How to Earn with Cryptocurrency — 11 Proven Strategies

Our Criteria for Selecting the Best Ways to Earn with Cryptocurrency — BeInCrypto Methodology

When assessing the most effective ways to earn with cryptocurrencies, we relied on several key criteria. We focused on the learning curve for each method, the level of security for users of various skill levels, and the realistic potential for profit.

Cryptocurrency trading holds the top spot in our ranking. Although mastering trading strategies requires significant time and commitment, professional trading offers virtually unlimited earning potential. Today’s leading crypto exchanges equip traders with a broad range of automated tools—from trading bots to copy-trading systems that replicate successful market participants.

Cryptocurrency mining ranks second. During bull markets, mining can deliver steady, substantial returns. A major advantage is that you don’t have to buy expensive specialized hardware to get started—cloud mining services let you rent computing power, dramatically lowering the entry barrier.

Participating in airdrops is quickly gaining traction as a crypto earning method. This approach lets users receive tokens without upfront investment or with minimal network fees. Some blockchain projects reward early users with generous token distributions worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Affiliate and referral programs are ideal for influencers, bloggers, and content creators. If you have an engaged audience on social media or other platforms, sharing referral links lets you earn commissions from the trading activity of users you bring in.

Crypto staking is a form of passive investment. By locking a set amount of coins for a defined period, you earn rewards for contributing to network security. The main drawback is a relatively low annual yield compared to active strategies.

The Play-to-Earn model enables you to monetize time spent in blockchain games. Typically, players earn in-game currency for completing tasks, winning battles, or reaching milestones. These rewards can be converted to liquid tokens and withdrawn as fiat.

The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem offers a wide range of income-generating opportunities—from providing liquidity in pools to issuing crypto loans. However, some DeFi mechanisms are too technical for beginners, and high-yield projects are often new and untested.

Bitcoin faucets and similar platforms can incrementally boost your balance—typically a few dozen dollars per month. These services require almost no effort or special skills, rewarding users for simple activities like completing CAPTCHAs or viewing ads.

Crypto exchange bonus programs are especially popular with newcomers. Trading platforms routinely offer welcome bonuses for registering, verifying your identity, or making your first deposit.

Cryptocurrency arbitrage—profiting from price differences for the same asset across multiple exchanges—can be lucrative for experienced traders. However, successful arbitrage strategies demand considerable starting capital and a deep understanding of market microstructure.

Our review closes with participation in Learn-to-Earn programs. Many reputable crypto projects reward users for engaging with educational materials and completing training courses. This approach lets you gain new knowledge of the crypto industry while earning modest but steady returns.

11 Proven Ways to Earn with Cryptocurrency

1. Cryptocurrency Trading

Difficulty level: 8/10

Potential income: Unlimited

Method description

Trading involves actively buying and selling cryptocurrencies to profit from market price fluctuations. The basic principle is to buy digital assets at a lower price and sell at a higher price, capturing the difference.

Modern crypto trading includes a wide range of strategies. For example, traders may open short positions to profit when asset prices fall. Derivatives such as futures, options, and leveraged margin trading are available.

Automation tools streamline the trading process: trading bots execute trades based on preset algorithms, and copy-trading platforms let you automatically replicate the trades of top performers.

Advantages:

• Theoretically unlimited earning potential, based on trader skill
• Wide variety of trading strategies for any market scenario
• Automated trading via bots and algorithms
• Copy-trading lets you follow professional traders
• Trade 24/7 on a global market

Disadvantages:

• Requires extensive training in technical and fundamental analysis
• High risk of losing invested capital
• Initial trading capital required
• Emotional stress and market volatility
• Exchange fees can eat into profits

2. Cryptocurrency Mining

Difficulty level: 7/10

Potential income: Several hundred to several thousand dollars per month

Method description

Mining is the process of validating blockchain transactions using specialized hardware. Miners earn new coins as rewards for each block successfully mined.

Effective mining traditionally demands costly equipment—ASIC miners or high-end GPUs—and technical expertise for setup and maintenance. Electricity is a major ongoing expense as the hardware runs continuously.

