How To Earn Bitcoin, For Free: Rewards And Cashback

With the instability of the current economic climate, many of us are considering how we might be able to make a bit of extra coin. When considering long term investment options, the traditionally recommended investment strategies are looking suspect – yield on savings accounts and CDs are below even the reported rate of inflation, and even corporate America believes stocks are overvalued. However, alternative investment options have evolved significantly in the past decade, with opportunities like crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies emerging and growing in demand.

Cryptocurrencies are scarce virtual goods that can be stored in digital wallets and traded with others for goods and services. The key innovation of cryptocurrencies is in combining scarcity with the speed and efficiency of digital transactions. Before the invention of Bitcoin, it was impossible to ensure the scarcity of a digital item without a central authority managing the supply of that item – like a bank. Of the cryptocurrencies currently available, Bitcoin holds the major share of this market. In 2020 alone, the value of Bitcoin is up over 108% according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index. Smart investors are clearly taking notice.

Although Bitcoin is a great investment opportunity, some prefer to earn it than buy it outright. At the time of writing, one Bitcoin costs around $45,000, though you can buy a very small portion of a single bitcoin for as little as $5 or $10 on platforms such as Cash App. However, you may be very interested to learn that there are many ways to earn Bitcoin, or to earn interest on your Bitcoin holdings.

Read on below to learn several ways you can earn crypto rewards and a little extra bitcoin:

Earn Bitcoin with Cash Back Apps

We’re flooded with advertisements for cash back customer loyalty and reward programs offered by credit card companies, restaurants, and retailers. These programs offer us discounts in the way of a cash credit on our account which is usually a percentage of the amount of our purchase transactions. We’ve become addicted to these cash back reward programs and, why not, as these programs actually do increase our spending power.

If you’re wondering how to get free Bitcoin, you’ll be happy to learn that Bitcoin rewards have not been excluded from this cash back rave. There are cash back apps now that have been specifically designed for earning crypto rewards that are paid to you in Bitcoin. After signing up for the crypto cash back program, you can make online purchases as you normally do from many of your favorite retailers while earning rewards in Bitcoin. Your account accumulates bitcoin which you can hold or spend.

Crucially, if you decide to hold this bitcoin, you can far exceed the earnings you would have made with a cash back program that pays out in dollars. Let’s see what you’d be sitting on if you acquired $15 per month in cash back rewards in bitcoin vs dollars from January 2020. That represents about $300 in monthly spending with a 5% cash back rate – reasonable for most cash back programs.

Saving BTC with a cash back program looks to yield much more than collecting dollars – if you continue to hold through the dips!

This is probably the easiest way to begin to learn about and earn free Bitcoin as there is no personal investment on your part required to join these programs. And, with the increasing number and popularity of these programs, there is also an increase in new retailers beginning to participate which will likely begin to drive these retailers to offer better and better deals and discounts to remain competitive.

It’s also important to note that any rewards earned through crypto cash back apps are in addition to points you may be earning on the credit card you use to make purchases through these apps.

A few of the most popular crypto cash back reward programs available include Lolli, Fold and Pei. We’ll take a closer look at each of these programs as well as some other ways to earn Bitcoin below.

Lolli – Bitcoin Cash Back

As mentioned above, Lolli is a Bitcoin crypto cash back reward site that offers browser extensions and mobile apps. Lolli has established partnerships with more than 700 merchants, many of which you probably already purchase from regularly for travel, food and beverage, designer clothing, electronics, health and beauty products, pet supplies and so much more.

When you shop online and make purchases with these stores through Lolli’s website, Lolli receives a percentage of the sale price from the merchant. Lolli then shares a portion of those proceeds with you and sends you these earnings directly to your wallet on the Lolli app.

After you’ve accumulated a balance of $15 or more, you can request a withdrawal or transfer of the funds from your Lolli wallet to either your external Bitcoin wallet or to a USD bank account.

Get Lolli

The following are some benefits and drawbacks of the Lolli cash back loyalty program that you should be aware of:

Benefits and Rewards with Lolli:

Lolli is supported by the most popular browsers – Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge
You can use any payment method that the merchant will accept while still using Lolli to collect rewards
The reward percentages offered by Lolli’s partner merchants often exceed the rates offered through Lolli’s competitors
Lolli can push notifications to your phone when you enter partner merchant sites
Lolli uses their Twitter account to communicate special promotions that allow you to earn additional rewards

Drawbacks with Lolli:

Lolli has a minimum balance of $15 required before you can transfer your Bitcoin reward earnings to your Bitcoin wallet or to a US bank account
Rewards are not available for 30 to 90 days after your initial purchase
No rewards are earned if purchases are made in store with a partner – they only apply to online purchases
Lolli is only available to people in the United States

Some of the most popular Lolli partners and the corresponding Bitcoin rewards:

Groupon 12.5%
Sam’s Club 9%
Booking.com 7%
Adidas 7%
Microsoft 6%
Priceline 5%
Expedia 5%
Chewy 4.5%
Sephora 4.5%
Staples 4.5%

Fold – Gift Card Bitcoin Rewards

You can also earn Bitcoin through the Fold rewards program. The primary difference between this program and Lolli’s program is that instead of purchasing merchandise or services from the retailers that have partnered with Fold, you purchase gift cards which can then be used either online or in store with these retailers.

