Bitcoin is one of the most searched things on Google at present. Now the first question that pops in your mind is- What is bitcoin?
On 31st October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto (pseudonym for an individual or a group of people) first coined this term. They defined bitcoin as, “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.”
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that has no physical form and operates purely on the internet. There are about 5000 different cryptocurrencies in the market. At present, one bitcoin equals $10,700.40. this article will teach you how to earn bitcoins.
In plain English, bitcoin is nothing but a digital currency that doesn’t have a bank. People can transfer bitcoin anywhere on the internet (even to unknown people).
Bitcoin transactions don't involve any government’s authority. All bitcoin transactions taking place on the internet are registered in Blockchain. Unlike banks, you can look at all bitcoin transactions on the internet (although the identity of a person remains hidden).
In this article, we will analyze bitcoin, its advantages over paper money, and the legit ways of earning bitcoin.
History of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is certainly the first cryptocurrency. After it was introduced, many other cryptocurrencies have been introduced in the market. As of now, cryptocurrency is a common term that refers to all digital and decentralized currencies available in the market.
In January 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto released the source code so that people all over the world can commence mining and trading bitcoin.
Difference between fiat money and bitcoin
Bitcoin and fiat money are different in several ways. Let’s look at some of the major differences.
- Fiat money (or the government-approved money) is centralized. It means that the government of a country controls the money. On the other hand, bitcoin is decentralized. It means no government has authority over it.
- Fiat money is not limited to a number. It means a government can print more money. This leads to inflation (goods and services become expensive and the value of that currency decreases). Bitcoin, on the other hand, is limited in number. There is 21 million bitcoin, out of which only 2.8 million are available for mining. This increases bitcoin value as time passes.
- Fiat money transactions are not for public display. Banks store transactions in their protected computers. This opacity leads to corruption.
When it comes to bitcoin, the transactions are transparent and the information is stored in specific computers called nodes. Different nodes connect together and share information. The role of a node is to share information, follow certain rules, and save a copy of all the transactions that take place on the internet.
Advantages of bitcoin over fiat money
Bitcoin has numerous advantages over paper money. Bitcoin solves one of the most common problems with paper money, that is, it solves the double-spending problem. It refers to a flaw in digital currency in which the same token can be used twice.
This creates inflation. With bitcoin, it doesn’t happen.
Bitcoin has a single ledger known as Blockchain. Here you can see the transactions, make a wallet, and gather a deeper insight into bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin is universal, it holds the same value across countries.
The transaction process of bitcoin is easier than fiat money.
It has far lower transaction fees than fiat money. Bank gateways charge extra money for doing the same.
In bitcoin transactions, users don’t need to share their identity or private information.
11 ways on ‘How to earn Bitcoins?'
Now that you know roughly what bitcoin is, you might want to know how to earn some bitcoin on your own. There are legit ways through which you can earn bitcoins. Some of them are profitable, some of them are safe. Always keep in mind that where there is a high profit, it involves moderate to high risk.
Without taking much time, let’s dive into the list and analyze them on profit, efforts, and risk.
1. Bitcoin mining
Bitcoin mining used to be a relatively easier process when it wasn’t popular. After bitcoin got popular and became a household name, everyone wanted to have some bitcoins. Nowadays, mining bitcoins is a big deal. It requires expensive computers that can solve complex mathematical problems.
It is a matter of luck and expertise. Some people even hire cloud miners to help them earn bitcoin.
Bitcoin mining is highly profitable, but it also requires high efforts. Bitcoin mining is expensive too and involves higher risk.
The chances of you getting bitcoins via bitcoin mining are one per 16 trillion.
The job of a bitcoin miner is to solve complex problems and make new bitcoin. The mathematical problems are for making the payment secure and trustworthy.
To know more about bitcoin mining, read this scholarly paper.
To save yourself some time, read this article on bitcoin mining.
2. Become a Bitcoin Affiliate
You must have heard about affiliate marketing. It is one of the easiest ways to make money online. When it comes to bitcoin, affiliate marketing is effective too. The aim is to generate leads.
