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Side Income & Sign Up Bonuses - Bitcoin & Crypto Edition

By far my most popular post was one I did in 2016 on Side Income Sources. I listed out several ways I had made some beermoney/extra cash online. In the couple years that followed my focus for generating side income shifted to credit card & bank account bonus churning. I highly recommend Doctor of Credit and the r/churning subreddit if you're looking to get into that hobby.

These days I have young kids and also generate side income mowing lawns so I don't spend nearly as much time in any of the endeavors listed above. That said, I'm not likely to pass up a deal if it's not too time consuming or if it involves a financial product I'm hoping to try anyway. I thought it'd be fun to do an updated version of my side income post 5 years later in a space that has become a prominent interest/hobby for me.

Suffice to say that 2021 has been "The Year of Crypto" for me. The staying power of blockchain technology & decentralized monetary networks has become abundantly clear and it's been exciting to track how quickly things are happening in the space. The majority of my interest has been in Bitcoin (BTC) but Sorare has got me dabbling in the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem as well.


In my initial search to acquire BTC, I sought out a number of different platforms so I could test out the interface and get a sense of what fees are charged. It also became a way to avoid holding too much with any single custodian, since with crypto there is no FDIC protection for the investor. I figured several of these sites would be offering signup bonuses as crypto continues to grow and indeed that is the case.

Note: As alluded to above, there is risk involved in purchasing crypto. This post does not contain investment advice.

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Coin Hunt World - I have to start off with my favorite. I found this on reddit being promoted as "Pokémon Go for Bitcoin" which is a pretty apt description. You simply download an app, walk around to answer trivia at certain locations, and get rewarded in Bitcoin & Ethereum. Since downloading it about 3 months ago, I've been able to withdraw about $250 worth of crypto, just for walking & running around my city. With something like this I'm certainly curious how it's sustainable- you can read about the "why" for creating the game and business model for the game on their FAQ.

Strike - A very impressive app. Think Cash App with the added bonus of being able to send funds to your Bitcoin Lightning Wallet. Right now if you use my referral code - F7PCEA - you can get $5 - no deposit required.

You may have heard the news this week about El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender - Strike played a role in the Bitcoin Beach initiative, helping to show how well Bitcoin can play the role of day-to-day currency, in addition to being a store of wealth/alternative to gold that many, including, me have been viewing it as lately.

Gemini - Founded in 2014 by the Winklevoss twins (perhaps you remember them from The Social Network), Gemini is perhaps my favorite exchange due to is clean, modern interface and competitively low fees. Using a referral link gets you $10 in free Bitcoin once you buy or sell $100 worth of Bitcoin. Make sure to change your interface to Active Trader in order to reduce fees).

Swan Bitcoin - As the name indicates, this platform is Bitcoin specific. It makes the process very easy for someone new to Bitcoin with automated recurring investments and low fees. Swan is my recommendation for DCA (dollar cost averaging). Bonus is $10 of Bitcoin when you sign up.

Coinbase - Coinbase has been all over the news lately. Earlier this year they became the first crypto exchange to become publicly traded. You can now become a shareholder via it's listing on the Nasdaq (Ticker: $COIN). But that's not why we're here. The bonus is $10 in BTC once you buy or sell $100 worth of BTC. Now the fees on Coinbase are alarmingly high- on a $100 purchase of BTC you'll pay $2.99 so it's more like a $7 bonus. But there are some other advantages to having a Coinbase account:

    Coinbase Earn - Watch a few short videos, answer a few questions, and receive a few dollars of a lesser-known cryptocurrency. Usually rewards are between $3 & $10 worth and you can either sell them right away or hold them and hope to strike it rich by riding one of them to the moon.

    Coinbase Pro - A platform where you can use the same login as you do for Coinbase, but when you trade here, the fees are much lower.

Voyager - This is a broker rather than an exchange. Using the link (or code ) you can get $25 in free BTC after trading $100. 
    
    The Pros:
  • No trading fees
  • Earn interest when you hold a certain minimum balance of crypto on the Voyager platform. As of April 2021 that means 6.25% interest for holding 0.01 BTC (~$560 USD).
    The Cons:
  •     Mobile only
  •     High withdrawal fees: 0.0004 BTC (~$22 USD)
Brave Browser - A fast browser that also blocks tracking software for added privacy. In addition, for viewing Brave Ads you can earn BAT (Basic Attention Token) which is another form of crypto. BAT can also be contributed to any website that accepts it. I really like the idea of being able to support those websites you visit often via a BAT contribution. Since downloading Brave in January I've averaged a couple bucks each month in BAT rewards.

Uphold - You'll need this wallet/exchange if you want to cash out your BTC/ETH from Coin Hunt World and your BAT from Brave.

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That's it! If you have questions on any of this, or want to share your own recommendations with me, please let me know!
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