Top 10 Ways to Earn Free Bitcoin in 2022

Here are the best ways to earn free Bitcoin when your purse is light.
—

Are you interested in Bitcoin, but still hesitant to risk putting money towards it? Alternatively, are you looking to sat every sat possible, but lack the dry powder to buy more?

Here’s a secret: you can put more bitcoin in your pocket without spending a dime – or even doing any real work. 

That’s not to say you’ll earn much bitcoin without either of those things. After all, if Bitcoin wasn’t hard to find or create, it wouldn’t be scarce. If it wasn’t scarce, it wouldn’t be valuable. 

Nevertheless, there are plenty of free ways to gather some free Bitcoin with very little sacrifice. From sign-up bonuses to cash-back rewards, to outright giveaways, the apps and methods listed below can really heighten your stack!

How Do I Get Free Bitcoin?

The first 5 methods listed are specific, downloadable apps featuring novel ways to earn small amounts of Bitcoin. The latter 5 are more generic methods that can apply to a broader swath of services or situations.

[embedded content]

The Bitcoin Company Tutorial. Source: BTC Sessions

The Bitcoin Company App offers users Bitcoin cash back rewards when they shop online. That means extra satoshis for every Visa and gift card purchase from over 300 brands including AirBNB, Twitch, and Uber.

App users can pay with credit, debit, or Bitcoin, while stacking up to 25% in Bitcoin cash-back.

The app also 1000 sats for every friend you refer to use the app. 

Bitcoin earned through the app can be withdrawn to a user’s self-hosted Bitcoin or lightning wallet at any time. Alternatively, users can withdraw to commonly used banking apps that support Bitcoin, like Venmo and PayPal. 

This one’s neat: with the Fold app, all you have to do is spin the daily spin wheel to earn free Bitcoin!

Playable once per day, the wheel could reward you with satoshis, exclusive deals, or other surprise rewards. Rewards can range from a mere 5 sats to a whopping 1 million – worth roughly $200 USD at current prices.

Fold also features the Fold card, bitcoin rewards Visa debit card. Through simple, everyday spending, users can consistently earn 1% back on every purchase in Bitcoin. 

Alternatively, they can also opt to spin the Purchase Wheel for a chance to win back 100% of their purchase.

Like the Bitcoin Company App, Fold is lightning compatible and lets users earn up to 20% back on various gift card purchases. 

Out for your daily walk? The sMiles app lets you earn satoshis with every step you take. The app integrates with Apple Watch and Healthkit to accurately track users’ steps. 

Using the lightning network, sMiles gives users free Bitcoin for walking, shopping, and playing games. Bitcoin may also be earned by spinning a wheel twice per day or taking surveys. 

Earned Bitcoin can be withdrawn to a personal lightning wallet, or spent at the sMiles store for up to 30% cashback.

Not feeling very active? No problem – Earn Carrot gives people free Bitcoin just for reading articles about Bitcoin. 

Brands promoting content on Earn Carrot can directly compensate their audience’ with a direct Bitcoin payout. That includes rewards for completing surveys, social media campaigns or viewing live streams. 

Using Earn Carrot requires users to have a lightning-compatible Bitcoin wallet. 

Oshi (sounds like “Satoshi”) is an app for uniting local communities, including merchants and consumers, around Bitcoin.

Its platform is designed to replace traditional rewards points like stars, punch cards, and coffee points with satoshis. It also lets businesses accept Bitcoin for payment, with an option to instantly convert it into the local currency. 

Yes, Oshi offers free Bitcoin too: between business-specific promotions and sats back on purchases, there are plenty of ways to earn. Moreover, by referring others to use the app, users can win back 1% of their future purchases in Bitcoin. 

• Referral Codes

There are plenty of Bitcoin-centered apps that will offer first-timers free Bitcoin – especially with the right referral code. 

For instance, Strike – a custodial Bitcoin lightning wallet – offers $10 upon sign-up to both new users, and those who gave them their referral code. That $10 can then be converted to Bitcoin instantly within the app.

A list of referral codes for Strike can be found here. For other referral codes at other Bitcoin businesses, try checking out the YouTube channels of your favorite Bitcoin influencers. They often leave codes in their video descriptions or promote them during the video. 

• Interest Accounts

Some companies offer Bitcoiners the chance to passively earn a yield on their Bitcoin by depositing it into an interest-bearing account. 

Interest rates at Bitcoin companies are typically much higher than rates earned with typical savings accounts. BlockFi, for instance, offers up to 3.5% Bitcoin-denominated APY, and has some double-digit offers for other cryptos. 

But beware: depositing Bitcoin with such a service comes with significant counterparty risk. To generate yield, service like BlockFi either lend out your coins to other yield providers (aka “rehypothecation”) or trade the coins to try and generate a profit. 

However poor trading decisions on the lending firm’s part can lead to loss, and even insolvency. That means you may only receive a portion of your coins back – or none at all. 

Back in June, a slew of lending services including Celsius and Voyager went bankrupt after making overly risky leverage trades with user funds.

In short, interest accounts present significant risk compared to other “free bitcoin” methods on this list. However, if you have the risk appetite, it is also likely to earn users the highest, most consistent yield.

• Learn and Earn

[embedded content]

Coinbase Earn Intro. Source: Coinbase

Some of the biggest brands in crypto are now offering a two-in-one for crypto newbies: Learn and earn courses. 

Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., offers up to $50 in Bitcoin to whoever takes its free crypto course. After watching some videos, you’ll earn some Bitcoin for every video you watch. 

Binance offers similar rewards to those taking its lessons, as does the popular price tracker CoinMarketCap.

To be clear, Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism. That means it cannot be staked to secure the network and earn rewards.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of other cryptocurrencies that do use proof of stake. 

Ethereum, for example, transitions to proof of stake next month. Starting then, users can become a validator by staking a minimum of 32 ETH, and earn more ETH. 

In fact, the Amber Group estimates that validators could expect to earn 8-12% APR on their holdings, post merge. 

Don’t like Ethereum? No problem – simply trade back into Bitcoin once you’re done staking. Crypto has one of the most liquid markets in existence. 

Also, if you don’t have 32 ETH, you can stake with a centralized staking service like Lido or Coinbase. Staking with centralized providers may have risks, but is easier for newcomers, and lacks a financial or technical barrier to entry. 

•  Cloud Mining

Remember what I just said about proof of work? Turns out there’s a unique, modern way to profit from it – even if you’re not an industrial miner. 

Large mining companies like Core Scientific and Blockstream now offer cloud mining. They let you rent out servers and mining rigs that they own on site, and profit from it. No loud mining machines or maintenance efforts are required on your part. 

CoreScientific’s cloud mining services were responsible for 44% of its rate in July, according to the company’s numbers. More colocation agreements were signed that month that are expected to generate the firm $50 million. 

Source