer someone to Coinbase or Gemini, both you and your friend will be credited $10!
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: Sending a referral link to a friend just takes a few minutes! However, some exchanges don’t allow you to claim your reward until your friend has deposited money or made a purchase through the platform.
Learn and Earn
Some exchanges offer cryptocurrency rewards to users who watch educational content about the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Here are some platforms that offer Learn and Earn rewards:
Coinbase: Coinbase offers rewards between $3-6 dollars to users who complete short modules on different cryptocurrency projects.
Binance: Binance offers rewards for new users who complete short modules. However, some modules require you to complete specific actions before claiming your reward — such as buying the cryptocurrency on Binance.
Phemex: Phemex offers small rewards for completing modules on topics like ‘Fiat Currency vs. Cryptocurrency’. Unlike the other exchanges on this list, Phemex’s modules credit you with USD in your account upon completion, which you can then use to buy crypto.
Difficulty: Very Easy
Time: Typically, Learn and Earn videos are designed to be short. Most Coinbase Learn and Earn modules can be completed in just a few minutes!
Use Brave Browser
Brave Browser allows users to earn cryptocurrency simply for browsing the web. Users can earn BAT (Basic Attention Token) after viewing ads on the browser.
Brave Browser is a popular browser for crypto investors — it’s estimated that the platform has more than 70 million monthly active users!
Time: Installing Brave Browser is quick and simple! You can get started browsing and earning BAT today.
Interest rewards
Many cryptocurrency exchanges offerinterest rewards to customers simply for holding cryptocurrency on their platforms!
Coinbase and Kraken offer rewards simply for holding USDC! This is meant as a way to incentivize users to store their stablecoin on the platform.
Before you get started earning crypto interest, you should make sure that you’re using a trusted cryptocurrency platform. Be cautious of interest rates that seem too good to be true — in the past, exchanges that offered high interest rewards have filed for bankruptcy.
Difficulty: VeryEasy
Time: To start earning crypto interest, simply open an account or transfer your cryptocurrency to a platform that offers rewards!
Staking rewards
Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains like Ethereum and Solana offer rewards to investors who stake their cryptocurrency to verify their transactions and secure the blockchain.
When you stake cryptocurrency, you can start earning yield from fees from blockchain transactions.
You don’t need to set up a staking node to get started — you can simplify the process by staking through an exchange like Coinbase.
Before you get started with staking, it’s important to remember that some blockchains require a minimum lockup period.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: In recent years, regulators have been cracking down on exchanges who offer staking-as-a-service. While you can stake cryptocurrency through a cryptocurrency wallet or a decentralized protocol, this may be more difficult for someone new to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Shop and Earn
Browser extensions like Lolli allow you to earn cryptocurrency while you shop online.
With Lolli, you can earn up to 30% cashback when you shop at partner sites like Nike, eBay, and Groupon. The platform earns money by earning commissions from partner sales.
Difficulty: Easy
Time: Getting started with Lolli just takes a few minutes!
Yield farming
Yield farming refers to using DeFi to maximize your cryptocurrency rewards. Often, investors even use yield farming protocols — which help users maximize rewards from multiple DeFi protocols.
Here are some popular DeFi protocols that allow users to earn yield:
Time: If your cryptocurrency is currently held on an exchange, you’ll need to transfer it to a software wallet like MetaMask to get started with yield farming. If you wish to earn yield from multiple protocols without using a yield farming protocol, you’ll need to dedicate more time to research, implement, and optimize your strategy.
Play-to-Earn games
Play-to-Earn games are video games that allow users to earn cryptocurrency through the course of gameplay.
Popular play-to-earn games include:
Axie Infinity: Axie Infinity allows users to win cryptocurrency as a reward for battling Axies (Pokemon-like creatures). To get started with Axie Infinity, you’ll need to own three Axies, which can be bought on the game’s marketplace.
DeFi Kingdoms: DeFI Kingdoms is a game that’s made DeFi fun and accessible for users. The game allows users to stake coins like JEWEL at the in-game bank and earn rewards. While gameplay features are limited, you can send your heroes on quests to earn DFKTEARS.
Gods Unchained: Gods Unchained is an NFT trading game similar to Magic the Gathering. You earn EXP for winning battles with other users, which you can then use to upgrade your cards. You can also buy/sell trading cards within the in-game marketplace.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: Earning cryptocurrency on a play-to-earn platform may take time — typically, need to play multiple hours of the game every day to earn a substantial amount of crypto.
Freelance
Some platforms offer crypto rewards for freelancers who complete tasks for clients!
Here are a couple of freelance platforms that offer crypto rewards:
Braintrust: Organizations like Walmart, NASA, and Deloitte use Braintrust to connect with freelancers. While the platform pays freelancers in USD, you can earn BTRST by referring other freelancers or companies to the platform.
