In 2011, the Bitcoin price first crossed the $1 mark, and in 2025 it reached an all-time high of ~$126,198. Over these years, the crypto market capitalisation has surpassed the value of many of the world’s largest public companies, and at its peak exceeded $4 trillion.
All this shows that earning cryptocurrency from scratch is possible, and we will explain 10 ways to do it.
Is it really possible to earn with cryptocurrency?
To understand whether it is possible to earn money with cryptocurrency, it is enough to look at the numbers, for example, the history of Bitcoin price growth:
- in 2011, BTC went from roughly $0.01 to $5 — its price increased by 500 times;
- in 2013, in less than two years, it rose in price to $1,000 — by another roughly 200 times;
- in 2017, after a long crisis, the BTC price reached approximately $17,700;
- in 2021, its price rose from the $5,000-11,000 range to a peak of around $69,000;
- in 2024, Bitcoin set a new all-time high and rose above $107,000;
- in 2025, Bitcoin once again updated its record and reached around $126,198.
Despite dramatic declines, the bitcoin price not only shows resilience but also reaches higher levels with each major market cycle. The same applies to other cryptocurrencies, for example Ethereum — from levels of around $1.2 to more than $4,600, or Ripple — from fractions of a cent to several dollars at the peaks of previous cycles.
The numbers show that earning cryptocurrency from scratch is possible. Moreover, this does not always require overly complicated actions — you can simply HODL cryptocurrency. But there are also other ways to earn that can bring higher profits. We will look at almost all popular options, differing in complexity and risk level, and you can decide for yourself which one suits you best.
How much do people earn with crypto?
The first question that interests beginners is: how much do people earn with cryptocurrency? The answer is ambiguous: you can both make money quickly by investing in crypto assets and lose it just as easily. The result largely depends on skills, risk management and the ability to analyse the situation in the crypto market.
Therefore, before you start investing in crypto, you need to learn several simple rules:
- do not invest more money than you are prepared to lose;
- under no circumstances invest borrowed funds;
- diversify your investment portfolio — do not put all your money into just one cryptocurrency.
These rules will not protect you from losses in the event of a crypto market correction, but they will help minimise possible losses.
Some methods carry minimal financial risks or do not require monetary investment — we will also mention such options. You can earn $100 or $10,000 — this depends on different factors: the chosen method, the crypto asset, experience, amount invested, market phase and timing of entry.
How to earn cryptocurrency from scratch: 10 best ways
Let’s look at 10 ways to earn cryptocurrency that require active actions from users. Some of the listed methods will require investments — in equipment, cryptocurrencies, staking or launching your own project.
1. How to earn on exchanges: arbitrage and trading
Such earning methods as arbitrage and trading have moved from traditional finance into the crypto industry:
- Arbitrage is the extraction of profit from the difference in prices for the same assets on different cryptocurrency platforms;
- Trading is making a profit from medium-term or short-term changes in the price of an asset. Given the high volatility of cryptocurrencies, this earning method has become especially popular among traders ready to take increased risks.
Both methods are practised on crypto exchanges or services that support fast asset exchange and extensive market statistics, such as the Trustee Plus platform.
2. Investing in cryptocurrency
Investing is the simplest way to earn with cryptocurrencies. All that is required is to buy cryptocurrency and store it. For this, it is best to use a crypto wallet — one of the most convenient ways to store digital assets. Crypto wallets such as Trustee Plus and Trustee Wallet allow you to buy cryptocurrency directly in the wallet.
How much can you earn?
It depends on how cryptocurrencies grow and how patient the investor is. Let’s calculate how much you could have earned if you had invested in Bitcoin at the beginning of the previous major growth cycle. Suppose that on 1 January 2023 you bought 1 BTC for $16,500, excluding fees. In 2025, the Bitcoin price reached approximately $126,198, and you decided to sell the asset. Your profit would have been:
1 BTC * $126,198 - $16,500 = $109,698, excluding transaction fees.
Over this period, the profit would have been around +665%. At the same time, to achieve this result, you would have needed to take only two actions: buy and sell the asset.
Pros and cons of investing
| Pros | Cons |
|
The simplest way to earn with cryptocurrencies |
Passivity |
|
High potential returns |
Requires patience and the ability to manage emotions |
|
Does not require deep knowledge or skills, but understanding fundamental analysis and risk management will be an advantage |
High risks — periods of growth in the cryptocurrency market are followed by periods of correction. In some cases, the decline can reach -70% or more |
|
The ability to independently control assets when storing them in a non-custodial wallet |
Irresponsible storage of wallet keys or a seed phrase can lead to loss of access to funds |
3. Earning without investment: faucets, airdrops and bounties
You do not have to invest your own funds in cryptocurrencies: you can take part in giveaways and receive coins or tokens for free by performing simple actions — subscriptions, likes, reposts, content creation or product testing. A reward can be received for each completed action.
