How to earn Bitcoin: top 8 methods

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How to earn Bitcoin: best methods

Trading — probably the best way to earn Bitcoins;

Mining — a guaranteed method to earn cryptocurrency;

Investing in crypto — has low risks; you can start with as little as $10;

Crypto startups — opportunity to start from scratch;

B Accepting payments — as payment for goods and services.

In autumn 2023, Eric Adams was elected the new Mayor of New York. He became popular in the cryptocurrency world after he announced that he wanted to get his salary in Bitcoin.

New York Mayor Adams is not the only person who wants to earn Bitcoins. Google Trends data shows an increasing number of people in the world wanting to receive cryptocurrency.

Google Trends query statistics

Google Trends query statistics

This article is based on the experience of earning Bitcoins. Every method has been tested and the descriptions specify the pros and cons. We do not give specific advice. Every person chooses the method of earning cryptocurrency that is best suitable for their preferences and circumstances.

Start trading cryptocurrencies right now with Binance!
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1. How to earn Bitcoin by trading

Cryptocurrency trading is probably the best way to earn Bitcoins, as it offers unlimited potential and you can earn the coins quickly. However, truth be spoken, it is also a rather difficult way.

Cryptocurrency instruments

Cryptocurrency instruments

According to Coinmarketcap, the volume of Bitcoin-related transactions at the cryptocurrency exchanges reaches a quarter of trillion of dollars per day! It is a huge money flow and it seems logical to want to join it.

👍 Pros

Large selection of exchanges and markets;

High leverages;

Transparency of the market, and, as a result, availability of unique instruments for analysis;

Relative anonymity;

high volatility as a field for earning a profit from changes of the rate;

A possibility to connect robots and signals.

👎 Cons

The market is rife with scammers. Read the article about cryptocurrency scams to avoid becoming a victim of one;

You can’t earn Bitcoin ‘from scratch’; you need initial capital;

A possibility to suffer losses due to the lack of experience, volatility, pumps and dumps and also other risk factors;

It is not easy becoming a trader; it is the same as becoming a doctor or a lawyer.

Before trying cryptocurrency trading, weigh all pros and cons. The biggest question is whether you have a trading advantage you will use to earn cryptocurrency.

How to trade Bitcoin: a step-by-step guide

We recommend trying your hand using the demo account first or risking minimum amounts. The following information will help novice traders who want to try and earn cryptocurrency by trading at an exchange.

Step 1 – Registration

The first thing you need to do is to register on the website of a cryptocurrency exchange. Let’s see how it is done using the example of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

First, access the website of Binance, click “Register” in the top menu.

how to register on Binance

how to register on Binance

During the registration:

  • Provide your email and come up with a password;

  • Confirm that you are not a robot;

  • Confirm that you’ve read and agree to the exchange’s Terms of Use;

  • Receive account activation code to your email (as shown on the image below).

How to register on Binance

How to register on Binance

Now your registration is completed.

Then, the system will ask you to verify your account by providing documents. You won’t be able to fund your account if you don’t verify your account.

Verification on Binance

Verification on Binance

Step 2 – Account verification

The verification requirement on Binance was introduced in 2023 under the pressure of state regulatory authorities.

In order to complete your verification, you need to provide your country of residence and then upload scanned copies of 2 documents.

Verification on Binance

Verification on Binance

A short time later (usually no more than a couple of working days), you will receive a confirmation to your email that your account has been verified.

Verification on Binance

Verification on Binance

The letter will also say that you can now make your deposit.

Step 3 – Making a deposit

In the upper menu click “Wallet / Fiat and Spot”.

You will be redirected to the page of your finances at the exchange. Click on the Deposit button.

Funding the account on Binance

Funding the account on Binance

There are 2 ways to make a deposit:

  • In Fiat (US dollars, euro, British pounds…;

  • In cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum…), if you have it.

funding the account on Binance

funding the account on Binance

Next, you need to specify the deposit amount, account details and start the transaction.

Notably, when you are making a deposit, you can buy Bitcoin with Fiat money using your traditional debit/credit card.