Although the number of merchants participating with Fold App is significantly lower (about 30) than Lolli, there are some key players (such as Amazon, Target, Uber and Whole Foods) and the reward percentage is generally higher – up to 20%. And, rewards are deposited into your account at the time you purchase the gift card – no delays.

Registering with Fold is very easy, as there are no restrictions on which web browser you choose to use when making your purchase and you can use your existing email, Facebook or Twitter account to connect and create your account from any device. Fold even permits you to purchase gift cards using an anonymous account – no email or identity verification process required.

Once connected, you can simply select the merchant you want to purchase a gift card from and use your preferred payment method – debit/credit card or Bitcoin that you’ve earned – to purchase the gift card. Once the purchase transaction is complete, Fold will immediately add your Bitcoin reward to your account.

Get Fold App

Earn bitcoin (“sats”) using the button above to sign up to the Fold Card waitlist.

Benefits and Rewards with Fold:

There is no minimum reward balance required to transfer or withdraw funds from Fold
Gift cards purchased through Fold can be used online or in the stores
You can purchase gift cards through Fold using debit/credit cards or with Bitcoin you’ve already earned
Your cash back Bitcoin reward is earned immediately following your purchase
You can purchase gift cards through Fold without having to register your email or complete an identity verification process
Fold App can be accessed through any web browser and using any device (user-friendly mobile applications available for both iOS and Android)

Drawbacks with Fold:

Bitcoin withdrawals from Fold accounts are processed once each week, on Tuesdays. You can submit the request to withdraw Bitcoin rewards or funds from your Fold account at any time, but it won’t be processed until the following Tuesday.
Gift card amounts available for purchase are only those made available by the merchant (i.e., Amazon gift cards are available in fixed dollar amounts of $25, $50, $100 and $200). You are not able to customize the dollar amount.

Some of the most popular Fold partners and the corresponding Bitcoin rewards:

Amazon 4%
Southwest Airlines 3%
Hotels.com 4%
Macy’s 8%
Bed Bath & Beyond 6%
Starbucks 3%
AMC On Demand 5%
Uber 3%
GrubHub 4%
Callaway 20%

Pei – Cash Back through your Card

Please Note: As of December 2021, Pei has shut down. Please check out Lolli for a similar Bitcoin cashback experience.

Pei offers crypto cash back on purchases made through their mobile app. You link your debit/credit cards to the app and when you use your linked card through the app to purchase merchandise from the many popular Pei partners (i.e., McDonald’s, Uber, etc.), Pei will automatically add rewards (as points) to your account.

The Pei App will track the points as you accumulate them. After you’ve earned a minimum crypto rewards level of $25 you can withdraw your earnings. Pei offers three options for you when you’re withdrawing funds. You can have the funds transferred to a PayPal account, to an external Bitcoin wallet or you can select a gift card option.

Although the reward percentages may seem relatively low when you first review the list of partners and rewards available on the Pei app, this app also offers additional point earning opportunities. These are called ‘Party Cash’ and ‘Cashback Boost.’ With the ‘Party Cash’ earnings option you can earn an additional 1% reward for your purchase if a friend makes a seaparate purchase at the same partner location within an hour of your purchase.

And, once you’ve earned 20 points with Pei you become eligible to participate in their ‘Cashback Boost’ program which offers what can be significant additional earnings opportunities based on friend referrals and specific uses of the app. Some of the specific account activities that you will have to complete to qualify for the ‘Cashback Boost’ program include having a referred friend register and make a purchase with the Pei app, shopping with a Pei ‘preferred’ partner or shopping frequently with any specific partner (i.e., 5 visits in one month) and redeeming points using the gift card option.

Pei also offers up to $500 through the ‘Cashback Boost’ program to users who are successful in referring a new merchant when the merchant becomes a Pei partner. For a full overview of Pei, check out my review here.

