How to Earn Free Crypto in 2023 – 15 Best Ways to Earn Crypto Instantly

The rate of crypto adoption is accelerating rapidly, with industries worldwide beginning to integrate digital currencies into their operations. Due to this, the value of owning cryptocurrency is increasing – with many platforms offering a way to receive cryptocurrency without spending any of your own money. Because of the potential for price increases, it helps to receive free crypto rewards as opposed to cash in a deposit account.

And there is no shortage of options. With the Trust Wallet (TWT) airdrop, for instance, it was possible to earn $500 or 10% of your balance (whichever was greater). Upcoming Airdrops Neon Link and JoyStream both have an estimated value of $80. An airdrop is where people are essentially handed free tokens in order to promote the project.  

Staking your tokens is another means of earning free crypto rewards with no additional input. Binance US, for instance, offers crypto staking rewards of up to 20% on tokens such as Cosmos (ATOM) and Polkadot (DOT). The staking returns are dependent on the type of blockchain, with some offering better returns than others. 

This guide will take a comprehensive look at how to earn free crypto, covering some of the most popular avenues you can explore. We will also review two of the best platforms to consider when looking to earn crypto right away.

A Closer Look at the Best Ways to Earn Cryptocurrency

Now that you have a brief overview of what the best ways to earn crypto are, let’s dive in and explore each of these procedures individually:

1. Recieve 65% Staking Rewards with Wall Street Memes, a Presale that has Raised Over $25 Million

One way to earn free crypto is by joining the Wall Street Memes presale. This is a meme cryptocurrency that is offering income-earning opportunities to token holders. Currently, $WSM, the native token of Wall Street Memes, is priced at $0.0337 during its final presale round.

In a few months since the presale started, Wall Street Memes has raised more than $25 million. Wall Street Memes started as a meme platform in 2019, and has garnered a following of more than 1 million people. In 2021, the Wall Street Memes creators launched their own legacy NFT project called Wall St Bulls. The first NFT airdrop managed to sell out 10,000 pieces in just 32 minutes.

With the NFT project’s success, the creators have decided to generate wealth for the community with the launch of the $WSM token. $WSM has a total token supply of 2 billion, 1 billion of which has been allocated for the ongoing presale. Notably, token holders can also stake $WSM on a staking mechanism to earn huge rewards.

At the time of writing, Wall Street Memes is offering a 65% staking APY (Annual Percentage Yield) on staking $WSM. More than 300 million tokens have already been staked on the ecosystem. Another 30% of the token supply will be distributed as community rewards on the ecosystem. Thus, Wall Street Memes is a good way to earn free crypto right now.

After the presale manages to raise a hard cap of more than $30.5 million, $WSM will be listed on tier-one crypto exchanges. 20% of the token supply will be used to maintain CEX and DEX liquidity.

2. Bitcoin BSC – Stake the $BTCBSC Token to Receive a Staking APY of more than 500%, Token Priced at $0.99 on Presale 

The next way to earn free crypto tokens is by joining the Bitcoin BSC presale. Inspired by Bitcoin, the Bitcoin BSC project promotes long-term holding due to its stake-and-earn feature. 

This cryptocurrency, similar to Bitcoin, has a total supply of 21 million tokens. Bitcoin promotes miners to solve mathematical problems by using computational data, which validates new blocks and unlocks tokens. Bitcoin BSC, on the other hand, will offer a staking mechanism to complete the process. 

Token holders need to stake $BTCBSC on the ecosystem. Once new blocks are validated, they will be rewarded with APYs on their staked investments. At the time of writing, the staking APY is set at 505%. This number will reduce as more token holders stake their holdings. So far, more than half a million tokens have been staked on Bitcoin BSC. 

For the ongoing presale, Bitcoin BSC has allocated nearly 29% of the token supply. Interested investors can purchase $BTCBSC for just $0.99 per token. In under a week since the presale started, Bitcoin BSC has raised more than $1 million. By the end of the presale, Bitcoin BSC hopes to generate a market cap of $6,063,750. 

Any unsold tokens will be added to the staking contract, which will unlock the token supply over 120 years. To stay updated with this cryptocurrency, read the Bitcoin BSC whitepaper and joining the Telegram channel. 

3. Yield Farming vs Crypto Staking

Token farming, alternatively referred to as yield farming, emerged in 2020 with the introduction of Compound, the pioneering DeFi lending protocol. Crypto holders have the option to utilize lending platforms like Compound or Aave, or they can directly provide liquidity on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as Uniswap or PancakeSwap. 