Large mining farms and corporations dominate the highly competitive mining sector. However, solo miners may find profitable opportunities with less popular Proof-of-Work coins that have lower hash rates and potentially higher rewards.

Cloud mining offers an alternative: rent computing power from specialized providers, reducing upfront costs and eliminating technical maintenance.

Advantages:

• Can generate relatively passive income
• Profitability rises sharply during crypto bull markets
• Cloud mining lets you start without buying hardware
• Diversifying across coins may optimize results

Disadvantages:

• High upfront costs for solo mining equipment
• Technical knowledge needed for setup and optimization
• Hardware becomes obsolete and needs regular upgrading
• Electricity costs may negate profits
• Risk of losses if coin prices drop

3. Participating in Airdrops

Difficulty level: 2/10

Potential income: Several dozen to several hundred dollars per month

Method description

Airdrops are free token distributions from new or existing crypto projects. Projects use airdrops to build awareness, grow their user base, and launch initial token distribution.

Eligibility varies: hold specific cryptocurrencies at the snapshot, use designated wallets or dApps, complete social tasks (subscribe, repost), register on the platform, or participate in product testing.

For many in the crypto community, airdrop hunting is a way to earn with almost no investment. Retroactive airdrops from DeFi protocols—rewarding early users—can be especially lucrative.

Advantages:

• Earn without financial investment or with minimal gas fees
• No specialized expertise required
• Participate in unlimited airdrops simultaneously
• Some projects give out significant token amounts

Disadvantages:

• Risk of scams asking for private keys
• Most airdrops provide modest rewards
• Truly valuable airdrops are rare
• Multiple requirements may need to be met to receive tokens

4. Affiliate and Referral Programs

Difficulty level: 4/10

Potential income: Several hundred dollars per month

Method description

Crypto exchanges, wallets, and DeFi platforms offer affiliate programs that reward users for bringing in new customers via referral links or codes.

When someone registers with your link, you earn a reward—either a fixed signup bonus, a percentage of the referral’s trading commissions, or a share of their deposits. Some programs are multi-level, letting you earn from your referrals’ referrals.

For influencers, bloggers, and content creators with an active audience, affiliate programs can be a substantial revenue stream. Posting referral links on social media, YouTube, or educational content helps you monetize your reach.

Advantages:

• No advanced technical knowledge required
• Join programs across multiple platforms simultaneously
• Passive income from referred user activity
• Some programs provide lifetime commissions

Disadvantages:

• Income directly depends on your audience size and engagement
• Minimal earnings without a large audience
• Time required to promote referral links

5. Crypto Staking

Difficulty level: 4/10

Potential income: Several hundred dollars per month

Method description

Staking generates passive income by locking cryptocurrencies to support networks that use the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm or its variants.

It works like a bank deposit: you lock coins in the network for a specified period and earn rewards. Your staked coins help validate transactions and create new blocks. The chance to validate the next block increases with the amount staked.

Staking options include running your own validator—which typically requires a large coin balance (e.g., 32 ETH for Ethereum)—or joining staking pools, where funds are pooled and exchanges or specialized platforms handle the technical backend.

Popular staking coins include Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot, Solana, Cosmos, and other PoS tokens.

Advantages:

• Predictable passive income potential
• No technical skills required when using pools
• Start with small amounts via staking pools
• Returns aren’t affected by short-term market swings

Disadvantages:

• Coins are locked for a set period, reducing liquidity
• Solo staking for major coins requires large holdings
• Annual yield is relatively modest (typically 5–15%)
• Staked coins may lose value during the lock period

6. Play-to-Earn Model

Difficulty level: 3/10

Potential income: Several hundred to several thousand dollars per month

Method description

Play-to-Earn (P2E) refers to blockchain games where players earn cryptocurrency or NFTs through gameplay. Unlike traditional gaming—where achievements have no real-world value—P2E lets you monetize your time.