The deposit will be credited to the Fiat and Spot account.

Step 4 – How to buy Bitcoin

You will be able to trade cryptocurrencies in order to earn Bitcoin once your deposit is credited to your account.

If you are planning to trade actively, we recommend that you transfer your funds from Fiat and Spot to the Futures account. For this, click “Transfer”.

Transfers between accounts on Binance

Transfers between accounts on Binance

Futures are derivative instruments. When you trade them, you don’t trade Bitcoin (or other coins), but contracts, whose value is ‘tied’ to the price of the coins.

Benefits of futures trading:

  • You can trade both ways, earning a profit both from decline and growth of the price of Bitcoin and other coins;

  • Increased leverage;

  • Lower fees for those who use limit orders (market-makers).

Another advantage is that you can analyze important information available only for cryptocurrency markets, for example the liquidation indicator at cryptocurrency exchanges (forced closure of positions of traders on the stop out) can be used as an entry point when the market bounces back.

Liquidation indicator in cryptocurrency markets

Liquidation indicator in cryptocurrency markets

You can receive valuable information by subscribing to various reports of the services and agencies that use the blockchain transparency feature to analyze movement of capital. That will increase your chances at earning Bitcoins.

Step 5 – How to sell Bitcoin and withdraw money

Let’s say that you’ve earned big money trading futures. Now the question of how to withdraw it won’t seem too complex to you.

In order to withdraw your earnings, you need to:

  • Transfer funds from the Futures account to the Fiat and Spot account;

  • Perform conversion (Convert) if necessary;

  • Click on “Withdraw”.

2. How to earn Bitcoin by mining

Bitcoin can be provisionally compared to an accounting book, the copies of which are distributed among all participants of the network. The book contains the addresses of wallets and transaction data – from where, to where, how much and when,

Every entry in the book is called a block, and the sequence of the entries – the blockchain.

How a blockchain works

How a blockchain works

The chances of falsifying the book are zero as the book is visible to everyone. However, there is a difficulty with adding and arranging the blocks. If a block is added, it cannot be deleted. Therefore, if somebody wants to add a block, it needs to be thoroughly checked. This requires the solution of cryptographic tasks that require big computing capacities.

This task is performed by miners. They solve the tasks with very big numbers in order to obtain the right to add a block and keep the registry in order and not falsified. In exchange for using their computing resources, miners receive earnings in bitcoins. Therefore, mining is a guaranteed method to earn cryptocurrency.

Hardware mining

This method involves installing a Bitcoin hub on your equipment and connecting it to solving tasks with the purpose of getting a reward.

In order to mine Bitcoin using this method, you need:

  • Computing capacities;

  • Electricity and the internet.

Can you launch mining on a simple computer? Yes, but it will be very unprofitable, because fulfillment of specialized tasks requires powerful equipment.

Powerful video cards are good for solving the tasks that mining requires, and it is even better to use special miners. The more powerful they are, the more bitcoins you can earn, but also the more expensive it is.

miners

miners

On average the investment return period on the equipment is 0.5-1.5 years, but it can strongly vary depending on the BTCUSD rate.

It should be taken into account that miners consume a lot of power; in fact, so much that China prohibited mining at a state level in 2023 in order to avoid issues with electricity supply in the country. Entire cryptocurrency mining plants were forced to migrate to the U.S., Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries.

👍 Pros of hardware mining:

You get your own ‘money-making machine’ (although if the price of Bitcoin drops for a long period of time, mining will be practically unprofitable, as evidenced by the year 2018);

You can earn not only bitcoins, but also other cryptocurrencies;

There is practically no risk of losing money. Mining equipment can be sold after you’ve used it.

👎 Cons of hardware mining:

You cannot earn Bitcoin ‘from scratch’; a relatively high price of entry;

Electricity bills;

There is a risk of equipment failure;

It is necessary to set up equipment for mining and connect it to the network;

It is necessary to have a stable internet connection.

In order to partially solve the issue of setting up mining, you can connect to quick mining services.