With yield farming you are doing the same thing with staking, except with potentially superior rewards, alongside added risk. Yield farming is done through liquidity pools as opposed to taking place on a proof-of-stake (POS) blockchain. The tokens are moved to the liquidity pool with the highest rewards on offer. 

Staking is different. With staking, you are locking in your assets on a specific blockchain (typically proof of stake). When you lock your tokens on a given blockchain, it helps with the stability of that blockchain, and you earn a reward for doing so. These assets are committed to a staking pool or validator node.

4. Complete Surveys and Tasks and Play Games on Freecash.com

Freecash.com is one of the fastest-growing websites to make money online with a variety of surveys, tasks, sign-ups and games for users to get free currency.

The website then allows users to withdraw money instantly into Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Doge, and more than $25 million has been earned on the site since 2020.

It also has a clean, modern and user-friendly design, active direct support and featured offers, as well as allowing signups internationally.

As well as withdrawing into crypto – from as little as $0.50 – winnings can be withdrawn directly into PayPal or into gift cards on a variety of platforms, including Amazon, Steam, Google Play, Netflix, Spotify, PlayStation, XBox and more.

There is also options to directly withdraw into popular games such as Fortnite and League of Legends.

The website also features a daily leaderboard that pays out $500 per day and a monthly one that offers $2,500.

Freecash.com has active communities and mods on Discord, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Reddit in case there are questions or issues.

Freecash.com also has a 4.5-star rating on trusted peer review website TrustPilot.

5. Earn TradFi Income from The Uncharted NFTs

The Uncharted is a collection of 21,000 NFTs that bring TradFi to Web3 and offers one of the best and most reliable ways to earn cryptocurrency. Let’s see how the project works.

The Uncharted is a sister project of Xeta Capital, a prominent wealth management venture. All sales proceeds from The Uncharted are directed to the Xeta Capital Fund (XCF), underpinned by advanced, secure HFT (High-Frequency Trading) algorithms. As the fund compounds and grows, a distinct share of the monthly profit is distributed back to NFT holders via quarterly airdrops. The fund will run for three years. After that, it will be split among NFT holders and The Uncharted LTD.

That doesn’t mean you have to hold onto your NFTs for three years. You can always liquidate your NFTs on a secondary marketplace.

The project is steered by Mark Johnson, a global financial market expert who has over 15 years of experience in the industry. He is known for raising money for many start-ups, while taking some to IPO listing on NASDAQ AND LSE. Andrew Ritchings, founder of Thomas Kelly Holdings Ltd, and Web3 expert Jonny Seymour serve as the First Officer and Chief Intelligence Officer of the project, respectively.

Key highlights of The Uncharted 

• Opens up TradFi for Web3 users: The novel approach of the project allows retail investors to join HFT funds, which have long been accessible only to high-net-worth individuals and institutions. They can earn profit from the funds with a small initial investment. That is, by buying The Uncharted NFTs. The first set of 5000 NFTs from The Uncharted, Chapter One, The Southern Ring Nebula will be available for just $295 in ETH per reservation.
• Vibrant theme and storyline: The unique theme of The Uncharted, centered around space expeditions, is meticulously designed. The gripping storyline eases users into technically complex financial markets.
• High returns: According to the website, 5000 users who reserve their seats in the Constellation Luxury class of the first collection will be eligible for 20% returns per month, paid quarterly via airdrop.

The collection is not without its shortcomings. For example, three-year is a long duration in the rapidly evolving NFT market. Then again, the compelling returns make it worth the wait. It is also too early to say how the project will unfold in the long run. Judging by the team’s expertise and credibility, the collection is likely to take off and make the top NFT sales charts in early 2023.

6. Use Crypto Interest Accounts

Another option if you’re wondering how to earn crypto for free is to use crypto interest accounts. The best crypto interest accounts do precisely what the name implies – they offer a way for you to earn interest on your cryptocurrency holdings. However, the great thing about these accounts is that interest rates are often far higher than traditional bank accounts.

A prime example of this is the interest account offered by AQRU – one of the leading platforms within this growing area of the cryptocurrency market. AQRU allows users to deposit cryptocurrency and begin earning interest immediately, with five different coins supported at present. Notably, AQRU offers up to 12% interest per year on stablecoin deposits and 7% on BTC or ETH deposits.

Another great platform to consider is BlockFi. Like AQRU, BlockFi allows users to earn crypto by making deposits, with over 30 coins supported on the platform. BlockFi also offers compound interest and a speedy application process, making it ideal for users who wish to store their crypto over the longer term.

