14 Ways To Earn Money With Crypto

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Many of us are looking to earn extra cash online and diversify our income, and crypto is a great way of doing this.

Whether it’s working from home, or launching a side hustle alongside your regular job, especially one which generates a passive income, there’s no shortage of guides to help you get started.

But, being a crypto-focused site, I’m going to concentrate on how you can diversify income and create multiple earning streams using crypto.

While the methods below might not make you an overnight millionaire, they’re all ways of making money with cryptocurrency.

You may already hold Bitcoin or other tokens, or perhaps you’re looking to dip your toes into the world of digital currencies. Either way, this guide is for you.

Crypto side hustle ideas

Before I get started, I want to stress that you need to be realistic about how much you can earn from crypto.

Unless you’ve got a large sum to invest up front, or you’re prepared to spend all day, every day, glued to a screen day trading, your extra crypto earnings will never replace a full-time income.

That said, it’s possible to earn enough extra money from crypto to make it a worthwhile pursuit.

So, here are some of the best ways to make money from cryptocurrency:

1. Earning interest on your cryptocurrency

This is perhaps one of the easiest ways of making money with cryptocurrency as it requires very little effort.

In order to earn often bank-busting rates of interest on either the crypto you own or the coins you plan to buy, simply sign up to one of the many platforms offering this service.

Either deposit your existing crypto or buy some through the platform and you’ll instantly start earning interest on it.

At the time of writing it’s possible to earn up to 12% interest on your crypto, especially if you hold stablecoins.

Earning interest is a great way of increasing your wealth, just remember that the price of the underlying can go down as well as up.

2. Staking your cryptocurrency

Staking your coins is another easy way to make a passive income from your crypto.

Staking is simply a way of validating transactions on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network, such as Ethereum (ETH).

It involves depositing your coins on a network and earning crypto rewards in return.

When you stake your coins you effectively lend them to the network, while receiving crypto rewards in return.

You can either hold onto these or cash out your crypto for fiat money on a regular basis to give yourself an additional income.

PoW v PoS 
Ethereum used to be Proof-of-Work (PoW) like Bitcoin, but it swapped over to PoS during what was dubbed ‘The Merge’. While PoW requires vast arrays of energy hungry computers to crunch the numbers to keep the network running, PoW removes the need for these extra resources and is seen as a much greener option.

Related post: Staking and yield farming explained

3. Mining Bitcoin and cryptocurrency

The days when you could profitably mine Bitcoin on a home PC are long gone due to the complexity of the transactions and the equipment required.

Until 2022, Ethereum was a profitable crypto to mine at home, but this too is no longer possible after The Merge.

However, there are still a number of cryptocurrencies that you can mine on a home computer and still make a profit.

Monero is perhaps one of the best known, while there are many others as well.

It’s best to check which are the most profitable cryptos to mine at home when you’re ready to start earning as this can change rapidly.

Unless you have a powerful set up you won’t make a fortune, but mining can make some nice extra cash as a side hustle.

Also, the crypto you mine may become the next Bitcoin in which case you could be sitting on a fortune!

An alternative to running your own mining rig on your PC is cloud mining. Here, you rent mining equipment installed in a mining farm and earn crypto in return.

Related: Is mining Ravencoin on a PC still profitable?

4. Make money trading cryptocurrency

Although some people earn a living out of trading crypto, most of us don’t have the time to do so or the desire to give up a full-time job.

Even if you don’t want to be a day trader, it’s still possible to dabble in your spare time and make some extra money.

The main reason for this is the volatility that the crypto markets often display.

With a bit of research and planning you’ll be able to capitalise on the often large price swings cryptos experience in any given week.

Trading isn’t for everyone, and it’s possible to quickly lose your money as well.

But if you hone your skills, thoroughly research the market and master the art of technical analysis this can bring in some extra income each month.

5. Investing in cryptocurrency long term

If trading is not for you, then slow and steady investing might be the way for you to make money with crypto.

A buy-and-hold strategy has the potential to reap rewards in the long term, without any of the stress involved in trading.

Before investing in crypto you’ll need to do some thorough research and decide on the coins you think have the most potential to increase in the future.

You then need to invest your chosen amount and ensure that the coins are stored securely. A crypto hardware wallet is one of the best ways of doing this.

If you’re happy with a small amount of risk you can deposit your crypto on an interest earning platform to earn interest on it while the underlying asset hopefully increases in value.

It’s worth considering buying smaller regular amounts of crypto over time to take advantage of pound cost averaging.

This is a common investment strategy designed to smooth out the peaks and troughs in both the crypto and traditional markets.

6. Earn crypto by blogging and social media

Blogging is a popular way for people to earn a bit of extra cash.

Writing about something you’re passionate about enables you to both express yourself and share your views with the world.

It can also be a great way to create an extra income stream and something you can easily do in your spare time.

Setting up a successful blog requires a fair bit of time and effort but it can be incredibly rewarding.

The crypto space is relatively underserved by bloggers, although there’s no shortage of social media enthusiasts.

YouTube, Twitter and TikTok are just some of the platforms favoured by Bitcoin fans, especially when they’re looking for crypto news or investment tips.

If you have a passion for crypto then a blog or social media channel could be the perfect way for you to monetise your hobby through advertising, affiliate marketing and collaborations.

7. Get paid in crypto for gig economy jobs

Another way of earning extra money by getting paid in crypto is by selling a skill or talent you have.