They will:

  • Manage your equipment;

  • Use it for mining the cryptocurrency that is most profitable based on profit/loss;

  • Pay your earnings in bitcoins;

  • Charge a small percentage for their services.

Quick mining service

Quick mining service

Cloud mining

Cloud mining is a way to earn Bitcoin, where you pay a contribution to creation and servicing of a large mining farm, and then, after a certain period of time, when the farm brings profit, you receive a reward proportional to your contribution.

This method rids you of the trouble of buying, setting up and using miners, instead leaving the specialists to deal with it.

Cloud mining service

Cloud mining service

👍 Pros:

simplicity;

comparatively high projected income, but lower than mining while using your own capacities.

👎 Cons:

Cloud mining services offer less flexibility in terms of the cost of investment and terms.

There is a risk of dealing with scammers, who will announce themselves bankrupt under a good reason (“Chinese authorities prohibited mining. Police seized the equipment).

The risks of decline of cryptocurrency prices may drastically change plans.

Before investing in cloud mining, make sure to thoroughly check the service offering you to earn bitcoins in order to avoid becoming a victim of a scam.

3. Investing in crypto: how to earn Bitcoin ‘from scratch’

When we speak about mining, we should also mention staking and other similar methods of earning bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. While using this method, the traders provide their liquidity to different business projects so that businesses could operate. To an extent, this resembles classic bonds, bank deposits at an interest and investing in operating companies. The method will be of interest to those who want to not only own bitcoins, but also see how they multiply.

Novice investors are recommended to consider the Binance Earn service that offers a number of options to choose from. For example, the image below shows that by investing in bitcoin you can earn up to 3% annual. It may not seem much, but considering the coin’s progress in the past years, the prospect does look attractive.

Binance Earn

Binance Earn

Binance Earn

Binance Earn

Also, you can invest at an interest rate not only in order to earn Bitcoin, but also other coins.

👍 Pros

Low risks;

You can start as low as USD 10.

👎 Cons

Low returns.

In order to raise your possible earnings, you can study other tabs on the Earn page, but they will likely seem too complex for beginners. Therefore, plan your actions thoroughly.

4. How to earn Bitcoin: crypto startups

Blockchain technology opened an entire new universe of opportunities. Bitcoin is an example of how you can realize money on a blockchain.

In this article, we have mentioned a blockchain-based advertising exchange. There are projects that use blockchain and cryptocurrencies in order to create virtual worlds, hosting of files. There are a multitude of ideas and new projects emerge on a regular basis. We merged these project launches in the Crypto startups sub-heading.

In our opinion, there have been several waves:

  • 1

    First wave – 2011-2013. In February 2011 Bitcoin reached USD 1, and in December – USD 1,000. Against this background, cryptocurrency exchanges, which at the time were totally unknown, emerged. Some of them operate even now: Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp.

  • 2

    Second wave – 2017. Bitcoin rapidly grows to USD 20,000. CME exchange introduces Bitcoin futures. The world is going through a new cryptocurrency boom, everybody talks about ICO (Initial Coin Offering), the new cryptocurrencies emerge in conditions of euphoric demand. It strongly resembles the dotcom bubble of 2000. By 2018, it became clear that many coins are “shells”. Facebook later banned ICO advertising, as there were too many scams among them.

  • 3

    Third wave – 2023. This wave happened against the background of Bitcoin reaching USD 60,000 and rapid development of DeFi (decentralized finance) and NFT (non-fungible tokens, which can be owned as objects of art). Coinbase goes public on Nasdaq, the U.S. approves the launch of Bitcoin ETFs and large public companies buy bitcoins to place on their balance.

The projects find new use for bitcoins; at the launch stage they usually offer their coins to the community. That’s a part of the project’s promotion. Therefore, by monitoring the launch of startups and their promo campaigns, you can learn how to earn new coins, which you can then hold and/or exchange for Bitcoins (if the new coin is added to the cryptocurrency exchange).

The following activities are related to marketing and advertising:

  • Airdrops. During airdrops, the projects hand out their coins in exchange for registration, for example, or filling out a questionnaire, installing an application. For example, you can monitor new airdrops on the Airdrop Alert website in order to earn newly created cryptocurrencies.