7. Begin Crypto Staking

As defined by Binance Academy, crypto staking is the process of locking up your coins to help validate new blocks on specific blockchain networks. This relates to the method used on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains rather than Proof-of-Work (Pow) blockchains like Bitcoin. In return for aiding in the validation process, participants who stake their coins will earn free crypto as a reward.

Much like when you earn interest on crypto, the process of crypto staking can offer much higher returns than traditional bank accounts. One of the best crypto staking platforms to consider partnering with is AQRU, which we noted above. Although AQRU doesn’t offer staking services in a validation sense, the platform does offer a way to generate rewards that are similar in size.

These rewards stand at 12% per year for USDC, USDT, and DAI deposits and 7% for BTC and ETH deposits. AQRU charges no fees for making these deposits and no ongoing fees during the interest generation process. There are also no lock-in periods to be aware of with AQRU, allowing you to withdraw at any time.

BlockFi also offers crypto staking opportunities, which follow a similar structure to those provided by AQRU. The platform supports over 30 different coins and offers yields of up to 11% per year. BlockFi also has no hidden fees or minimum balance thresholds, making it ideal for beginners.

8. Leverage Play-2-Earn (P2E) Gaming

Games have always been a great way to earn additional income, such as with eSports, but blockchain adds to this with a number of new ways to offer rewards to players. 

Web3 games are designed from the ground up to reward players for their time and attention –  the core concept is often centered around how players are incentivized to participate. You can sell your tokens or in-game assets to other players and the rewards (NFTs or tokens) are often transferable across blockchains.

It is possible to make an income from NFT development, where you build up your character and sell it on the NFT market. In the Philippines, Axie Infinity players earned so much that the government declared such income was taxable. Axie Infinity is built on the Ethereum blockchain, where monsters battle against each other. 

While Axie Infinity is one of the most well known P2E games, there are many others. Splinterlands (formerly Steem Monsters) exists on the Hive blockchain and offers in-game rewards for players. The Splintercards collection can be sold on certain NFT marketplaces, such as OKX. 

Splinterlands offers a diverse array of in-game engagements that enable players to garner daily rewards. These encompass a variety of gameplay modes such as quests, ranked matches, and tournaments.

Within the game, players have the opportunity to engage across multiple tiers, reaping card packs, rarities, magic potions, and even the highly coveted Dark Energie—an exclusive digital currency used for in-game store transactions.

Other noteworthy P2E games to acquire crypto for free include ChainMonsters and the Sandbox. While some P2E games require an upfront investment (you pay a certain amount to play or to invest in an NFT), the majority of them don’t. 

9. Hold & Wait for Hard Forks

Many people benefited from hard forks in the past. A “hard fork” is where there is a split or schism in a given community. This happened with Ethereum in 2016 after a $60 million hack on a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) led to a blockchain revision (hard fork). The blockchain was essentially re-written so that the funds were returned from the hacker. The end result was two tokens – Ethereum and Ethereum Classic (ETC). Ethereum has had many forks, but only one of them led to a new coin. 

Hard forks occurred for Bitcoin holders when it split into Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Bitcoin Gold (BCG). These were huge schisms in the community that led to major questions at the time, mainly surrounding centralization concerns as well as whether or not they were sticking to the ideals set out in the original whitepaper. Essentially, however, holders of BTC were given free cryptos – they just had to go to a wallet that supported the new coins and claim them. 

If you had 10 Bitcoin (BTC) when the split(s) occurred, you would be rewarded with 10 BCH, 10 BSV, and 10 BTG, at the time of each fork. But you had to manually claim the tokens, as it did not happen automatically. 

The same private keys are required to access all the forked variants. At today’s prices, 10 of each of those tokens (BCH, BSV, BTG) would be worth around $3,000 – for free. The splits did not seem to have a major effect on the original tokens either, in the sense of reducing the value of the original coin. They can have the opposite effect. 

When BCH split from BTC in August 1, 2017, the price of BTC went from $2,700 at the start of the month to $4,500 by the end of the month. The price of the original tokens was not negatively affected – users simply got to claim extra coins. Many traders and institutions seemed to want to get in on the action of the soon-to-be-forked cryptocurrencies and the general hype would seem to promote the ecosystem itself. A similar price increase can be observed in Ethereum hard forks.  

10. Derivative Staking 

Derivative staking (also known as liquid staking) allow for maximum ROI in the context of Web3 – but it also comes with the most risk. It is an innovative approach that allows users to leverage their staked cryptocurrency assets while still earning staking rewards.