Sometimes airdrop creators launch referral contests, where winning can bring a substantial number of tokens. Projects may also launch puzzles and quests — for example, in 2023, Yuga Labs ran a series of weekly tasks with a BTC prize pool.
How much can you earn?
The conditions and requirements for bounty participants are usually higher, but you can earn more than with simple airdrops. The risk of airdrops and bounties is that you may spend time and earn nothing if the project whose tokens are being distributed does not develop, and the tokens themselves never appear on any exchange. Therefore, returns range from zero to tens of thousands of dollars from a single giveaway.
For example, the Uniswap project distributed 400 UNI to each user who made at least one confirmed transaction on the platform. At the time of the distribution, these tokens were worth around $1,300. If you had received them and sold them a year after the drop, you could have earned around $11,000 for a simple swap. Of course, there are more unsuccessful project launches, not to mention the high level of activity from fraudulent projects. Nevertheless, with proper fundamental analysis of a project, it is possible to find genuinely valuable assets such as UNI or 1INCH.
Another option for those who are just getting acquainted with cryptocurrency is cryptocurrency faucets. Their essence is that you receive a small amount after a certain period, but there is a chance that a larger amount may “drip” over time. This is the most direct answer to the question of how to earn cryptocurrency from scratch.
We will not examine this method in detail, as it is difficult to earn impressive sums with it. But for beginners who want to receive their first cryptocurrency quickly, easily and without investment, it may be suitable as a first experiment.
Pros and cons of cryptocurrency giveaways
| Pros | Cons |
|
Does not require financial investment |
There is a risk of wasting time if the tokens are not listed on exchanges |
|
The opportunity to earn from what you already do on social media |
There is a possibility that the project will not pay tokens to participants |
|
No direct risk of losing money |
Most tokens trade below the price stated during the giveaway, which reduces income |
|
Requires active actions, but there is an opportunity to move to a partly passive format if you run your own blog or social media channel |
It is difficult to find a valuable long-term project without specialised knowledge |
|
Can be combined with a personal brand, content and referral mechanics |
Small earnings from faucets |
4. Staking
The first way to mine cryptocurrencies was mining — the process of confirming new network blocks, as a result of which miners receive rewards. But every year this process requires more computing power and electricity.
It has been replaced by staking — the process of supporting blockchain operation for a reward, without requiring expensive equipment, electricity costs or lengthy setup. To earn, it is enough to buy cryptocurrency and delegate or lock it on your own wallet address for a certain period. Most crypto wallets support this feature; for example, in Trustee Wallet you can stake Tron (TRX).
How much can you earn?
Staking answers well the question of how a beginner can earn with crypto, since its yield can vary from roughly 1% to 20% per year depending on the network, validator, fee, staking demand and market situation. Almost all PoS blockchains work according to the same principle: the more crypto assets are staked, the greater the potential reward. And if the price of the crypto asset rises, staking income becomes more noticeable. Also take compound interest into account.
Let’s calculate how much you could have earned if, at the beginning of 2023, you had bought and staked Solana (SOL) — one of the largest digital assets in this sector.
So, you purchased 1,004 SOL at a price of $9.96 for a total of around $10,000. Suppose the yield from Solana staking is 13% per year, and the validator to whom you delegated the coins charges 10% of the profit. As a result, the net annual yield would be 11.7%. And this is without taking compound interest into account, which could make the yield higher. Let’s calculate how many SOL coins could have accumulated over the year:
1,004 SOL * 11.7% = 117.47 SOL in rewards
In total, after one year you would have had approximately 1,121.47 SOL. If the cryptocurrency price in January 2024 was around $90, the total profit from investing and staking would have been:
1,121.47 SOL * $90 - $10,000 = $90,932.3
The investment in Solana would have paid off more than 9 times. If you had simply invested in Solana without staking, the result would have been about $80,360 — roughly $10,572 less.