  • Bounty. In this case the coins are handed out for some activity on social media. For example, in order to earn cryptocurrency, you need to post links and likes, therefore attracting general attention to it. On the BountyOx website, you can monitor bounty campaigns. In order to participate in them, it is desirable that you have popular pages on social media. Then you will have more chances to earn cryptocurrency.

👍 Pros

You can realistically earn bitcoins ‘from scratch’, absolutely.

👎 Cons

Low earnings. Of course you can earn coins that in a few years will break a record and reach the value of thousands of dollars, but the chances of that are not high.

It takes a lot of time and effort.

There is a probability of receiving coins from a scam at the ICO.

5. How to earn Bitcoin by accepting payments

In January 2023, El Salvador enforced a law introducing Bitcoin (for the first time in the world!) as an official unit of currency on par with the US dollar. Now, you can pay with bitcoins at any store in El Salvador.

 a store in El Salvador

a store in El Salvador

Selling goods for cryptocurrencies is a rather evident way to earn bitcoins, as Bitcoin essentially was created as a type of money. As the value of the coin is being accepted more widely in the world, it is becoming less exotic to buy and sell goods and services, earning bitcoins in a traditional way.

Large companies add bitcoins to methods of payment they accept. In 2014, Microsoft started accepting cryptocurrency as payment for games, software and other digital content. In January 2023, Elon Musk announced that Tesla now accepts Bitcoin as payment for Tesla vehicles, but then changed his mind.

Among the big brands that support Bitcoin payments are:

  • Overstock

  • Etsy

  • Starbucks

  • Amazon via Venmo (will be launched in 2023).

You can also get bitcoins as payment for goods and services. For that:

  • 1

    Create an online store;

  • 2

    Add an item for sale (for example, “Earning Bitcoins from Scratch for Dummies” course);

  • 3

    Add Bitcoin as a method of payment.

When a buyer places an order, they will be offered to pay with cryptocurrency, and you can earn bitcoins.

Paying for goods with cryptocurrency

Paying for goods with cryptocurrency

👍 Pros

Simple and easy to understand;

You can earn bitcoins ‘from scratch’, by creating your digital product.

👎 Cons

Development, setting up of the store and connecting payment gateways to it could turn out to be a complex task for a beginner.

6. Affiliate programs with rewards in bitcoins

Marketing is an important part of the success of a commercial project, which is why affiliate programs are used very widely. Under the affiliate programs, when you bring a new client to the company you get rewarded.

Usually, information about an affiliate program can be found at the bottom of the website:

Affiliate programs

Affiliate programs

Here are the companies that pay affiliate rewards in bitcoins:

  • Cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, Paxful, FTX, Huobi, Bitfinex, BitMEX, Coinbase – practically every cryptocurrency exchange has an affiliate program;

  • localbitcoins.com exchange service;

  • services on providing reliable wallets for safe holding of coins Ledger Wallet, Trezor

  • payment gateways CoinPayment, CoinGate.

👍 Pros

simple and easy to understand;

if you refer a successful trader to a cryptocurrency exchange, you can earn a stable passive income as a part of the fees the trader pays;

you can choose one of the many affiliate programs;

you can earn bitcoins without investing money by referring new clients.

👎 Cons

in order to earn bitcoins from affiliate programs, it is desirable that you have popular pages on social media and have experience with traffic arbitrage;

it may prove somewhat difficult for novice traders.

7. Bitcoin faucets

Bitcoin faucets are websites that pay out cryptocurrencies, for example, once an hour, and, what’s more attractive, absolutely for free.

These websites are like lotteries. Promising users free coins, they earn their profit on advertising, affiliate programs, etc. In order to try and earn bitcoins on the faucets, you need to register and complete whatever is asked – as an option, to play games hoping to get lucky.

An example of such a faucet: freebitco.in.

freebitcoin

freebitcoin

👍 Pros

simple for beginners;

does not require much effort;

you can earn cryptocurrency without investing anything.