Derivative staking is promoted by firms like Ankr, known as “StakeFi”. Typically, when you stake your tokens, the tokens are locked up and cannot be used elsewhere. This can allow for increased rewards, as you can benefit on multiple levels. There are even more complicated variants, including internet bonds based on Ethereum. 

Traditional staking involves locking up cryptocurrency in a specific blockchain network to support its operations and validate transactions. However, this process typically restricts the liquidity of the staked assets, limiting their usability in other financial activities. Liquid staking aims to address this limitation by providing a mechanism to tokenize the staked assets and create derivative tokens that represent the underlying stake.

With liquid staking, users can receive derivative tokens, often called staking derivatives or staked assets tokens (e.g, stETH for Ethereum staking), which can be freely traded on various DeFi platforms. These derivative tokens hold value equivalent to the underlying staked assets and enable users to access additional liquidity without the need to unstake their tokens.

By utilizing liquid staking, users can take advantage of the benefits of staking rewards while simultaneously engaging in other DeFi activities such as lending, borrowing, or trading. This flexibility expands the utility of staked assets and allows users to maximize their potential returns.

However, it’s worth noting that liquid staking also introduces additional risks compared to traditional staking. The value of derivative tokens can be influenced by market forces and may deviate from the actual value of the underlying staked assets. Additionally, users must be cautious when selecting platforms or protocols for liquid staking to ensure the security and reliability of their staked assets.

11. Take Part in an Airdrop

One of the best ways to earn crypto hassle-free is to participate in crypto airdrops. Airdrops refer to the process of distributing crypto for free to people who are interested in a specific project. This process usually occurs when trying to generate even more hype around an upcoming token launch, as giving out free tokens to people tends to cause excitement on social media.

Airdrops can take various forms. They can be executed through manual distribution to existing token holders of a particular cryptocurrency, or they can be conducted through automated processes based on predetermined criteria. For example, a project might distribute tokens to users who hold a specific cryptocurrency or have met certain requirements, such as participating in a whitelist or completing specific tasks.

The objectives of airdrops are manifold. First and foremost, they aim to generate interest and attract attention to a new cryptocurrency project. By distributing tokens for free, projects can entice potential users to explore their technology and become active participants in their ecosystem. Airdrops can also be used to reward loyal users or encourage token adoption by providing an initial stake in the project.

From the perspective of recipients, airdrops can be an opportunity to obtain valuable tokens at no cost. It allows users to diversify their cryptocurrency portfolio without making any financial investment. Furthermore, airdrops can create a sense of community and involvement as individuals become part of a growing network of token holders.

However, it’s important to note that airdrops are not without challenges. The abundance of airdrops can lead to token saturation and diminish the value of distributed tokens. Additionally, scams and fraudulent projects may misuse the concept of airdrops to deceive users and extract their personal information.

12. Complete Educational Courses

Another option to consider if you’re wondering how to earn free crypto is to complete educational courses. This process, dubbed ‘Learn and Earn’, may seem too good to be true, but in actual fact, it is offered by an array of top platforms. Earning free crypto through learning involves participating in educational courses or watching videos, with small ‘rewards’ distributed on completion.

A popular platform that offers this service is Coinbase, which is one of the best crypto exchanges on the market. The ‘Coinbase Earn’ service will reward you for watching educational videos and completing quizzes, with certain quizzes providing larger payouts than others.

The specific coins provided as rewards will vary depending on the task, although Coinbase offers over 20 tokens to be rewarded in. All that’s required is a Coinbase account, and you can begin completing the educational courses right away. However, it’s important to note that the rewards are not very large and usually average just a few dollars worth of crypto per course.

13. Participate in DeFi Lending

Decentralized finance (DeFi) refers to the ecosystem of financial applications built using blockchain technology. Due to this decentralized nature, these applications do not rely on a centralized authority to facilitate transactions.

This offers up scope for a wide variety of new and exciting processes to occur – with DeFi lending being one of the most popular. DeFi lending involves giving your cryptocurrency to a specific protocol, which will then lend it out to other parties. In return for providing you crypto, you will earn interest – with rates often much higher than the traditional banking system.

This means that you can purchase the best cryptocurrency to invest in and then lend it out through a DeFi protocol, thereby benefitting from value increases whilst generating a consistent yield. Yields will vary depending on the asset and the protocol you use, although they can reach over 10% per year in certain situations.

