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Top 7 ways to earn free crypto

Learn how to earn free cryptocurrency with these seven methods, including faucets, bug bounties and more.

Due to the popularity of cryptocurrency, numerous individuals are searching for means to acquire free crypto. Here are seven methods one can use to earn cryptocurrency without having to invest your own money, including crypto faucets, airdrops, staking, bug bounties and more. 

There are several common risks to be aware of when earning free crypto, including security risks, scams and fraud, limited earning potential, time-consuming activities, and potential legal or tax implications. It’s important to do your research and approach these methods with caution.

Faucets

Crypto faucets are websites or applications that provide users with small sums of cryptocurrency in exchange for doing things like completing CAPTCHA puzzles or watching advertisements. One example is Moon Litecoin, which offers free Litecoin (LTC) to users who complete tasks, such as streaming videos. The rewards from Moon Litecoin are deposited into users’ micro wallet on Coinpot.co.

Unfortunately, there are many scam crypto faucets that promise high rewards but never actually pay out. Some may require you to pay a fee or complete a certain number of tasks before you can withdraw your earnings, while others may simply disappear without warning. Therefore, it is important to approach crypto faucets with caution and do your research before using them.

Airdrops

Airdrops are free distributions of cryptocurrency tokens or coins. Businesses and projects give away a set number of tokens to people who register for their platform, carry out particular actions or satisfy certain requirements. 

Staking

Staking involves holding a certain number of cryptocurrency tokens in a wallet or exchange to help secure the network and earn rewards. One can stake cryptocurrencies such as Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT) and Ether (ETH) to earn staking rewards.

However, staking involves locking up one's funds for a set period of time, during which they may not be able to access or trade them. Therefore, make sure you understand the risks and potential rewards before you start staking.

Related: DeFi staking: A beginner’s guide to proof-of-stake (PoS) coins

Referral programs

For consumers who suggest friends and family join their platform, many cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets provide referral programs that pay rewards. Free cryptocurrency or a part of the user’s trading commissions might be given as rewards.

Completing surveys

Some websites and apps offer users the opportunity to earn cryptocurrency rewards by completing surveys or participating in market research. Websites like Swagbucks offer crypto rewards for completing tasks, such as watching videos, answering surveys and playing games. However, one must exercise caution while engaging in any activity on such websites.

Related: 7 ways women can earn passive income through cryptocurrency

Bug bounties

Cryptocurrency projects and exchanges often offer bug bounties to incentivize developers and security researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities in their software. These bounties can be in the form of cryptocurrency rewards and can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the severity of the bug. 

Trading competitions

Depending on their trading volume or performance, customers can compete against one another to win prizes on several exchanges that provide trading competitions. Even though there can be fierce competition, there can also be significant benefits, with some exchanges providing thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency prizes.

100 Largest Non-Exchange Ethereum Whales Now Hold All-Time High of $241,635,000,000 in ETH: Santiment

‘Free coin to everyone’ project aims to make 1B crypto owners in 2 years

Backed by a16z and co-founded by Sam Altman, Worldcoin will give free crypto in exchange for an eye scan.

Funded by crypto heavyweights, new crypto unicorn Worldcoin revealed its plan to let everyone claim free coins to accelerate global crypto adoption.

Providing the world population with free cryptocurrency sounds like a moonshot project, but $25 million in backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, confirmation1, Blockchange and Day One Ventures, and a valuation of $1 billion adds some weight to the Worldcoin project.

Co-founded by Alex Blania, Sam Altman and Max Novendstern, Worldcoin saw the participation of more than 100,000 people from around the world during its test period and aims to reach over a billion people within two years. For comparison, there are over 300 million crypto users worldwide as of 2021.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Worldcoin co-founder and CEO Alex Blania said that the co-founders met in 2019 and started working on the project in early 2020. “Sam thought we could really change the world for the better if we could launch a new, collectively owned, globally distributed cryptocurrency,” he said.

Worldcoin is a cryptocurrency implemented as a Layer 2 on top of the Ethereum blockchain where anybody can create accounts, submit transactions, and participate in the validation process. Its mainnet launch is expected next year.

The inclusive nature of its ecosystem, distribution of free coins and the incentives for new sign-ups are three levers to drive the adoption of crypto, Blania explained. Signing up for Worldcoin does not require any previous financial resources.

Worldcoin validates whether the person is real and has claimed their free share by scanning their irises with custom hardware named Orb. Independent entrepreneurs around the globe will operate these devices as “Orb Operators.” Blania explained that those operators are rewarded for every user they sign up for Worldcoin, for example:

“An Orb Operator in Indonesia partnered with one of the biggest food delivery companies in the country to sign up every driver, rented a whole storefront in a shopping mall to leverage high foot traffic, and was even invited by the chief of a nearby village to introduce the whole village to Worldcoin. His experience with this village was so successful that it resulted in eight other villages asking him to do the same.”

The mention of an eye scan immediately brings up Big Brother-esque concerns about user privacy. According to the announcement, the Orb will convert the scan of a person’s eye into a numeric code so the original image “does not need to be stored or uploaded.”

Related: MDT introduces blockchain oracle to accelerate DeFi adoption

The underlying system won’t link this numeric code to users’ wallets or transactions to preserve privacy. Users can also participate in the Worldcoin network without providing an eye scan, but they will not be able to claim free coins.

The team is developing a non-custodial mobile wallet app to ease the onboarding process. It would enable transactions between users and act as a navigator for finding nearby Orb operators. They aim for a fast scale-up with the distribution of 50,000 Orbs per year, possibly with the upcoming funding rounds over the coming months.

100 Largest Non-Exchange Ethereum Whales Now Hold All-Time High of $241,635,000,000 in ETH: Santiment