Players complete in-game tasks, battle, level up characters, mine resources, or win tournaments, earning in-game tokens or NFT items. These assets can be sold or exchanged for other cryptocurrencies and withdrawn as fiat.

Popular titles span genres from card games to metaverses and strategy. Earnings vary widely depending on the game, time invested, and player skill.

Advantages:

• Monetize time spent gaming
• No technical expertise required
• Earn in multiple games simultaneously
• Some games offer significant rewards

Disadvantages:

• Many top-earning games require upfront investment in NFTs or tokens
• Not all games provide steady or substantial income
• Risk of in-game tokens losing value
• Earnings often drop as player numbers rise

7. Earning in the DeFi Ecosystem

Difficulty level: 6/10

Potential income: Unlimited

Method description

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is a blockchain-powered ecosystem of financial apps that let you earn income in many ways, without intermediaries.

Main DeFi earning mechanisms:

Providing liquidity: Deposit token pairs into DEX liquidity pools to earn a share of trading fees.

Yield Farming: Move assets among DeFi protocols to maximize returns through complex combinations of staking, lending, and liquidity provision.

Lending: DeFi lending platforms let you lend crypto to others and earn interest, with rates set automatically by supply and demand.

Insurance: Earn by providing capital to insure smart contracts against hacks.

Advantages:

• Diverse strategies and earning tools
• Use multiple protocols simultaneously
• Potentially high returns, especially from new projects
• Full control over your assets—no intermediaries

Disadvantages:

• High complexity for newcomers
• Smart contract risks—bugs or hacks
• Impermanent loss risk when providing liquidity
• Requires ongoing market monitoring to optimize returns
• High network fees (especially on Ethereum) can reduce profits

8. Bitcoin Faucets and Microtasks

Difficulty level: 1/10

Potential income: Several dozen dollars per month

Method description

Bitcoin faucets are websites or apps that pay users small amounts of cryptocurrency for simple tasks. The term comes from the analogy of a dripping faucet, delivering small increments over time.

Tasks include solving CAPTCHAs, viewing ads, clicking links, completing surveys, or installing apps. Rewards are usually paid in satoshis (smallest units of Bitcoin) or other cryptocurrencies.

This method requires no special skills and is accessible to any internet user. However, earnings are extremely low and rarely exceed a few dollars per month, even with active participation.

Advantages:

• No skills or expertise required
• Use unlimited faucets simultaneously
• No financial risk
• Ideal for crypto newcomers

Disadvantages:

• Extremely low income
• Repetitive, monotonous work
• Withdrawal fees may exceed accrued amounts
• Many faucets are scams and don’t pay out

9. Crypto Platform Bonus Programs

Difficulty level: 2/10

Potential income: Several dozen to several hundred dollars per month

Method description

Crypto platforms run bonus programs to attract new users and boost activity. These programs offer free tokens or rewards for completing specific actions.

Types of bonus programs:

Welcome bonuses: Payouts for registering with an exchange or wallet, often requiring identity verification (KYC).

Deposit bonuses: Platforms pay a percentage of your first deposit.

Trading contests: Competitions with prize pools for top traders by volume or profit.

Social media contests: Token giveaways for follows, reposts, or content creation.

Loyalty programs: Earn points for trading activity, redeemable for tokens or commission discounts.

Advantages:

• No special knowledge required
• Join programs on multiple platforms
• Some bonuses are generous

Disadvantages:

• Strict requirements often apply to claiming bonuses
• May need to meet trading volume conditions
• Withdrawal restrictions may apply to bonuses
• Truly lucrative programs are rare

10. Cryptocurrency Arbitrage

Difficulty level: 7/10

Potential income: Unlimited

Method description

Crypto arbitrage is the strategy of profiting from price differences for the same asset across different trading venues. Fragmented markets and liquidity gaps mean crypto prices can vary notably between exchanges.

Main arbitrage types:

Inter-exchange arbitrage: Buy crypto on a lower-priced exchange, sell on a higher-priced one.

Triangular arbitrage: Exploit price discrepancies between three crypto pairs on a single exchange.