The great thing about DeFi lending is that most lending agreements are collateralized. This means that borrowers must post collateral in the form of cryptocurrency – with this collateral being valued higher than the loan itself. Since the whole process is facilitated through smart contracts, there is no way to cheat the system and no need to provide a credit check.

14. Earn Crypto Credit Card Rewards

If you’re wondering how to earn crypto during your day to day activities, then using a crypto credit card could be the way forward. The best crypto credit cards follow a similar structure to regular credit cards because they offer cashback rewards for making purchases. However, the critical difference is that crypto credit cards reward users in digital currencies rather than FIAT.

Due to the rapid rate of crypto adoption, there is now an abundance of providers that offer crypto credit or debit cards. Many of the best altcoin exchanges, such as eToro and Crypto.com, offer dedicated card services that allow you to use your crypto holdings to pay for goods and services.

The great thing is that the end merchant doesn’t have to accept crypto for you to use these cards, as the provider handles the exchange process. This means that you can pay in crypto, yet the merchant receives the proceeds in FIAT – making it a ‘win-win’ for all parties.

Cashback rewards will vary from provider to provider, although they tend to be distributed in the platform’s native token – for example, the Crypto.com credit card provides rewards in CRO. However, once cashback is earned, it can easily be withdrawn or used for trading, giving scope to boost your income even further.

15. Use Crypto Faucets

Another excellent way to earn free crypto is to use crypto faucets. Put simply, crypto faucets are a way to generate small sums of crypto regularly for completing quick and easy tasks. These tasks do not require a high skill set and tend to be monotonous; however, if performed over the longer term, they offer a way to create a notable income stream.

Examples of crypto faucets tasks may include viewing digital ads, watching videos, completing CAPTCHAs, participating in quizzes, and more. The amount of crypto you will earn is dependent on the provider and the specific task, although amounts tend to be extremely small.

Another factor to keep in mind is that many providers require you to hit a certain account balance before being able to make a withdrawal. There may also be a times limit set on collecting the rewards, making crypto faucets a challenging method to utilize over the longer term. Finally, the crypto faucet sector also has a reputation for having some shady dealings – so it’s wise to conduct extensive research to ensure you’re not being scammed.

How to Earn Crypto For Free

With the number of ways to earn crypto for free and it makes sense to take advantage. Especially as many of the mechanisms to earn free crypto are very easy to do. 

In the case of crypto staking, one of the most popular ways, it’s often as simple as clicking a button on your crypto wallet dashboard (eToro, Binance, Crypto.com, etc). You don’t necessarily need to understand all of the core mechanics of staking. But you will certainly want to read up on the rate of return and understand that this rate of return is predicted, and not guaranteed. Tokens may also be staked or locked up for a given time period, so you may not have access to them once staked. 

Airdrops are another way to easily earn free crypto. With an airdrop, you don’t even have to click a button to receive free crypto, in many instances. On Binance, existing holders of certain tokens can automatically receive funds for holding certain tokens. These are known as holder airdrops. With bounty airdrops and exclusive airdrops, you will need to take action to receive the free token, though these rewards are often a little better. A hard fork could also be described as an airdrop – due to a split in the blockchain, you will get free crypto, but you need to claim it on a compatible wallet. More on this below. 

Cashback is a popular and direct means of earning free crypto. You simply use your card for purchases and are rewarded in the form of crypto. With Crypto.com, the reward rates range between 1% – 5% (paid in CRO) depending on how much you have in your account. Crypto.com also offers additional perks for purchases on sites like Airbnb, Expedia, Netflix, Amazon, etc. Binance offers cashback between 0.1% – 8%, depending on how much BNB you have stored. 

All of these crypto cashback strategies will be explored in more detail further down the page, alongside some of the other, more creative ways to acquire crypto tokens – metaverse tournaments, yield farming, derivative staking, and more. There is no shortage of options for a crypto enthusiast looking to take advantage of free crypto.

Why Earn Crypto Rewards Vs Cash Rewards?

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in cryptocurrencies. The new asset class has multiple use cases (particularly in relation to decentralized finance) and also allows for direct asset ownership.

With crypto, for example, you have the option of non-custodial as well as custodial ownership. With non-custodial ownership, you can keep your asset in your own wallet – no other third party has access. 

Two key reasons for choosing crypto rewards over cash rewards are the potential for increased profit and the fact that owners retain ownership over their private keys and thus their crypto assets. 

Improved Earning Potential vs Fiat Currency

Cryptocurrencies are known for an impressive rate of return, even if these returns are not guaranteed and come with increased risk. When you get crypto rewards, it can potentially experience high levels of appreciation in its market value. This can be contrasted with receiving free rewards in cash/fiat, which do not really appreciate in value. 

