Jul 9, 2019
How you could end up with bitcoin even though you didn’t buy any
[Last updated, 5 July, 2022]
You would end up with bitcoin if you were to :
- Freelance where the gig pays using bitcoin
- Freelance on a traditional freelancing site (e.g., Upwork) but get paid in bitcoin thanks to BitWage or Strike (this also works for any type of income where you receive an ACH “direct deposit” or other bank transfer method).
- Sell goods and services and get paid using a bitcoin merchant processor
- Sell goods and services on a P2P marketplace
- Work for a bitcoin company that pays in bitcoin
- Work for a company that earns some of their revenue in bitcoin, that then prefers to pay vendors and employees using those bitcoin proceeds
- Be employed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which can only pay out in a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, as a DAO doesn’t touch fiat and has no bank accounts
- Do microtasks for bitcoin. E.g., add posts to Stacker News (⚡) [FAQ].
- Drive for the “decentralized Uber”, Arcade.City (⚡)
- Receive a Tip in bitcoin — with Alby, or from another Twitter user (Guide)
- Be a content creator who earns bitcoin using a bitcoin-based Patreon-like service, or earns bitcoin with each view on their youtube channel, or web site. Use Fountain for your podcast, where listeners stream bitcoin (⚡) to you. And NFTs can open a whole new world for creatives.
- Fix software and earn a bounty
- Get bitcoin back for online purchases paid for using a credit or debit card
- Earn sats for purchases anywhere, using a bitcoin-friendly debit card
- Operate a mining operation, tiny or large
- Sell online or locally to earn bitcoin. How-To Guide. Then, promote using Oshi (⚡).
- Earn gains or dividends from stocks or ETFs bought on an American stock exchange through Abra
- Earn interest from decentralized lending
- Earn fees from participating in r/JoinMarket
- Earn yield from providing liquidity to the Lightning network
- Buy and sell bitcoin on a P2P Trading exchange
- Collect rent from tenants who pay in bitcoin
- Earn profit from operating bitcoin ATMs
- Earn from providing liquidity to (or operating) a bitcoin over-the-counter OTC Trading desk
- Provide legal services such as arbitration or escrow
- Withdraw after gambling on online poker, sporting events, games of chance, etc.
- Earn from a “cam site”
- Sell that prepaid gift card you don’t plan to use, in exchange for bitcoin e.g., on Paxful.com
- Earn “cash back rewards” when paying using your credit card after linking it to one of: Lolli, Fold (⚡), Coinmiles, Oshi (⚡), or a card from The Bitcoin Company (⚡)
- Withdraw from a spare change investing app (e.g., Cash App)
- Raise money through crowdfunding, e.g., Tally Coin, Geyser, and more
- etc. (Your suggestions for additional methods are welcome — scroll to the bottom of this article).
Things are just getting started …., just wait until gig marketplaces like Uber, DoorDash, and AirBNB offer to pay in bitcoin to attract more service providers. Or when payment in bitcoin is an option for those who make bulk payments — such as Udemy which pays instructors their commissions and TryMYUI wich pays their testers.
If you earn in bitcoin, you will then prefer to spend in bitcoin (versus going through the friction of “cashing out” into fiat). This occurring often will “close the loop”, lessening significantly the conversions to- and from fiat.
Related
Much of the material for this post was obtained from a corresponding post on r/Bitcoin (on Reddit). Are there additional methods you’ld like to share?
Additions, corrections, and other feedback welcome and can be submitted via e-mail.