Get Pei

Benefits and Rewards:

In addition to rewards earned through purchases made through the Pei app, Pei offers a variety of ways to earn Bitcoin and cash rewards
You can earn up to $500 for referring new merchants when they become a Pei partner and agree to offer Bitcoin rewards
Withdrawal methods include an option to transfer funds to your PayPal account
Withdrawals in USD and Bitcoin can typically be processed within 2 hours

Drawbacks:

As you can see when comparing Pei with Lolli and Fold, the reward amount is lower on general purchases through Pei (only 1% to 2%)
Pei partners also place weekly maximum limits on the amount of rewards you’re able to earn
The minimum reward balance required to withdraw or transfer funds from Pei is the highest among all of the Bitcoin cashback programs at $25 USD.

Top 10 brands participating with Pei and reward % and maximum earning limit per week for each are below.

Target 1% – $1.25 weekly earning limit
Starbucks 1% – $1 weekly earning limit
McDonald’s 1% – $5 weekly earning limit
Petco 1% – $10 weekly earning limit
Uber 1% – $5 weekly earning limit
H&M 1.2% – $15 weekly earning limit
Domino’s Pizza 1.5% – $5 weekly earning limit
Walgreens 0.5% – $1 weekly earning limit
Sephora 1% – $2.50 weekly earning limit
Great Clips 2% – $10 weekly earning limit

Earn Bitcoin Through Lending Platforms

If you’ve already accumulated some Bitcoin, you may want to deposit some with a Bitcoin lending platform where you can earn interest on your savings. These interest-earning accounts work much in the same way as fiat savings accounts. One noticeable difference between fiat savings accounts and cryptocurrency accounts is that crypto savings accounts earn interest at a much higher rate at the present time.

By depositing Bitcoin with a reputable lending platform, it’s possible to earn interest at a rate of 4% to 8% on your Bitcoin. Your normal savings account probably pays closer to 0.01% annually, so that’s a big jump. Many of the Bitcoin lending platforms have no minimum or relatively low deposit requirements ($100) making it easy for you to earn interest on your Bitcoin savings right away.

Lending platforms are able to offer this level of return on your investment because they’re lending the Bitcoin you deposit out to individuals and companies that are looking for Bitcoin to use to cover expenses or to those with short term Bitcoin needs such as Bitcoin ATM companies.

While nothing on this website is financial advice, I strongly advise you to consider the risk of these lending platforms before using them. When you use a lending platform, you are giving up control of your bitcoin. This means if the lending platform ever goes bankrupt, which they often do, they will prevent you from withdrawing your assets. Bankruptcies often stem from poor investments necessary to earn the high yields these platforms advertise. Popular lending platforms that froze and/or lost customer deposits include: Cred (November 2020), Celsius (July 2022), Voyager (July 2022), FTX (November 2022), BlockFi (November 2022).

Beyond the personal risks involved, using these platforms may promote suppression of the price of bitcoin. How? Say you deposit 1 bitcoin in to a lending platform called MoneyTree, and they lend out that 1 bitcoin to a hedge fund to short the price of bitcoin. There are now 2 claims on that one bitcoin, effectively expanding the supply of bitcoin with ‘paper’ bitcoin. When supply expands, price is suppressed unnaturally.

If those loans MoneyTree made go bad, and many depositors try to withdraw at once, MoneyTree is caught without enough coins to pay back depositors. They declare bankruptcy, and depositors are left empty handed!

For more information about lending, see my guide to Bitcoin lending and savings accounts.

Earn Bitcoin Through Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin mining is basically the verification process that Bitcoin transactions go through before they are accepted and recorded on the ‘Bitcoin blockchain’ which is the public ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions in real time. Miners run specialized computer hardware that compete to verify transactions for a chance to win a bitcoin reward delivered by the bitcoin protocol. The computations required to complete this verification process require a tremendous amount of computer processing power, however.

Bitcoin mining is an intense process requiring a lot of computer processing power. First, a ‘target hash’ number is established by the bitcoin protocol. Miners run a ‘hash function’ with transaction data and a random number called a ‘nonce’, then check if the output is less than the target hash. If it isn’t, the mining machine tries a new nonce and tests again. The hash function doesn’t work in the opposite direction, so miners literally must guess – no miner can compute an answer faster than any other. Millions of miners are doing this in real time, and once one guesses correctly a new block is created, and bitcoin is awarded to the successful miner.

Mining bitcoin has become so competitive and requires so much power that running a profitable operation requires industrial computing equipment from a specialized supplier like Bitmain, power supplies, and cooling equipment. However, there are companies like Compass Mining that help total amateurs get up and running fast.

Earning Bitcoin Through Job Opportunities

An increasing number of companies are offering compensation for work in the form of Bitcoin. Some of these opportunities take the form of contract work and gigs, while others are full time jobs with salaries that can be paid in part or fully in bitcoin.