Fiat currencies typically depreciate with quantitative easing policies – meaning that fiat rewards will get devalued as money is printed. In contrast, cryptocurrencies are often built within a deflationary ecosystem, potentially rising in value as time goes by. This is a significant advantage. 

If you earned free crypto in Bitcoin (BTC) in 2020, the price would have been $6,000 for a token. By 2021, the price would reach a high of $69,000. That’s a significant level of appreciation (nearly 12,000%) that is often not seen in such a short period of time. 

While these returns definitely come with increased risk, it still points towards more upside potential. This means that if you get cashback or any form of reward paid in cryptocurrency, it can increase the rewards significantly as compared to cash rewards. 

Security & Direct Asset Ownership

When you accept cryptocurrency, you are assuming ownership of an asset that is yours alone. This fact sets it apart from the other forms of rewards and incentives found in the world of Web2, dominated by fiat currency. Transactions are not meant to be tracked and monitored with cryptocurrencies, and pseudo-anonymity was an in-built feature for a specific purpose.

You are given a set of private keys when you set up a wallet identifier, but it is up to you to ensure that you don’t lose these keys. So while it’s great having direct ownership, it comes with a lot of responsibility. If you lose your keys, you lose your crypto funds. 

Because there is typically no tracking, monitoring or KYC checks, however, you are free to transfer your crypto to any location you wish – this includes DeFi applications to compound your returns, to a yield farming initiative, or to a friend in a third world country who needs the support. The foundation is that you have control over your funds and where they go.  

It is your crypto and you can make the most out of it. This point might become even more apparent as government privacy intrusions increase in scope and regulatory crypto crackdowns continue, particularly against privacy coins. 

Risks of Crypto Rewards

Cryptocurrency rewards have a number of significant advantages. But the very things that make it attractive to investors are also the things that make it unsafe. For example, the high volatility and lack of regulation might result in greater returns (in some instances), but it also results in an increased risk of market manipulation, hacks, and scams.  

Lack of Regulation

Regulation has long been one of the most pressing concerns when it comes to crypto investment. Even today, the Ripple vs SEC court case continues, trying to establish whether or not an ICO constitutes a securities token offering. Moreover, the SEC is moving forward with its lawsuit against both Binance and Coinbase, two of the world’s largest exchanges by trade volume. 

This means, firstly, that there is a lack of clarity on the safety of your tokens. An exchange could go bust and you might lose all of your crypto assets. Second, the lack of regulation entices fraudsters to enter the field and invent various ploys to get people to send their assets to their addresses with fake promises. 

Third is that the unregulated crypto market can more easily be controlled by market manipulators. A lot of trade takes place on the much less regulated decentralized exchanges, which are even harder to assess than centralized exchanges. 

Regulatory authorities can also simply ban a specific coin (privacy coins have been banned in countries like Japan and South Korea), potentially causing the price to plummet. This ultimately means that your crypto tokens might depreciate in price or might not be tradable due to a lack of liquidity. 

Volatility

The crypto markets are known for their volatility. This has important implications because investors often sell their tokens or financial instruments when times are difficult and buy when times are easy – in other words, they buy high and sell low, which is not an optimal maneuver when trying to save or invest.   

If you’re considering taking savings or rewards in crypto as opposed to cash, then you need to be aware of the dangers of volatility. You might save up for a particular goal (house, car, wedding, holiday, computer, etc) in BTC or ETH but these assets can fall sharply in value. And these coins are actually the most stable of the crypto assets, due to their trade volume. 

Lesser known tokens are more volatile, primarily due to this lower overall trade. A lower market capitalization makes it easier for large institutions (whales) to place huge orders which affects the price. 

The same volatility holds true for staking. While you can get a higher rate of return, it’s not actually guaranteed. In TradFi, the rate of return for lending was fixed and known in advance, with far less variance. There is no central bank that offers quarterly rate hikes or decreases. 

On the other hand, it’s worth remembering that cryptocurrency is attractive in part due to its volatility. This volatility might indeed be a feature of the asset class as opposed to a bug, though it still needs to be accounted for from an investment perspective.  

Hacked Accounts & Lost Keys

Possibly one of the biggest risks of crypto is that there is no recourse for lost or stolen funds. If you misplaced your wallet keys, your funds are gone. If you send your crypto to a scam artist, your funds are gone (with some exceptions, such as when official authorities get involved or when the entire blockchain gets revised, as in the case of Ethereum). 