👎 Cons

the chances of earning bitcoins here is like winning a million in a lottery. You are more likely to simply waste precious time.

8. Binary options

Binary options are a kind of speculation in the financial markets that resemble gambling or a bet.

After you register on the binary option broker’s website, you will be offered to guess what will happen to the price in a certain period of time. Usually, it is about seconds and minutes so that the player can quench the thirst for gambling and get an adrenaline shot from the price movement.

The features of the platforms point to the fact that earning a profit from binary options is more of a game than a business. Usually, there are fewer opportunities for analysis and the buttons for entering a trade are big and enticing, like on the slot machines.

Binary options

Binary options

Nonetheless, it is possible to earn Bitcoin with binary options. This is likely to require experience in real trading and additional sources of information for analysis.

👍 Pros

simple registration, quick deposit;

you can earn (or rather win), relying on luck;

easy to understand trading platforms.

👎 Cons

you will need to make a deposit in order to trade;

in order to earn stably you will also need experience and knowledge on how to analyze the markets;

the brokers that provide the services of binary option trading are often registered in the offshore territories, which increases the risks.

Notably, the share of scammers is high in the binary option business, which the US SEC directly warns about, keeping the Americans away from dubious investment.

US SEC warning about binary options

US SEC warning about binary options

9. How to earn Bitcoin by farming?

Yield Farming is a method of earning cryptocurrencies that became popular with the development of DeFi. Farming involves providing your funds to the pool for a project development in exchange for interest or fees.

👍 Pros

high risks (the price of the coin may drop, there may not be liquidity in the pool).

Complex specifics. Choosing a worthy coin for farming requires experience.

You can start from nothing.

You will have to buy the project’s coin for half of the amount that you are prepared to risk in order to earn cryptocurrency. As an example, if you want to farm BNB-CAKE on Pancake, you need to have Binance coin (BNB), for example, in the amount of X dollars and to buy Cake for the same amount. The reward will also be paid in Cake.

👎 Cons

Does not require additional equipment

High profit potential.

Is it worth investing in Bitcoin?

Bitcoin dynamics is rather dazzling:

  • December 2009. 1 BTC = $0.001

  • October 2010. 1 BTC = $0.01

  • February 2011. 1 BTC = $1

  • April 2013. 1 BTC = $100

  • December 2013. 1 BTC = $1,000

  • December 2017. 1 BTC = growth from $10,000 to $20,000

  • January 2023. 1 BTC = $60,000

It would seem too late to buy. However, that’s what the sentiment was in the previous years.

Stock 2 Flow model based on the price of Bitcoin and its supply describes the BTCUSD trajectory well. If the model ‘does not break’, we will see $1 million approximately in 2026.

Is it worth buying bitcoins? You need to accept the responsibility and weigh all the risks.

Is it worth buying bitcoins? You need to accept the responsibility and weigh all the risks.

Arguments in favor of investing in Bitcoin:

  • A means against inflation;

  • Gradual introduction all around the world;

  • Fast price growth in the previous years.

Arguments against:

  • Risks with state regulators;

  • High volatility;

  • No guarantees that the growth will continue.

The best exchange to earn Bitcoin

Binance emerged on the market at the time of the 2017 euphoria and has since become the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. As of 2023, Binance is confidently ahead of the competition in terms of many indicators, setting the industry standard.

Note that the images above only take into account the spot market; there are separate figures for futures and other platforms, and they are also high.

Therefore, if you want to earn Bitcoin, an account on Binance would certainly be useful, even if it will not be earning from trading.

Pros of the exchange:

  • There are two interfaces: basic for beginners and advanced, which allows you to perform in-depth market analysis. Both are very convenient.

  • High security. The exchange has two-factor authentication, KYC, IP security and other measures of security. In March 2018, there was an attempt to hack the exchange. The hackers tried to use user data collected through a phishing website, but the attack was prevented by the automated system installed at the exchange.

  • Leveraged trading. Up to 1:125 on USD-M futures.

  • Own blockchain. Binance Smart Chain opens new opportunities for earning cryptocurrencies.

  • High performance. The exchange can process 1.4 million orders per second.

