How to make money with crypto: five routes compared

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There are three ways to make money with crypto: through price gains when buying and selling, through ongoing income such as staking and lending, and through coins you are given in return for doing something, for example in airdrops. None of these routes is a safe income. Ongoing income is smaller than many advertising promises suggest, and it is usually outweighed by the coin's price. Staked ether recently yielded around 2.3 percent a year at the provider Lido on a seven-day average. A 3 percent drop in price is enough to wipe out that annual return.

This guide shows you the five common routes, what they realistically deliver and which risks you take on. There are no promises here. For each route, you will find the costs that usually sit in the small print and the points where investors most often lose money.

Making money with crypto: price gains, ongoing income and free coins

Before you choose a route, a simple distinction helps. A price gain arises when you buy a coin more cheaply than you later sell it. Ongoing income arises when you put a coin you already own to work and receive a reward for it, for example through staking or lending. Free coins arise when a project allocates tokens to you in return for doing something, such as testing an application.

The three types differ in three respects: risk, effort and tax. Price gains can be large, but they can also turn into losses. Ongoing income is smaller and almost always comes in the same cryptocurrency you put in, and therefore with the same price risk. Free coins cost time and sometimes data, and many of them are worth little later on.

What all routes have in common

On almost every route, the price remains the most important factor. If you stake ether and receive 2.3 percent a year, you will have made a loss after a year if the ether price has fallen by more than that margin. On Friday morning, ether traded at around 1,760 euros. A 3 percent move is nothing unusual for this coin on an ordinary trading day. Ongoing income is therefore a bonus on holdings you want to keep anyway, not a reason to buy a coin.

Price gains on the spot market: buying, holding and savings plans

The simplest route is also the most widespread: you buy a coin, hold it and sell it later once the price has risen. It requires no lock-up, no counterparty beyond the exchange and no extra effort beyond the purchase itself.

Anyone who invests small amounts regularly often uses a savings plan for this. A savings plan buys a fixed amount at fixed intervals, for example 50 euros every month. This smooths the entry price over time, because you automatically get more coins in weak months. Many exchanges and broker apps offer such savings plans for bitcoin. Keep the purchase records for every instalment.

Staking: 2.3 percent on ether and the cost of the lock-up period

Staking means depositing coins of a blockchain that uses proof of stake so that the network can confirm transactions. In return, the validator receives newly issued coins and part of the fees, and you receive your share. Ethereum, Solana and Cardano work this way; bitcoin does not.

Yields are smaller than many advertising banners suggest. The provider Lido most recently reported an average annual yield of 2.33 percent for staked ether on a seven-day average. On holdings worth 1,000 euros, that is around 23 euros a year, paid out in ether. Exchanges that handle staking for you also keep part of the reward as a fee. Our comparison of staking providers shows which platforms keep how much.

Lock-up period, slashing and provider risk

Staking has three costs that rarely appear in the advertising. First, the lock-up period: depending on the network and provider, it takes days or weeks before you can sell staked coins again. If the price falls during that time, you cannot react. Second, slashing: if a validator breaks the network's rules, for example by double signing, the protocol cuts part of its stake. Third, provider risk: if you stake through an exchange, you hand over your coins and depend on its solvency.

Crypto lending: interest on lent coins and the risk of default

In crypto lending, you lend coins to a platform or, via a DeFi protocol, to other users and receive interest in return. The interest usually comes from traders who borrow coins for leveraged trades. When demand for loans rises, interest rates rise; in quiet phases, they fall. High rates on stablecoins are therefore often a sign that there is a lot of leverage in the market.

The biggest risk in lending is the borrower defaulting. In 2022, several large lending platforms halted withdrawals and filed for insolvency, including two of the largest US providers at the time. Their clients became creditors in insolvency proceedings and waited years for part of their money. With DeFi protocols, there is also the risk of programming errors in the smart contract. How the interest arises and which risks you take on when lending is explained in detail in our guide to crypto lending.