Freelance work platforms that offer Bitcoin as a form of compensation:

You can also receive payment for freelance work performed for some other organizations like Upwork and Toptal through partnerships these companies have formed with Bitwage.

Employers that pay salaries in Bitcoin:

Kraken
- Every month, you have a choice of exactly what percentage of your salary you want paid out in bitcoin directly to your wallet.
Coinbase
- In March 2018, during the beginning of Bitcoin’s last bear market, CNBC reported 40% of Coinbase employees had some portion of their salary paid in bitcoin.
Other Crypto Companies via CryptoJobsList or Crypto.jobs
- Crypto companies are likely to offer payment in bitcoin – it’s in their best interest to promote this new form of money!

Earn Bitcoin by Playing Games

What a great idea, right? Play some mobile or online games and earn some Bitcoin!

You will likely see lots of advertisements, though, on most of the free games that enable you to earn Bitcoin rewards. These game-makers have to make some coin too – so they usually make it through ads. Plus, they can’t pay you to play if they’re not making money.

If you enter ‘bitcoin games’ into the search bar in the App Store or Google Play, you’ll be presented with a lot of games that offer you the opportunity to ‘get real Bitcoin’ or ‘earn real Bitcoin.’ If you take a look at the ratings and reviews for some of the games you might get some advance tips on which games might be able to earn you the most Bitcoin the fastest. Many of these free games offer very low Bitcoin earnings. Some free games that allow you to earn Bitcoin rewards are:

Word Crypto
Bitcoin Pop
Bitcoin Solitaire
Bitcoin Blast

There are also some Bitcoin casinos that you can join. In order to join, you’ll have to invest (bet) some of your own money or Bitcoin to play. There’s an opportunity to earn more with these games than with the free games – but casinos are never built for the players to leave with more money than they arrive with.

Realistically, you will not earn a lot of money playing games – but you can have a lot of fun while adding a small amount of Bitcoin to your wallet.

How to Spot Bitcoin Scams

The recent increase in awareness and demand for Bitcoin, as well as the many millionaires minted from investing in it, unfortunately attracts scammers. It’s important to learn as much as you can about Bitcoin and use your common sense to vet any advertised opportunities to make a fast and easy fortune in Bitcoin.

An example of such a scam is the offering of an alternative form of cryptocurrency from Bitcoin. Many of these cryptocurrencies are outright scams organized by their creators and promoters. Others are simply poor stores of value, even if their creators are well-intentioned.

You should also be cautious of any site that asks you to download something or enter information about your bitcoin wallet – these sites may be attempting to hack your computer or steal your wallet from you. Just like you wouldn’t give out your bank account and routing numbers, you shouldn’t give out any information about your bitcoin wallet!

If you receive an offer to earn some free Bitcoin, check out the company’s website and try to contact the company directly to ask questions about the offer before clicking on it or downloading information.

Here are two options for earning Bitcoin that you should be careful with:

Bitcoin faucets

When Bitcoin and blockchain technology first emerged a decade or so ago, the community was so small that they had little to no value – someone even bought a pizza for a whopping 10,000 bitcoins in 2010. Some websites known as ‘faucets’ gave out free bitcoins, just to increase visibility of the project and show people how cryptocurrency works.

Today, however, many bitcoin faucets are fronts for scams or are simply not worth your time. Bitcoin is a household name, and just like you don’t find websites giving away free dollars, you won’t find a website giving away bitcoins truly for free. Many times the value of the crypto reward for faucets these days is only $0.01 per viewed video or small completed task, which makes these types of faucets a poor use of your time.

Sites with poor reviews

Reading through user reviews of any Bitcoin reward programs can be very helpful. There are several sites and apps that have received very poor reviews. For example, the following are sites that we do not recommend based on user reviews. You should take a close look at reviews of these sites and others before engaging with them:

Coinseed – This is an app offering Bitcoin cashback on purchases but reviews from users of the app indicate that they are running into difficulties withdrawing rewards
Bitcoinreward – this company has a consumer rating of only 2.75 stars and customer reviews that indicate they are generally unhappy with their purchases through Bitcoinreward.

Coinrebates and Stormshop are also companies that received bad reviews.

More Resources on Bitcoin

Those are our top ways to earn Bitcoin. However, there is much more to be learned about this fascinating asset – check the links below to go deeper down the rabbit hole.

Interested in purchasing some bitcoin using your bank account? Check out our guide on the cheapest ways to buy bitcoin.
Already have some Bitcoin and need to store it safely? Read our guides on hardware wallets and safe bitcoin seed phrase storage.
Not sure why Bitcoin has value at all? Dive in to the history of money and in 20 minutes flat, you will understand.

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How to Earn Bitcoin, For Free: Rewards and Cashback