If you’ve ever wondered how to make money with cryptocurrency, you’re not alone. Many people are trying to earn money through digital coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
There are different ways to make money, like mining, staking, and even playing games where you earn crypto. It might sound confusing at first, but once you understand the basics, it gets easier. In this guide, we’ll look at some simple ways you can start making money with cryptocurrency and what you should watch out for.
Key Takeaways:
- Passive income in crypto is when you earn free money by holding or staking your coins without having to do much work.
- The best ways to make money with cryptocurrencies are yield farming, mining, staking, play-to-earn games, airdrops, day trading, and ICOs.
7 Best Ways to Make Money With Cryptocurrency1. Yield Farming
Yield farming is earning interest on your money but using crypto instead. You deposit your digital assets in liquidity pools on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap or PancakeSwap. These pools help traders swap tokens. For letting your crypto sit there, you earn rewards in the form of extra crypto or fees.
For example, if you deposit $1,000 worth of Ethereum and USDT into a pool, you might earn an annual percentage yield (APY) of 4% to 10%. That means you could earn $40 to $100 in a year. Higher-risk pools sometimes offer even higher rewards, like 100% or more, but the risk of losing money is big too.
In 2024, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols reached over $110 billion, showing how popular yield farming is. If you’re starting, choose well-known platforms like Uniswap or Aave to reduce risks.
2. Mining
Crypto mining was the first way people earned Bitcoin. It involves solving complex math problems to verify transactions on the blockchain. For this, miners get rewards in Bitcoin or other coins.
Mining Bitcoin used to be simple. In 2010, you could mine using a regular PC and earn several bitcoins daily. Now, you need specialized hardware like ASIC miners, which can cost $2,000 to $10,000. Electricity costs are also high. For example, mining 1 Bitcoin can use 1,449 kWh, costing around $150 in countries like the U.S.
A better option for beginners is joining mining pools. These are groups of miners who combine their computing power and share the rewards. Popular pools include Slush Pool and F2Pool. Another option is cloud mining, where you rent mining power online. Be careful, though – scams are common in cloud mining.
3. Staking
Staking in cryptocurrency is a way to make passive income by locking up your crypto to support a blockchain. This process works with cryptocurrencies using the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system, such as Ethereum, Cardano, or Polkadot.
Here’s how it works:
When you stake your coins, they are locked in a network to validate transactions and secure the blockchain. In return, you get rewards, usually in the form of more crypto.
Some networks, like Ethereum, require a minimum amount to stake (32 ETH, which is a lot!), but smaller amounts can be staked through staking pools or crypto staking platforms like Coinbase or Binance. The rewards depend on how much you stake and the blockchain’s rules. On average, annual yields can range from 5% to 20%.
The best part about staking is you don’t need fancy equipment like miners do in Proof-of-Work systems (used by Bitcoin). It’s also more energy-efficient. Once staked, your crypto might be locked for weeks or months, so you can’t use or sell it during that time.
If you’re a beginner, centralized exchanges are easiest. They handle the technical stuff for you, but they charge fees, and there’s always a risk of hacks.
4. Play to Earn
Play-to-earn is one of the best ways to make money with cryptocurrency. It’s playing games but also earning real money while having fun. They are called play-to-earn games, where you can earn crypto coins or tokens just by completing missions, battling with other players, or building stuff in the game.
For example, games like Axie Infinity are super popular. In this game, you need to collect creatures called Axies. You battle with them, and if you win, you get a token called SLP (Smooth Love Potion). People can sell this token for real money. Some players even make up to $300 a month,