Pros and cons of staking
| Pros | Cons |
|
Fully passive income. You can withdraw earned profits when permitted by the rules of the network or service, and with regular reinvestment of rewards, the yield may increase |
The risks are largely the same as with cryptocurrency investing |
|
Does not require specialised knowledge, although beginners will first need to understand how staking works in wallets |
Coins may be locked, or there may be a withdrawal period |
|
Additional income on top of long-term investments |
Yield is not guaranteed and may decrease |
|
Security — with non-custodial staking, coins may remain under the control of the wallet owner |
There is a risk of choosing an unreliable validator or incorrect setup |
|
Low minimum entry threshold |
The asset price may fall more than you earn in rewards |
5. Investments in DeFi projects and NFT tokens
Investments in the developing DeFi sector or NFT tokens can be an excellent addition to a classic cryptocurrency portfolio:
- DeFi is a decentralised financial system, an alternative to the traditional banking sector. Large decentralised projects, such as the Uniswap exchange, issue their own tokens that can be invested in;
- NFT are non-fungible tokens that launched a wave of digital art, collectibles, gaming items and tokenised rights. Many famous personalities, artists and large companies release their collections. Their value growth can reach hundreds of percent in a short period, but NFT liquidity often remains unstable.
How much can you earn?
It depends on the cryptocurrency price and the market phase. During a bull market, the price of popular DeFi platform tokens increased several times over. Some of them grew by several thousand percent in just one month. For example, the Yearn.Finance (YFI) token grew by more than 30,000% in previous cycles, and for a while its price even exceeded the bitcoin price.
Let’s calculate how much your capital would have grown if you had invested $10,000 in the MKR token at the beginning of 2023. At that time, its price was around $510, and by 1 January 2024 it had reached approximately $2,266.
($10,000 / $510) * $2,266 - $10,000 = $34,431
Profit from NFTs is harder to calculate, as each token or collection has its own characteristics. It is enough to note that one of the most expensive NFT projects, The Merge by Pak, was sold for $91.8 million. However, the NFT market has experienced both rapid growth and sharp declines, so such examples cannot be considered a typical result.
Pros and cons of investing in DeFi and NFT tokens
| Pros | Cons |
|
The DeFi industry continues to develop, and decentralised protocols remain an important part of the crypto market |
High risk of losing money if the price collapses |
|
The ability to earn income through tokens, farming, liquidity and participation in protocols |
Risk of smart contract hacking |
|
Low entry threshold — you can start even with a small amount if you buy assets on DeFi platforms, while funds may remain under the control of your wallet |
High fees in some networks, especially during periods of congestion |
|
You can mint NFTs yourself or participate in early collection launches |
Low liquidity for many NFTs and tokens |
6. Investments in ICOs
An Initial Coin Offering, or primary token offering, is one of the riskiest ways to invest in digital assets. On the one hand, you get a chance to buy tokens at the lowest price and multiply your capital many times over. On the other hand, you risk partially losing your funds if the tokens turn out to be in no demand, or even losing the entire investment if the token is not listed on crypto exchanges.
How much can you earn?
You can lose all your investments or multiply them several thousand times. For example, Binance Coin (BNB) cost around $0.1 during its public token sale, and on 1 January 2024 its price was approximately $333 — 3,330 times higher. If you had invested $100 in BNB during the ICO, by the beginning of 2024 your capital would have grown to roughly $333,000.
Pros and cons of investing in ICOs
| Pros | Cons |
|
Does not require large investments. Usually, the minimum investment amount in an ICO is around $50-$100 |
Knowledge is required to choose promising projects |
|
The opportunity to acquire a crypto asset at a low price and multiply capital many times over in a short period |
There is a risk of losing all invested funds |
|
Even a beginner can understand the token purchase procedure |
Most tokens fall in price after being listed on exchanges |
|
The opportunity to enter a project at an early stage |
Risk of investing in a fraudulent project |
7. Cryptocurrency mining
The first cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, can be mined using specialised equipment. But substantial investments will be required for noticeable profits: buying hardware, paying for electricity, cooling and maintenance.
Mining efficiency also depends on the region. In August 2023, CoinGecko analysts calculated the cost of mining 1 BTC in different countries for solo miners. According to their estimates, in some countries mining could be significantly cheaper than the market price of BTC, while in others it could be substantially more expensive. Therefore, before launching mining, it is important to separately calculate electricity tariffs, equipment cost, network difficulty and payback period.
In addition, equipment becomes outdated, and its efficiency decreases over time, which affects profitability. There are two types of mining: cloud mining and mining using your own equipment. Let’s briefly look at both options.
Classic mining
This option is more complex because it requires setting up equipment and installing software. In addition, the equipment must be maintained so that it operates for as long as possible: uninterrupted power supply and a high level of cooling must be ensured. Hosting services also exist: you only buy the equipment and pay rent, while specialists handle setup and maintenance. However, costs will be higher in this case.