There are no official statistics on how many people have lost their private keys, but plenty of anecdotal evidence. One individual is reported to have thrown out his hard drive, with 7,500 BTC ($225,000,000) stored on it. Had he stored his private keys securely, he could simply have recovered the funds. The keys, presumably, must have been stored as a text file on the same computer, otherwise, retrieval would have been easy. 

Even centralized exchanges are not safe, though the situation is much better than it was. In late 2022, hackers stole $477 million from the FTX collapsed exchange. And with the previously referenced Atomic Wallet compromise, even hardware wallets appear to be at risk.   

Despite the risks, however, there are many ways you can safeguard your cryptocurrency. Making two secure copies of your private key is a good way to stay safe, and the vast majority of hacks take place when people are either phished from their funds or when they forget their keys. 

How To Make The Most Of Your Crypto Rewards 

Once you have decided on the best ways to earn free crypto, you might need to think about how best to leverage your capital and make the most out of it. A good option is to look at staking and yield farming so you can judge how much it is possible to make over a given time period. 

Binance can be useful for those looking to consolidate all of their holdings on a platform that offers many features – an NFT marketplace, staking, new tokens, launchpads, trading, option contracts, loans, cashback, etc. The idea is to leverage as many of the above ideas as possible – airdrops, staking, play to earn, cashback, etc so they all stream into a unified source of returns. 

Staying in touch with key social media sites on Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, and Discord can further assist in making the most of crypto rewards. The PaidFromSurveys Youtube channel, for example, focuses on the best ways to earn free crypto, including the latest offers, and goes far beyond surveys. There are certain Reddit threads designed specifically to outline the best ways to earn free crypto, which are in-depth and comprehensive.

Exchanges and applications are frequently shifting their promotions and offerings, new projects are continually coming online, and there is an incredibly rapid rate of change within Web3 that can render useful strategies ineffective in a very short space of time. So it’s good to find resources that compile all of this information from you in an easily digestible format. 

Are Crypto Earnings Taxed?

Like most items, crypto earnings are taxable. Sadly, the official status of crypto taxation is not clear. To take the US as an example, crypto earnings are taxed whenever you use the crypto to make a purchase (including a cup of coffee) or wherever you sell on an exchange. This is known as capital gains tax, and it is standard and to be expected. 

Where it can get extremely complicated is that you also pay crypto capital gains tax when you trade from crypto to fiat, or when you swap one asset for another, including NFT purchases. This poses many problems for traders and investors who have been in the space since 2013 or before, with a long list of assets traded many times on many different exchanges and brokers. It makes tax accounting extremely difficult, especially because there was no real official taxation policy in the early days of cryptocurrency. 

You could have 10,000 BTC in your wallet and owe no tax on it – because you have not realized any gains. But the minute you purchase a pizza, that is a taxable event. Plus, there is no real clarity on what happens when you earn interest from staking. The staking rewards received from depositing into a liquidity pool are probably construed as a taxable event (as a form of income, not CGT). Airdrops are also likely viewed as a form of income, along with crypto mining. 

Capital gains tax is determined by how long you hold the asset alongside factors such as income and marital status, so how much you are to pay is very much based on your individual situation. None of this is legal advice and it would be best to consult a legal professional to gain clarity on this issue –  especially for cryptocurrencies, where there is much ambiguity. 

Tax Free Crypto Transactions

While the status regarding cryptocurrency taxation is confusing, the good news is that some transactions are certainly tax exempt. Gifting crypto to family and friends is tax exempt under a certain amount (gifts above this amount would be subject to a gift tax). 

So if you send some BTC to a friend a long time ago, you’re not liable for any taxes, provided it was under a certain amount ($16,000 per recipient). The recipient is subject to the same laws – there is no tax for receiving the crypto, but tax will apply if they sell it. 

Transactions sent from one wallet to another are also non taxable. So if you purchased crypto on a centralized exchange and sent it to a different address (such as on a hardware wallet), there is no tax liability. You can send it to as many personal wallets as you want. But the minute you swap it for a different crypto or an NFT, it constitutes a taxable event. 

Aside from tax free transactions, you will still have the option to offset your capital losses. If you made a loss of $4,000, you can offset your liability by $3,000, and keep the $1,000 to offset losses in the next year. You can only deduct $3,000 in a given year. 

The wash sale rule does not currently apply to crypto, though regulations could change this in the future. This means that you can sell crypto at a loss, use the loss to reduce your overall tax burden, and then repurchase it later. 

