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Buying cryptocurrencies is easy, see our guide: How to buy cryptocurrency and keep it safe
But what about earning cryptocurrencies?
How to earn crypto as a gamer
The video game industry is worth nearly $160 billion. While gamers have historically had no way to monetize their activities in the virtual world, that's changed with the advent of content-sharing platforms like Twitch and DLive, new monetization models like subscription services, and the proliferation of Esports tournaments.
According to The State of Online Gaming 2020, an in-depth report based on responses from 4,500 gamers worldwide, over 38% of gamers would like to become professionals if they could do it for a living. The astronomical success of the likes of PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg), Nina (Tyler Blevins) and Preston Arsement has inspired an entire generation. So it's only natural that other gamers would want to learn how to earn crypto through games.
Since most gamers are young and tech-savvy, it's not surprising that some of them prefer to earn crypto rather than fiat currency. And there are several platforms that allow them to do just that. Since these players are gambling anyway, these solutions are basically a way to earn cryptocurrency for free in everyday life.
DLive
DLive is a blockchain-based live streaming platform that uses its own "virtual reward point system" called Lemon. In the DLive ecosystem, Lemon is a virtual currency used to reward players or pay for subscriptions. The unit price of Lemon is set at 0.012 USD, and payouts to players are made every two weeks. The minimum amount for payouts is 4,250 Lemons (51 USD), but since DLive is owned by TRON, players who don't reside in the US can also request a payout in TRX, BTT or USDT stablecoins. Lemons cannot be exchanged outside the platform.
Rally
Rally is a little different from platforms like DLive and Twitch. It's designed to allow players to earn money without relying on the aforementioned services through a separate economy where fans can buy, donate, and hold unique assets called Creator Coins. Since these Creator Coins are unique to the particular streamer and have a monetary value like any other asset with a limited supply and volume, they can help players earn money even if they're censored from a platform or leave it for some reason
Amit Ranade, co-founder of Creator Coins, says: "With Creator Coins, content creators can build a whole new marketplace around their brand and community, giving both content creators and their fans the opportunity to participate in a greatly expanded creator economy
Twitch
Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch, with over 16 million daily users, has a love-hate relationship with cryptocurrencies. In early 2018, the platform accepted subscription payments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, but in mid-2019, it quietly stopped supporting those payment methods. In 2020, Twitch turned the tables again and even offered a 10% discount to subscribers who paid with cryptocurrencies
In fact, Twitch has expanded its crypto support to Ethereum (ETH) and USD-linked stablecoins like GUSD, USDC, PAX and BUSD. While Twitch players cannot currently earn crypto, they can collect in-game virtual assets called bits (each bit is worth 1 cent) that can be redeemed for fiat. Perhaps in the near future, Twitch players will be able to exchange bits for bitcoin?
Of course, you don't have to be a professional gamer with an army of loyal fans to earn crypto from games. Immersive virtual reality games like Decentraland, Sandbox, and Somnium Space have their own economies and currencies, meaning players can buy and sell virtual land and assets in-game represented by Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Players can develop experiences and charge admission to others, rent virtual land, or participate in events hosted by fellow players.
The Enjin platform specializes in minting NFTs for the gaming market and helping developers (and by extension, players) integrate blockchain and monetize games. To date, billions of assets have been created, each backed by the Enjin Coin (ENJ), an ERC20 token with real value. ENJ can be traded on many of the world's leading crypto exchanges.
Believe it or not, there are even platforms that want to pay those who watch gamers live-stream their exploits. San Francisco-based startup Refereum, for example, is working to pay viewers with Tron's TRX token and BitTorrent's BTT token after partnering with the companies in 2019.
There are a variety of decentralized applications (dApps), particularly on Ethereum, TRON and EOS, that are bringing monetization to the world of gaming. The most successful to date is CryptoKitties, whose goal is to breed collectible cats. At the height of the viral game's popularity, a player sold a CryptoKitty for $170,000 in ETH.
How to earn cryptocurrency as a freelancer
You aren't a gamer? Don't worry, there are plenty of ways to earn crypto as a freelancer, no matter what your profession and whether you're looking for a one-time job or a full-time position
Crypto-friendly freelance job sites include:
cryptogrind.com
coinality.com
crypto.jobs
bitgigs.com
blocklancer.net
anytask.com
Of course, many employers looking to pay in crypto are already working in the industry and looking for engineers, smart contract developers, PR people with contacts in the blockchain press, etc.
New job networks are constantly being posted online. For example, Keep3r Network is "a decentralized keeper network for projects that need external devops and for external teams looking for keeper jobs." Compared to traditional job boards, it's a more technical process where employers can register jobs by submitting proposals through governance - but it's another option for crypto job seekers.
Using these platforms offers a few advantages over established freelance portals like Fiverr, Upwork, and PeoplePerHour. For starters, you can maintain a higher level of privacy. Also, you can earn money even if you don't have a bank account - cryptocurrencies are as close to frictionless, borderless currency as you can get
Freelancers can also avoid the increasingly unfair commissions associated with traditional job boards. And there's another problem: If you get paid via bank transfer, it can often take a week or more for payments to be transferred. And that's after the freelancer site has collected its cut.
If you're an employer interested in paying your employees or contractors in cryptocurrency, a platform like Bitwage can help you get set up. If you're creative, you'll quickly figure out how to earn crypto as a gig worker.
Earn crypto as a business
As mentioned earlier, businesses can benefit by cutting out a middleman (e.g., a bank) and accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Fast, secure, and low-cost transactions aren't the only benefit: businesses can tap into a larger user base, including 1.7 billion people who don't have access to a bank account
Although there are only about 55 million users of blockchain wallets at the time of writing, that number is growing all the time. With PayPal recently confirming support for cryptocurrencies, digital assets can now be spent at 26 million merchants. With 346 million PayPal accounts worldwide, this is a big win for the industry.
And there's another benefit for businesses that let their customers pay with cryptocurrencies: Because blockchain payments are irreversible, there's no risk of chargebacks. In a 2019 survey, risk manager LexisNexis estimates that merchants lose up to $3.13 per dollar in chargeback costs
According to coinmap.org, there are over 18,600 businesses that accept cryptocurrencies directly, including coffee shops, grocery stores, retailers and travel companies. Of course, there are also many millions of retailers that accept Visa and Mastercard, both of which have partnered with a number of crypto platforms in recent years (Wirex, Revolut, Binance, Coinbase, etc.)
Crypto debit cards have become commonplace, and although the merchant doesn't receive the digital assets directly (the card issuer automatically converts them to fiat), the involvement of trusted companies like Visa and Mastercard has greatly helped the industry by providing a frictionless way for everyday users to spend their tokens.
In the first decade, speculation was perhaps the main use case for cryptocurrencies, but today there are countless ways to fill your Bitcoin account. Gambling, working, and selling goods are just a few of them. No matter what you choose, you'll be doing your part to strengthen the crypto ecosystem while increasing your earnings.