Earning from cryptocurrency mining can be divided into several stages:
- purchase and installation of a miner or GPU rig;
- configuration of equipment and mining software;
- launch of the mining process.
Cloud mining
This process is fully passive. You purchase cloud contracts and receive income from mining by paying a fee for electricity and maintenance. The advantage of cloud mining is that you do not need to purchase equipment in full — to launch a contract, it is enough to pay for the minimum hashrate. However, terms, fees, contract duration and actual profitability vary greatly depending on the service.
How much can you earn?
Mining profitability depends on the cryptocurrency price, mining difficulty, electricity cost, equipment efficiency and network fees. The higher the difficulty and the lower the cryptocurrency price, the lower the income. Approximate profitability can be calculated using mining calculators.
After the Bitcoin halving in April 2024, the reward for creating a new block decreased from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This is important to take into account when calculating payback, because a miner receives fewer new coins for each found block, while the importance of transaction fees increases.
It is important to correctly calculate the cost of the rig, the price of electricity, the equipment payback period depending on the current price and the dynamics of mining difficulty. It is also worth considering that the next halving of Bitcoin is expected around 2028, when the block reward should fall to 1.5625 BTC.
Pros and cons of mining
| Pros | Cons |
|
Passivity after the process has been set up |
Expensive equipment, with possible breakdowns |
|
Low entry threshold for cloud mining |
Negative profitability when cryptocurrency prices are low or network difficulty is high |
|
High potential profitability when cryptocurrency prices are high and electricity is cheap |
Relevant primarily for regions with cheap and stable electricity |
|
The ability to control equipment yourself with classic mining |
Long equipment payback period |
|
Capacity can be scaled if capital and infrastructure are available |
Equipment produces a lot of noise and heat |
8. Referral and affiliate programmes
Crypto exchanges, wallets, merchants and other cryptocurrency services offer users the opportunity to join an affiliate programme and receive income in cryptocurrencies by inviting clients. The advantage of this method is the ability to earn cryptocurrency without investment and risk, even without deep knowledge of the field.
How people earn with referral programmes:
- When downloading a wallet, you receive a special affiliate link. When users register through it, they become your referrals.
- You distribute the link in any legal way: send it to acquaintances in a message, publish it on social media or forums, and so on. If you have your own blog or website, you can promote the link through it. Even incentivised traffic is often encouraged, since services will still profit from user activity.
- When a user registers through your link and makes a purchase, sale or exchange, you receive income for each of their operations.
The Trustee Plus digital finance platform also has a referral programme. To become a participant, register and complete verification.
How much can you earn?
In short — from zero to a very large amount. It all depends on how much the company pays, how many referrals you have attracted and what their turnover is. Some companies are ready to pay 20% of profits, while others pay up to 50%. Let’s give a simple example:
You invited 1,000 people, each of whom buys and sells cryptocurrency worth an average of $1,000 per month. The service pays up to 45% of its income for each transaction. In this case, you would earn in a month:
1,000 people * $1,000 * 45% = 4,500 USDT
In Trustee Plus, the reward for the referral programme is accrued from income generated by the operations of invited users, who are grouped into two levels — 20% and 25%. There is no upper income limit, which makes the referral system a potential source of passive income.
Pros and cons of affiliate programmes
| Pros | Cons |
|
The opportunity to earn without financial risks or investment |
To receive a noticeable income, you need to understand promotion, have your own website, blog or social media channel, and invite many referrals who will regularly make transactions |
|
Unlimited income — you can promote as many services as you like at the same time |
There is a risk of “burning through the budget” when launching an advertising campaign, especially without experience |
|
Relative passivity — you invite referrals once, and then they are conditionally assigned to you |
Income depends on the activity of invited users and the rules of a specific programme |
9. Your own business
You can launch a cryptocurrency business by creating your own service. The options are limited only by the imagination of the future entrepreneur:
- launch your own blockchain project and issue a cryptocurrency;
- create a decentralised application (DApp) on a blockchain;
- open an online store and accept cryptocurrency payments;
- release your own NFT collection, for example on protocols related to Bitcoin, including Ordinals;
- develop a blockchain game with an in-game digital economy.
The advantage is that there is still room for new products in this field, and many users would find it convenient to pay for goods and services with cryptocurrency. For merchants, this may be interesting because settlements in digital assets allow them to use alternative payment infrastructure and reduce dependence on individual banking solutions.
