I have started to explore the world of cryptocurrency for a while, and it has been one heck of a journey. It can be really confusing to navigate at first, but once I made my research I succeeded in making a few earnings. So, I decided to curate my personal list of various ways one can earn even if they start out with nothing.
A short disclaimer, I´m no financial expert, I´m only talking about apps I´ve used and sharing what I´ve learned. Always do your research before doing any sort of investment, still, it doesn't hurt to check it out.
1.Crypto Social Media.
This one is very simple, I didn´t have to invest anything. All I needed was to create an account and a drive to write.
There are a lot of blockchain social media projects out there, the basic premise of most of them is that users earn for their content, and there are incentives for simple curating and reading posts.
The projects I´m currently using are Publish0X, Read.Cash, Cent, LBRY, and Hive.
Both Publish0X and Read.Cash are similar, both reward its users through a common reward pool. The difference is that Publish0X have 3 tokens, and both the reader and the author are rewarded through tips. Meanwhile, Read.Cash relies on the @TheRandomRewarder bot for tips and only pays out in Bitcoin Cash. I´ve crossposted on both for extra earnings and more eyes on my writing.
Accounts can be created here and here respectively.
Cent is also another site to check out, but its userbase focuses more on creative content, it acts more like a crypto version of Patreon on the Ethereum Blockchain. Users can support their favorite creators through seeding each month. I wrote about it in more detail here. However, I only so far earned 10$ worth of Ether for posting my photography and art, and it seems like support has dried out as I´ve seen many creators with several followers but no seed. Could be gas fees, could be something else, so keep that in mind.
LBRY is an alternative to Youtube, users can post videos and receive LBRY tokens through tips, watching videos, and other activities. They just launched a project in the blockchain as mentioned here
Unlike the rest, Hive is not a site, but an entire blockchain with its own ecosystem. It´s got blogs, video streaming, and even gaming dapps. It´s supposed to be an alternative to centralized social media, where you have more control over your content without having your personal data being sold to third parties and dealing with censorship. The best part is not only can you earn through posting to your favorite community but also by curating content.
For example in PeakD when a post is voted, the creator receives rewards in the form of HBD (Hive Backed Dollars) and HP (Hive Power). You can then convert it to HIVE or power up your voting power. The more HP you have the higher the voting power, the bigger the curation rewards both for the poster and curator. Users also have a say in which projects they wish to support by voting as witnesses. In a way, it democratizes the entire project. HIVE can also be sold on an exchange and swapped for other crypto.
It´s my favorite project so far, and only time will tell how it succeeds. In order to join you will need to create a Hive account, normally Hive.io has a variety of ways to create one. But since PeakD currently has a referral system it´s now easier to create one free of charge, as a way to encourage new people to join.
2.Blockchain Gaming.
After accumulating a decent amount of income through blogging, it´s time to put it to good use. Blockchain gaming is a decent way to do so, a lot of gaming apps operate on a play to earn model. Not only do players actually get to own the items they acquire through gameplay but they can sell those to other people for actual currency.
The accessibility of those games can vary, some games are free-to-play and allow players to test the waters before they decide if it´s worth investing. Other games require users to buy items upfront. There are some risks, as with any investment, as it can take some time before it starts paying off, a lot of items value depend on their popularity among the gaming community, and how much players are willing to pay for them, how many people are playing, etc.
But to make things easier here are some of the ones I use:
Axie Infinity is a hot commodity right now, it´s a game similar to pokemon where you collect axies, use them in battle. You can earn a token called SLP that can be used to breed more axies or even sell them on an exchange like Uniswap. Users need to buy at least 3 (Tank, Healer, Damage) to start off.
Blockchain Cuties has a similar concept, with a breeding system and combat. However, new players receive a free but non-breedable cutie to try it out. You only need one or two, I also found that they were much cheaper to buy when compared to axies. It supports a variety of currencies, users to attach different blockchain wallets to a single account. You can join the site through this link.
One other game that caught my attention was Cryptokitties, this dapp introduced mainstream culture to the concept of blockchain gaming. The gameplay however is a bit simple, only focusing on breeding and selling virtual cats, with new traits being discovered all the time, and no kitty is the same. Despite the existence of new games ever since it was launched, it´s still ongoing. I´m currently treating this one more as a fun side project, slowly collecting and breeding them over time, and with some luck get some really special and valuable ones.
When it comes to card games by my dapps of choice are Splinterlands and Rising Star. Splinterlands is an Heartstone type of game, where you collect cards and compete against other players. This game is actually really accessible because not only can you buy cards in different currencies (even Bitcoin Cash and BAT), you can also buy cards with fiat currency. I plan on using some of my HIVE earnings on this one. You can create an account for free.