Spot-futures arbitrage: Profit from differences between spot and futures prices for a cryptocurrency.

Arbitrage requires rapid execution, as price gaps close quickly. Professional arbitrageurs use bots to monitor markets and execute trades instantly.

Advantages:

• Unlimited income potential with sufficient capital
• Lower risk than directional trading
• Fully automatable
• Works in any market condition

Disadvantages:

• Significant starting capital needed for meaningful earnings
• Exchange and network fees can reduce profits
• Need funds on multiple exchanges
• Opportunities vanish quickly due to competition
• Risks from transfer delays between exchanges

11. Learn-to-Earn Programs

Difficulty level: 3/10

Potential income: Several dozen dollars per month

Method description

Learn-to-Earn programs reward users for learning about crypto projects and technologies. It’s a win-win: users gain knowledge and rewards, projects build an educated audience.

Common formats include watching educational videos, reading articles, and taking quizzes. Completing the course earns you a small amount of project tokens.

Major platforms regularly offer these programs, covering topics from blockchain technology to DeFi protocols and beyond.

Advantages:

• Earn knowledge and rewards simultaneously
• Diverse educational programs from different projects
• No prior expertise or investment required
• Earned tokens may appreciate in value

Disadvantages:

• Relatively small rewards per course
• Programs are not updated regularly
• Limited number of available courses
• Earned tokens may be illiquid

Comparative Table of Earning Methods

How to Choose the Right Method

The best way to earn with cryptocurrency depends on your goals, available time, starting capital, and willingness to learn.

For beginners with minimal experience, choose simple methods: bonus programs, Bitcoin faucets, airdrops, Learn-to-Earn programs, and basic Play-to-Earn games. These options let you explore crypto with almost no risk.

For intermediate users, staking, affiliate programs, and arbitrage are suitable. These require some market knowledge and understanding of crypto mechanisms, but offer higher income potential.

For advanced market participants ready for deeper engagement, trading, mining, and advanced DeFi strategies are optimal. These methods demand significant time for learning and often require upfront capital, but deliver the highest earning potential.

Remember, every way to earn with crypto carries risks. Diversifying your approach and continuous learning will help maximize profits and minimize losses.

FAQ

What are the safest ways for beginners to earn with cryptocurrency?

For beginners, staking and airdrops are the safest options. Staking means locking coins and earning rewards for transaction validation. Airdrops let you collect free tokens from reputable projects with minimal risk.

What is crypto staking and how can you earn from it?

Staking involves locking crypto assets to support the blockchain and earn rewards. You freeze coins for a set period and earn extra income. Cold staking via hardware wallets and hot staking in online wallets are popular choices.

Can you earn with cryptocurrency without large investments?

Yes, earning with cryptocurrency is possible without large investments. Use faucet apps, free spins, and microtasks. The average user can earn up to 0.0001 BTC monthly. Success requires time and consistency, but no starting capital.

What risks are associated with earning from cryptocurrency?

Main risks include market volatility, regulatory changes and restrictions, and scams. Deep market knowledge and solid capital management are essential to minimize losses.

What is crypto mining and how profitable is it in 2024?

Mining is the process of validating transactions and creating new coins using computing power. In 2024, profitability depends on crypto prices, equipment costs, and energy expenses. Home mining can pay off in months under favorable market conditions.

How to trade cryptocurrency and make a profit?

Pick a reliable trading platform, study charts and trends, apply proven strategies (technical analysis, diversification), manage risk, and start with small trade volumes for consistent profits.

What is liquidity farming and how can you earn from it?

Liquidity farming means providing crypto pairs to exchange pools for commission and token rewards. You profit from trading volumes but accept risk from price swings and slippage.

Which cryptocurrencies are best suited for earning?

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) are the most reliable cryptocurrencies for earning, thanks to high liquidity, large trading volumes, and market stability.

Do you need to pay taxes on crypto income?

Yes, taxes apply to crypto income. Profits from sales, mining, and gifts are taxable. All transactions must be reported in your tax return according to your tax status and system.