How much can you earn?
There is no ceiling for earnings from your own business. The more you invest, the greater the return you can receive. But business is associated with risk, so there is a chance of incurring losses and going bankrupt — this depends on many factors: team experience, how well the business plan is developed, financial planning, legal model, marketing and market demand.
Also consider volatility risks. Suppose you purchased goods and sold them for bitcoin, receiving 200% revenue on the invested funds after expenses. If the cryptocurrency price doubles, the revenue will become even higher. If the price falls several times, you may break even or incur a loss. If you are afraid of business losses, use risk-management strategies, such as hedging*. This will help protect assets from sharp price fluctuations.
Pros and cons of your own crypto business
| Pros | Cons |
|
The ability to start with small investments if you use ready-made tools |
Difficult for beginners. If you do not understand business and sales, you will first have to learn them |
|
A relatively easy start when using specialised platforms |
Large investments will be required for business growth |
|
Income potential is unlimited |
There is a risk of incurring losses and going bankrupt |
|
There are still niches in the crypto sector with relatively low competition |
A lot of time must be devoted to it |
|
Many options for starting a business |
Income is not guaranteed in any way |
10. Earning on meme coins
Meme coins are cryptocurrencies created on the basis of popular internet memes, jokes, cultural trends or public figures, which, thanks to community support, can show significant capitalisation growth. In 2024-2025, meme coins became one of the main trends in the cryptocurrency market.
- Dogecoin, the best-known meme coin, was among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation in 2024 and showed strong growth amid market recovery and community attention. At the same time, the level of around $0.46 was not Dogecoin’s all-time high, but one of the local highs of that period: DOGE’s absolute peak was reached in 2021.
- Another example remains Shiba Inu (SHIB), which has also repeatedly ranked among the largest meme coins by market capitalisation and has shown sharp growth during periods of high interest in this segment.
Overall, indices and market categories tracking popular meme coins showed significant growth in 2024, confirming that interest in this segment continues to persist. However, meme coins are highly dependent on hype, liquidity, the behaviour of large holders and the information background.
The meme coin trend did not lose relevance in 2025. Particular attention was attracted by the $TRUMP meme coin, created in January 2025 ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. In the first days after launch, its capitalisation reached multi-billion-dollar levels, and early investors had the opportunity to lock in significant profits. At the same time, such assets remain extremely volatile: after rapid growth, they can fall just as quickly.
Strategies for earning on meme coins:
- Investing at early stages. Buying meme coins immediately after launch can provide high profits if the project gains popularity.
- Speculating on volatility. Thanks to sharp price fluctuations, traders can profit using short-term strategies.
- Trend analysis. Follow the news, social media and the activity of influential figures who may stimulate the growth of a particular meme coin.
- Portfolio diversification. Investing in several meme coins reduces the risks associated with the collapse of a single project.
Pros and cons of earning on meme coins
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
Potentially high profit |
High risks of losing investments |
|
Low entry threshold — you can start with a small amount |
Dependence on hype and external factors |
|
The opportunity to earn even on old tokens during new waves of interest |
Instability and high volatility |
|
Support from large communities |
Lack of fundamental value in many projects |
Conclusions
In this article, we looked at active and passive ways to earn cryptocurrency from scratch. Most of these methods require initial investment and deep immersion in the field, for example mining or launching your own project. Some options are suitable even for beginners with no experience — staking, long-term investing, airdrops or cryptocurrency faucets. Others require experience and resources from related fields — referral programmes, affiliate marketing, trading, arbitrage or your own crypto business. Everyone will be able to find the method that suits them best.
FAQ — frequently asked questions
How can you earn cryptocurrency from scratch?
You can start with methods that do not require large investments: airdrops, bounties, cryptocurrency faucets, referral programmes or small long-term investments. The main thing is to first understand the basic principles of cryptocurrency storage, security and risks.
Can you earn cryptocurrency without investment?
Yes, you can earn cryptocurrency without investment through airdrops, bounties, faucets, testnets, contests and referral programmes. However, such methods more often require time, activity and patience, and income is not guaranteed.
How much can you earn with cryptocurrency?
Income can range from a few dollars to thousands and tens of thousands of dollars. It all depends on the chosen method, amount invested, market situation, user experience and readiness to manage risks.
Can you receive passive income in cryptocurrency?
Yes, passive income in cryptocurrency can be received through staking, long-term asset storage, referral programmes, DeFi tools and mining. But even passive methods require risk control and an understanding of the conditions.