  • Large number of available markets. Low fees and high liquidity.

  • Mobile applications

CEO Changpeng Zhao (commonly known as CZ) is a public figure; he regularly posts on Twitter @cz_binance. He is known in the cryptocurrency community and has shown high standards of honesty.

CZ’s Twitter account

CZ’s Twitter account

As for the drawbacks, Binance customer support responds slowly, but this is probably due to the large number of users at the exchange and continuous improvement that the exchange introduces in order to prevent claims of the regulators.

Summary

How to earn Bitcoin? There are many ways and we’ve discussed only 8 of them. Some methods apply only to the cryptocurrency world, while others allow you to earn Fiat money as well. Some methods are suitable for beginners and allow you to start from zero, while others require experience and initial capital.

Regardless of the method that you’ve chosen, control the situation as much as you can. Do not risk the amount you are not prepared to lose.

FAQs

How to earn Bitcoin on microtasks?

You can earn cryptocurrency by doing microtasks online (simple tasks or errands), such as clicking on the links, viewing an ad. The benefit of this method is that it does not require you to have experience and you can earn Bitcoin without making any investment, from scratch.

How to earn on Twitter?

In 2024, Twitter introduced the “tip jar” feature. If you created a valuable Tweet, the people who want to thank you can send you a “tip”. As you can understand, you can use cryptocurrency to send the tip. If you have a wide audience and you publish valuable information, it is possible that you may earn Bitcoin this way.

How many bitcoins can a beginner earn?

This is a very simple question that does not have a correct answer.
The main principle is not to make maximum profit your highest priority. Do not sell your home and do not take out loans to invest in a rapidly growing trend. Bitcoin is a highly volatile instrument and it is here to stay. You will always have the time to earn your profit. We advise you to gradually master trading and investing. This experience is becoming a must in modern conditions.

Team that worked on the article

Alamin Morshed
Contributor

Alamin Morshed is a contributor at Traders Union. He specializes in writing articles for businesses who want to improve their Google search rankings to compete with their competition.

Over the past four years, Alamin has been working independently and through online employment platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr, and also contributing to some reputable blogs. His goal is to balance informative content and provide an entertaining read to his readers.

His motto is: I can dream or I can do—I choose action.

Dwight Cass
Contributor

Dwight specializes in risk, corporate finance, alternatives, fintech, general business trends, and financial markets, and he has broad experience managing complex projects. Dwight is an author for the Traders Union website.

Dwight was a financial columnist for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times during the Great Financial Crisis. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Worth, a personal finance magazine for the wealthy, and as Editor of Risk, the premiere global publication about derivatives, risk management, and quantitative finance, based in London.

He has also served as Managing Editor at The Economist Group and ran the Americas operations of two British trade publications.

For the last 12 years, Dwight has worked as a freelance writer and editorial project manager, serving clients in the financial technology, banking, broker/dealer, consulting, asset management, and corporate sectors. This has given him considerable experience in idea generation and project management, working collaboratively to help clients meet their goals with little or no supervision.

Knows about
risk management, derivatives, capital markets, regulation, market data

Experience
Dwight is a journalist and editor with over 30 years of experience writing and editing sophisticated financial, economic, and business articles for leading magazines, newspapers, and web sites. He specializes in personal finance, risk management, capital markets, and wealth management. He served as editor of Risk magazine and editor-in-chief of Worth magazine. His financial commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, and elsewhere. He has provided on-air commentary for CNN, CNBC, and the BBC.

As proprietor of Cass Editorial Services since 2010, Dwight has provided writing and editorial project management services to a range of financial services, government and corporate clients including Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (now DWS), The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Interactive Data, Euler Hermes, Ernst & Young, The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, The Project Management Institute, Reval, and The Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Education
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Master of Arts (MA), International Political Economy
New York University
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Journalism and Politics

Mirjan Hipolito
Cryptocurrency and stock expert

Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Mirjan is a cryptocurrency and stock trader. This deep understanding of the finance sector allows her to create informative and engaging content that helps readers easily navigate the complexities of the crypto world.