Lending and the MiCA crypto regulation

The European MiCA crypto regulation governs the trading and custody of crypto-assets, but not lending explicitly. An exchange with MiCA authorisation therefore does not automatically offer you the same protection for its lending product as for plain custody. Read the terms of use before investing: they state whether the coins remain yours or whether you are granting the platform a loan.

Airdrops and rewards: free coins with strings attached

An airdrop is the free distribution of tokens to users, usually to promote a new project or reward early users. Often you have to do something for it: test an application, carry out transactions on a new network or complete tasks on social media. Whether the effort pays off only becomes clear at distribution, and many tokens quickly lose value afterwards. Our overview of crypto airdrops collects which airdrops are currently running and what you have to do for them.

Airdrops call for particular caution with your wallet. Sites promising supposedly free tokens are among the most common traps for wallet drainers. For airdrops, connect a separate wallet with a small balance and never the wallet holding your main holdings.

Trading, bots and leverage: the route with the most losers

Active trading means buying and selling coins at short intervals to profit from price swings. It is the route most often promised by advertising for courses and signal services, and the one with the highest loss rate. Every order costs fees and spread. If you trade with leverage, you can lose your stake within hours.

In the EU, providers of contracts for difference must state on their website how many retail accounts lose money with their products. These figures are worth a look before you open an account. Trading bots do little to change the arithmetic either: a bot executes a strategy faster, but it does not make a weak strategy better.

Mining for private individuals

In mining, a computer provides computing power to a blockchain and receives new coins in return. With bitcoin, private individuals now compete with large data centres running specialised equipment on cheap industrial electricity. With household electricity in Germany, it is therefore hard to recoup the costs of power and equipment. Before buying any mining hardware, do the maths with your own electricity price.

Warning signs in return promises: fixed interest, referral bonuses, time pressure

No route to crypto income delivers a fixed, high return without risk. Whoever promises you exactly that is, as a rule, making money from you. These patterns crop up again and again in dubious offers:

a guaranteed interest rate per day or per month that is far above the rates of well-known staking providers,
bonuses for recruiting friends and relatives as new customers,
pressure to deposit immediately because an offer is supposedly about to end,
withdrawals that are only supposed to be possible after a further payment, a "tax" or an "unlock fee",
a contact that starts via a messenger or dating app and lures you onto an unknown trading platform.

For every provider, check whether it is authorised for clients in your country. Reputable providers state their authorisation and the competent supervisory authority in their legal notice. If this information is missing, that alone is reason enough not to transfer the money.

Crypto returns: at 2.3 percent from staking, the price decides

Assess returns realistically. Staking and lending usually bring low single-digit percentages in the cryptocurrency you put in. Compare rates and conditions in the crypto lending comparison before you hand over your coins.
Build up over the long term instead of chasing yields. Holding over time remains the simplest route for retail investors. A savings plan spreads your entry over time; you will find providers in the bitcoin savings plan comparison.
Record every inflow. Staking rewards, interest and airdrops need a date and value for your tax return. Programs that do this automatically are listed in the crypto tax tool comparison.

(As of November 13, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)

Frequently asked questions about crypto income

Yes, through price gains, ongoing income such as staking and lending, or airdrops. None of these routes is safe, and with ongoing income it is usually the coin's price that decides whether a profit remains at the end.

Staked ether yielded around 2.33 percent a year at the provider Lido in November 2026 on a seven-day average. On 1,000 euros, that is about 23 euros a year, paid out in ether, minus any exchange fees.

Crypto lending carries a risk of default: in 2022, several large lending platforms halted withdrawals and filed for insolvency. The MiCA crypto regulation does not explicitly govern lending, so you should read the terms of use carefully.

Partner links: some links on this page are partner links. If you become a customer through one of them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Selection, ratings and ranking are decided independently by our editorial team. Ethics and Independence · Ownership and Funding

Transparency note: This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by our editorial team before publication. All figures and claims were checked against the primary sources linked in the text. The feature image was generated with AI.

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