You can sign up for bitcoin affiliate websites and they will pay you compensation in bitcoin.
Signing up for an affiliate program is easy. Visit bitcoin affiliate websites and sign-up for the affiliate program. You will receive a unique link(for a product or service) that you have to share. Every time someone uses your unique link to make a transaction, you will get some percent (say, 10%) of compensation back.
Some popular bitcoin affiliate websites are-
Coinbase– at Coinbase, you will get 50% compensation for the first three months.
Ledger– at Ledger, you will get 10% of the compensation.
Trezor– at Trezor, you will get 12- 15 percent of each sale.
Coinnama– at Coinnama, you can get 15 percent of each sale.
It is one of the easiest ways to earn bitcoin. You can promote these websites on your blog or social media platform.
Bitcoin affiliate marketing requires high efforts, and the risk involved is very low. Once successful, you can earn a high profit via this method.
3. Crypto blogging
If you like to gain knowledge on various cryptocurrencies, and you like to spread your knowledge, then crypto blogging is something you should try. There are thousands of blogs that post daily on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Ripple.
It is very popular as more people want to know and invest in bitcoins. Crypto blogging can also help you make some extra money by affiliate marketing.
What are you waiting for? Combine your technical and creative skills and start a blog on cryptocurrency.
Some of the most popular crypto blogging websites are-
Check out these blogs to find out how you can create your crypto blog.
Pro tip- with a crypto blog, you can make decent money with ads and affiliate marketing.
4. Signature campaign
All around the world, millions of people avidly discuss bitcoin on forums like Bitcointalk.
On Bitcointalk, you can run a signature campaign and earn sustainable money. You can consistently post on the forum and gain a good following.
By doing so, your posts can earn sponsored signatures. The sponsors will pay every time you upload your content.
With a signature campaign, you can make good money according to your membership.
Running a signature campaign is less risky and requires medium effort. The only that matters is your consistency and participation.
You can earn decent fractions of bitcoin with this method.
5. Trading bitcoin
Bitcoin trading is a riskier task but it does give you better returns. Trading means buying something (here, bitcoin), and then selling it at a higher price.
It requires deep knowledge of cryptocurrency. And enough experience. It was most profitable for those who bought bitcoin at a cheaper price years ago. After the bitcoin got expensive, these traders made a huge profit. Some of the bitcoin trading websites are mentioned below-
6. Micro-earnings via bitcoin faucets
Bitcoin faucets are websites that pay you for clicking ads. These websites make you click and return you in the form of fractions of bitcoin.
If you are ready to spend some time clicking ads, then you should try it.
Please keep in mind that this way of earning bitcoin is quite slow. To make decent money, you have to try hard and have enough patience.
Most websites pay around 25-100 satoshis per click. 100 million satoshis make one bitcoin.
It involves less risk but you have to put in high efforts even for a marginal profit.
7. Create a new faucet
If you aren’t interested in wasting hundreds of hours clicking ads and making just a fraction of bitcoin, then you should consider making a bitcoin faucet.
A bitcoin faucet is a website that pays people for watching and clicking ads.
But for that, you have to invest time and money. To gain trust, you have to prevent fraud websites.
It requires high efforts and you get medium profit. The risk involved in this method is also medium.
To know more about how to create a bitcoin faucet, find it here.
8. Gambling bitcoin
Gambling is always a risky business, but those who want to earn bitcoin try gambling too.
Gambling is purely a matter of luck, therefore, you have to leave everything on your luck.
It is a lesser-known term. There are a lot of gambling sites that give you bitcoin if you win. Most of them aren’t legitimate. Some of the legitimate websites are-
We don’t encourage you to gamble your money. It is just one of the ways you can earn money
9. Bitcoin lending
The best thing about bitcoin is that it requires no third party. If you have some bitcoin to spare, you can lend them to those in need. For this, you can decide your interest rate and make money from it. You can use this money to earn more bitcoin.