Perhaps you build websites in your spare time or an expert copywriter? Why not monetise this by tapping into the gig economy and asking for payment in crypto?

Equally, you might make amazing jewellery or crafts. Why not sell via a platform such as Etsy and ask for crypto as payment in return.

Whatever your skill, there are plenty of opportunities out there to make extra cash by harnessing the power of cryptocurrency.

8. Free crypto airdrops

There’s no such thing as free crypto, right?

Wrong! Airdrops are completely free distributions of tokens designed to create a buzz about a new crypto venture.

To grab your share of this crypto windfall search sites like CoinMarketCap for the latest airdrop announcements.

There are usually a few qualifying conditions, such as following the company on social media and sharing their announcement, but they don’t take much time at all.

After completing the tasks you’ll be rewarded with free coins which you can sell as soon as they’re listed on a crypto exchange.

Some companies succeed while others fail and that’s the same in the cryptosphere.

Sign up to enough airdrops and hopefully you’ll get a few winners which will bring you some extra cash each month.

9. Yield farming to earn income on your crypto

If you already hold crypto, another way to make it work for you is to earn a passive income through yield farming.

Yield farming is where you add your coins to what’s called a liquidity pool to provide liquidity to decentralised exchanges (DEXs).

Using your idle crypto for yield farming does require some commitment as in most cases you’ll be locking your coins away for a set period of time.

But the returns can be high as liquidity pools can pay generous rates of interest.

10. Earn extra money through crypto dividends

Just like traditional companies pay dividends to shareholders, there are cryptos that reward holders with regular payouts.

To earn crypto dividends you’ll need money up front to invest in the tokens that pay out, just like you would with shares.

Earning dividends also involves staking coins, with the main difference being that staking rewards come in the form of fees, while dividends are more predictable rewards that don’t involve fees.

Cryptos that offer dividends come and go so you’ll need to do your research before picking a coin.

Some of the most solid earners in the space are tokens that are linked to cryptocurrency exchanges.

11. Earn money by playing crypto games

There’s been an explosion in play-to-earn games that pay in crypto in recent years.

Not only can you enjoy the games, but you can also earn some crypto in the process.

If you pick a game that grows in popularity you might even see the value of your coins grow as well for a long term gain.

New games spring up each week so you’ll have to research the best play-to-earn games around when you come to sign up.

They’re a fun and exciting way to earn free crypto, even if they’re unlikely to make you rich.

Some pay-to-earn crypto games are:

• Battle Infinity
• Axie Infinity
• Decentraland
• Gods Unchained
• Plant Vs Undead

12. Earn Bitcoin by taking surveys

There’s no shortage of survey sites for fiat money, and the same goes for crypto.

You’re not going to earn a fortune by completing surveys, but it’s possible to earn a small amount of extra money each month.

You’ll need to research the best survey sites to make extra money before picking the ones that are right for you.

However, to get you started it’s worth mentioning Cointiply which is a popular crypto earning site that has a large following.

The payouts are reliable and made in Bitcoin so you’ll need a cryptocurrency wallet to receive your earnings.

Once this is set up you can either hold onto your coins as an investment, trade them for another crypto or sell them for cash.

13. Run a crypto node to earn rewards

Running a master node might sound a bit geeky but it’s a great way to earn some extra income.

A master node helps sustain a cryptocurrency by verifying new transaction blocks as they’re produced, while acting as part of a network of governing hubs.

Not all cryptocurrencies reward people for running master nodes, but some do and it can be a great way of creating a new income stream.

There’s a slight technical barrier to overcome to get started, but even beginners can get in on the action if they’ve got some spare time.

An example of an easy-to-use master node opportunity that you can get started with straight away is the Minima network.

Minima aims to create a decentralised network for information and value transfer and anyone with a smartphone can operate a node.

You’re given daily rewards for doing so which over time add up and will hopefully gain in value if the proposition succeeds.

Related link: Minima blockchain review

14. Earn free crypto with Bitcoin faucets

Cointiply and many other sites also feature what are called Bitcoin faucets which literally gives away tiny amounts of Bitcoin every hour.

To get your free crypto, you’ll need to complete a simple task, such as filling in a reCAPTCHA, and you’ll be rewarded with coins in return.

You won’t earn a lot from a faucet, but they’re a risk-free way of getting hold of some free crypto and starting to learn about the world of digital coins.

An extremely well-known faucet site is freebitco.in.

Not only does the faucet give out free Bitcoin every hour, but you’re automatically entered into a weekly lottery each time you use it.

There are other perks as well, such as daily rewards and prizes, together with the opportunity to earn interest on your crypto.

Conclusion

As you can see there are many ways you can create an additional income stream with crypto.

Remember to do your own research before signing up to any product which involves depositing your crypto or cash and be on the lookout for crypto scams.

While many of the proven methods of making money with crypto above won’t make you rich, you will be able to create an extra income stream to supplement your salary.

Don’t forget to pay tax

As with any income stream, you’ll need to pay the necessary tax on any extra crypto income you generate.

The taxes that you’ll need to consider in the UK are Income Tax, National Insurance and Capital Gains Tax.

Which tax you’ll pay will depend on how you’ve made your extra crypto cash.

For example, if you trade regularly it’s likely you’ll need to pay Income Tax and National Insurance.

If you buy crypto and hold it over the longer term before selling it, you’ll need to consider Capital Gains Tax if your profit is more than your annual tax free allowance.