How to Earn Free Crypto – Conclusion

In summary, this article has taken a detailed look at how to earn free crypto, discussing some of the most popular mechanisms you can use to obtain rewards today.

As the rate of crypto adoption increases, so too does the value of holding digital currencies – so making use of these mechanisms can be beneficial over the longer term.

Crypto staking, lending, airdrops, and yield farming remain the most popular ways to earn free crypto, while sites like FreeCash.com also provide alternative methods. Overall, Wall Street Memes is probably one of the most direct ways to earn free crypto.

Users can stake their $WSM tokens and receive an APY of more than 60%. This token is priced at $0.0337 on presale.

References

• https://coincodex.com/ico/binance-coin/
• https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/dogecoin
• https://freewallet.org/
• https://wise.com/us/blog/what-is-swift
• https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/06/05/atomic-wallet-hack-over-35m-lost/
• https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-fbi-violated-privacy-rights-tens-thousands-americans
• https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/03/30/coindesk-editorial-it-sure-looks-like-the-us-is-trying-to-kill-crypto/
• https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/05/09/coindesk-turns-10-how-the-dao-hack-changed-ethereum-and-crypto/
• https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/19/craig_wright_bitcoin_sv_high_court_sueball/
• https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/people-in-philippines-earn-cryptocurrency-playing-nft-video-game-axie-infinity.html
• https://splinterlands.com/
• https://www.ankr.com/docs/staking-overview/
• https://assets.ankr.com/files/stakefi_litepaper.pdf
• https://www.npr.org/2023/06/10/1181242780/sec-gary-gensler-binance-coinbase-crypto-lawsuits-battle
• https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/privacy-coins?op=1
• https://www.statista.com/chart/27577/cryptocurrency-volatility-dmo/
• https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/15/uk/bitcoin-trash-landfill-gbr-scli-intl/index.html
• https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/21/ftx-theft-hackers-start-to-launder-477-million-of-stolen-crypto.html
• https://www.stakingrewards.com/earn/polkadot/
• https://thegraph.com/blog/defi-decentralized-snowball/
• https://www.britannica.com/money/quantitative-easing
• https://www.coindesk.com/learn/us-crypto-tax-guide-2022/
• https://money.usnews.com/investing/term/capital-gains-tax
• https://www.ibtimes.com/sec-vs-ripple-lawsuit-ruling-could-come-out-next-month-based-judges-stats-lawyer-3703093
• https://www.youtube.com/@EarnWithMike
• https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-06-02/how-should-we-value-crypto-by-how-volatile-crypto-assets-are
• https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/llyq6e/a_collection_of_all_the_possible_ways_to_earn/
• https://coinmarketupdate.net/trustwallet%F0%9F%92%8E-take-your-million-%F0%9F%94%A5-airdrop%F0%9F%8E%81-500-twt/
• https://www.etoro.com/crypto/staking/ethereum/
• https://builtin.com/blockchain/fiat-crypto
• https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/crypto-vs-stocks-a-comparison
• https://www.coindesk.com/learn/crypto-capital-gains-and-tax-rates-2022/
• https://www.rocketlawyer.com/family-and-personal/personal-finance/personal-taxes/legal-guide/the-tax-consequences-of-gifting-cryptocurrency
• https://www.news24.com/news24/tech-and-trends/news/phishing-for-whales-new-scam-targeting-big-crypto-owners-detected-20230711
• https://www.the-sun.com/tech/4494680/decentraland-how-to-make-money-crypto/
• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/is-crypto-s-volatility-an-issue-or-an-asset-depends-who-you-ask?leadSource=uverify%20wall
• https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/virtual-real-estate-plot-sells-record-24-million-2021-11-23/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/technology/bitcoin-passwords-wallets-fortunes.html
• https://www.binance.us/staking
• https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2022/05/09/crypto-interest-surges-among-big-investors/
• https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/
• https://tokentax.co/blog/wash-sale-trading-in-crypto
• https://www.binance.com/en/feed/post/772196
• https://crypto.com/eea/cards
• https://www.binance.com/en/support/faq/how-does-binance-card-cashback-work-c93fe535bcf4431aa32623ae0a49d4f2
• https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/crypto-airdrop/
• https://coincodex.com/crypto/bitcoin/historical-data/
• https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/08/05/ethereum-hard-fork-sends-price-jumping-as-fees-start-to-burn/
• https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/custodial-vs-non-custodial-wallets-what-s-the-difference
• https://airdropking.io/en/

FAQs