Some of the popular bitcoin lending websites are-
10. Accept bitcoin as a tip
Yes, you heard it right, you can accept bitcoin as a tip. You can offer services to your client. Can pay you bitcoin.
There are platforms where people can tip for helping them. Isn’t it great?
If you are ready to help people, you can try this platform.
One such website is Tippin.me. Here, people can tip you for your services in the form of bitcoin.
11. Read books and make bitcoin
Wouldn’t it be nice if you got paid to read books? It is the best thing for a book geek. There is a website called paid books that pays you when you read a classic book like The Ivory Trail, Pride, and Prejudice, etc.
You can try it if you can read books online in no time.
Also read- 21 Best and Free Online English Courses
How to avoid risk while looking for bitcoin
Millions of people dream of earning bitcoin without spending their money using unethical ways. Some of them befool other people and try to rob their bitcoin. You can avoid this trap if you take the following precautions.
1. Avoid cybertheft: Cybertheft happens when someone tries to hack your wallet. It happens mostly during mining. Also, secure your wallet’s key at any cost. Once you forget it, it’s almost impossible to retrieve it.
2. Avoid bitcoin fraud: If you don’t own any bitcoin yet, you have to be careful before looking for it. Rule out all those offers/ads that sound too good to be true(they are mostly frauds). Everyone wants to earn bitcoin these days, and, chances are that frauds will approach you faster than genuine ones.
3. Watch out bitcoin withholding: People make bitcoin by solving complicated mathematical problems. Sometimes the honest miners can’t configure a problem because the mining pool hides it with the help of computational power.
In this way, some people get nothing despite working hard.
4. Think before diving into the bitcoin world: Bitcoin is indeed interesting, but it came into existence only 12 years ago. The future of bitcoin isn’t predictable yet. Before buying bitcoin, it will be best if you have an in-depth knowledge of it.
The future of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies have changed the world in many ways. They will continue to transform the future. Every second, hundreds of people purchase bitcoin, and this will continue in the future. After the bitcoin, several other cryptocurrencies were launched.
People are showing more interest in bitcoin as it protects their privacy. However, the system needs a lot of improvements. In the future, unexpected changes will take place. Some people even predict that cryptocurrency has the potential to replace fiat money.
Bitcoin revolutionized the crypto world. After bitcoin, several other cryptocurrencies came into existence.
According to Investopedia, there are 5000 cryptocurrencies present in the market. Some of the popular names in the crypto world are- Ethereum(ETH), Chainlink(LINK), Basic Attention Token(BAT), etc.
Disadvantages of using bitcoin
You should always look at the positive aspects of something. But you shouldn’t ignore the disadvantages. You are well aware of the advantages of bitcoin over fiat money. Now, it’s time to throw light on some disadvantages of bitcoin.
1. Bitcoin is prone to fluctuations: In March 2010, bitcoin’s value was $.003, today it has skyrocketed to $10,684.50. There’s no certainty in its value and it can deteriorate and increase anytime in the future.
2. Not everyone accepts bitcoin: Only a handful of people accept bitcoin as a currency. The interest of people in bitcoin has certainly increased, but it will take some more time to become widely acceptable like fiat money.
3. It has no physical form: Bitcoin has no physical form, therefore, in case someone wants to make a physical transaction, they have to convert it to fiat money.
4. Absence of buyer protection: When someone pays via Bitcoin, they can’t reverse the transaction. Sometimes, the sellers don’t give the promised products but the transaction takes place. In this situation, the buyer can experience loss.
Conclusion
In this article, you read about how to earn bitcoins. Bitcoin has a huge potential and, every second, many people buy bitcoin on the internet. It solves many problems that fiat money couldn’t solve.
With every passing day, cryptocurrency is becoming popular among people around the world. In the future, there will be many more cryptocurrencies and more people will invest in them. This is why it is important to get first-hand knowledge of what they are, especially the first cryptocurrency ever- Bitcoin.
To know more about how bitcoin started and how it works, you should read the original paper published by Satoshi Nakamoto.