CryptoTask: CryptoTask is a freelance platform used by more than 20,000 freelancers. CryptoTask allows companies to pay freelancers in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Tezos, and Ethereum-based stablecoin!
Difficulty: Medium - To earn your cryptocurrency rewards, you’ll need to complete your tasks to the satisfaction of your clients.
Time: The time it takes to earn cryptocurrency on freelance platforms can vary heavily depending on the specifics of the task. While some tasks can be completed within a few hours, others may take weeks or even months.
Get a crypto rewards card
Some debit/credit cards offer cashback rewards in crypto. That means you can earn cryptocurrency simply by using your card for everyday purchases!
Here are some popular options for crypto cashback cards:
Gemini Credit Card - 4% rewards on gas and EV charging up to $200 per month, 3% rewards on dining up to $6,000 per month, 2% on groceries, 1% on other purchases! Rewards available in up to 50 different cryptocurrencies.
Crypto.com Visa Card - Crypto.com’s prepaid card offers rewards of up to 5%. The more CRO you stake on Crypto.com, the higher your cashback rewards.
Difficulty: Medium - Different providers have different requirements for getting started. If you have a low credit score, you may have trouble getting approved for certain credit cards.
Time: Applying for a cashback card just takes a few minutes! If you’re approved, you’ll typically receive your credit/debit card within 10-14 days.
Affiliate Program
If you’re a content creator, you can sign up for an affiliate program and start earning cryptocurrency through your audience.
An affiliate program is not the same as a referral program.
Typically, affiliate programs are designed specifically for content creators with large audiences and often feature bigger rewards than referral programs.
For example, CoinLedger’s affiliate program allows you to earn money when users who sign up from your affiliate link buy tax reports in the future, giving you a stream of passive income for years to come!
Difficulty: Medium - Affiliate programs are typically only profitable if you’ve built an audience through YouTube, social media, newsletters, or another medium.
Time: Getting started with an affiliate program can be done relatively quickly — signing up for a program and adding affiliate links to your content just takes minutes!
Airdrops
Decentralized protocols often airdrop users tokens for free (or for a small gas fee).
In the past, protocols like Uniswap and Ethereum Naming Service (ENS) have airdropped tokens to early users to reward them for using the protocol and give them a voice in future protocol governance decisions.
Airdropped cryptocurrency can be incredibly valuable! At the time of the Uniswap airdrop, users could claim up to $1,200 in UNI for free. By February 2020, the value of these same tokens was $12,000!
Difficulty: Medium - It can be difficult to tell which protocols are planning to do airdrops to users in the future!
Time: Claiming an airdrop is quick and easy! All you have to do is pay the gas fee to claim your reward.
Crypto Bounties
Some cryptocurrency projects pay out cryptocurrency for completing bounties on specific tasks — such as following the project on platforms like Twitter or Telegram or making a YouTube video about the project.
Some projects like Ethereum offer bug bountiesto investors who can identify issues in a project’s source code. The reward for identifying a ‘critical’ bug can be as high as $250,000.
Difficulty: Easy to Hard - Cryptocurrency bounties can be very easy or very difficult depending on the specific nature of your task. While following a project on Telegram is relatively simple, analyzing a smart contract to find bugs can take considerable effort.
Time: Time may vary depending on the specific nature of the task.
How is my crypto income taxed?
If you’re earning cryptocurrency using the methods above, it’s important to keep in mind that your crypto income is subject to tax.
In the United States, cryptocurrency is subject to income and capital gains tax.
Income tax: When you earn cryptocurrency, you’ll pay income tax based on the fair market value of your crypto at the time of receipt.
Capital gains tax: If you sell or dispose of your crypto rewards in the future, you’ll incur a capital gain or loss depending on how the price of your crypto has changed since you originally received it.
For more information, check out our complete guide to crypto taxes.
How crypto tax software can help
Looking for an easy way to report your crypto taxes? Crypto tax software like CoinLedger can help. Just plug in your exchanges and wallets and generate a comprehensive crypto tax report in minutes.
More than 500,000 investors use CoinLedger to take the stress out of tax season.
Join 500,000 people tracking their gains and losses with CoinLedger.
Written by:
Dhiraj Nallapaneni
Crypto Tax Writer
Dhiraj Nallapaneni is a Crypto Tax Writer at CoinLedger. As an Economics degree holder from the University of California Santa Barbara, he’s well versed in topics like cryptocurrency markets and taxation.
This guide breaks down everything you need to know about cryptocurrency taxes, from the high level tax implications to the actual crypto tax forms you need to fill out.
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