Rising Star, as mentioned in another article is a music management game, this one is more casual, but doesn´t require a lot of investment. Other HIVE based dapps that I recommend looking into are Cryptobrewmaster ( a game based on making beer) and dCity ( a city management game).
And last but not least, the site Grow Yor Base gifts its users free NFTS for completing tasks. The point of this site is to introduce and educate people about crypto assets. You can join the site here
3. Passive Income
Okay, so maybe gaming isn´t everyone´s cup of tea, selling is intimidating, or you have done all of the above but still have a bunch of leftover crypto lying around on wallets. There are a couple of ways to multiply it, even in your sleep.
One popular and low-risk method is to save it somewhere let it accumulate interest over time. You can either do it through defi (decentralized finance) or cefi (centralized finance).
There are pros and cons. For example, Blockfi offers decent rates and low trading/withdrawal fees. But since it´s centralized you might not be in full control of your deposit. In Defi like Compound, MakerDAO and Aave the rates are a bit lower and more volatile. Not to mention, having to pay gas fees just to create a contract. But on the plus side, you get to be your own bank and not have your crypto hold by a third party.
Another interesting thing is that some accounts pay with their native token, you can then save those and let accumulate interest or sell it when its value increases. There are incentives for doing so, as native tokens get much higher interest rates. Some of these tokens might even grow up in value over time. But more research is needed before investing.
For now, I´m sticking with Blockfi due to the fees and a recent promotion that offers first-time users up to 275$ in BTC for depositing and leaving it until January 14th. Creating an account herehere should also give about 10$ in BTC for new users if they deposit at least 100$. For the rest, I plan on trying out NexoNexo and Celsius
Participating in Liquidity pools is also another way to earn income, but at a higher risk. Basically, whenever someone swaps tokens and pays a fee on an exchange, those tokens come from users that have added their assets to a pool. In return for participating, they receive a percentage of the trading fees. They can claim those fees by simply removing their liquid assets at any time.
However, some of the downsides are, paying a fee to participate and remove liquidity, and due to factors like price change or how many people are participating/trading with the pool it can result what it´s called an impermanent lossimpermanent.
In order to join the user must create a pair, and provide an equal value of both tokens. The dapp I´m using is Uniswap for this effect, which is proving to be an interesting project so far. Even if people missed out on the huge UNI airdrop, it´s still possible to acquire them by participating on the UNI liquidity mining.
4. Honourable Mentions
These are the methods that don´t apply to the previous entries. But I figured they deserved a small shoutout
Brave Browser pays in BAT (Basic Attention Token) just for browsing, it comes with it´s own adblocker, is compatible with the same extensions as Chrome, and you can tip your favorite creators. Unfortunately, the referral program has been discontinued. But it´s a decent browser so far.
Presearch is a search engine that pays in PRE tokens (a ERC20 token), it´s powered by the community and protects your privacy. You can join through this link.
Pi Network is a mining app, where you mine Pi simply by securing the network once a day, it is currently still a project in progress, so it will be a while until it launches and becomes profitable. You can invite others users to be a part of your security circle. You can use this linklink or type my username ghostcat to claim Pi.
Ecoin is crypto project that is offering an airdrop to anyone who joins and creates an account. It will take a while before it actually has any value, if it even does, but still free crypto is free crypto. Joining here gives about 200 coins per user. Just leave it and let it acumulate interest.
Then you got Banano and Horizen faucets both currencies might gain value over time.
And the last very one is Coinbase Earn, Coinbase is paying users to learn about new tokens. As of this article publication, you can earn through an invite link,COMP, EOS, XLM among others. I just got about like almost 10$ of each, and might gain about 50$ if people use my invite. As for the rest, there is a waiting list. Still, it is a great way to make educate people on crypto. And as I mentioned before, COMP is a token earned through interest.
Conclusion.
So, there you go, an extensive list on how to earn crypto and how to multiply some of those earnings. As for my last thoughts, some of these methods might be better earners than others, they also require some patience and willingness to take some risks. If you plan on using them, make sure you don´t spend money that you don´t want to lose, and never put all your eggs in one basket.
I hope this list was useful and even helped other fellow beginners. If there are any projects you think I should look into that didn´t make it on this list, please let me know so I can write them in a future post.
So useful information, you deserve more votes for this post. I'm going to take a look to the games.
Thanks.
I apreciate that
With platforms like ANKR, soon anyone can become a node operator (more passive income)
wonderful read!