How to Earn Crypto Passively: 10 Simple Methods That Work in 2025

Starting earning passive income with crypto amidst all this commotion is also a great idea because you get so many facets where crypto profits flow, and as many methods to earn them. This article goes through all the relevant ways you can start drawing in profits passively by tapping into crypto.

It also highlights how to make money with crypto without necessarily mining coins (which requires you to purchase specialized hardware and join mining pools, but brings higher potential returns as well). Let’s take a look.

1

Staking

• Estimated returns: 3%–12% annual percentage yield (APY), depending on the token you stake and the validator you use.

Before all else, you can multiply what crypto you have by staking any coin on an exchange and gaining weekly, monthly, or annual percentage rewards. This is a great strategy if you already have any amount of digital assets and don’t want to risk losing it or overholding it. 

How it works:

You stake your crypto by locking up assets in a proof-of-stake blockchain, which in turn contributes to maintaining the entire blockchain network’s security. In return for your dedication, you earn staking rewards which usually come in the same token you staked.

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

With Ethereum 2.0 fully rolled out and tons of new PoS blockchains gaining traction, like Solana, Cardano, and Polkadot, staking is becoming much closer and friendlier to solo crypto enthusiasts. As a result, staking is now widely available across exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and wallets like Ledger Live, all of which you can safely leverage for crypto passive income.

Crypto Lending

• Estimated returns: 4%–15% APY, with higher rates for stablecoins.

Another great way to monetize existing digital assets passively is to lend them out for respective fees. All you really need to start indulging in lending percentage profits is an e-wallet, some crypto on it, and a reliable platform where you can find borrowers.

How it works:

You lend your crypto to borrowers via a specialized platform and receive fixed amounts of interest in return. 

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

With more regulations emerging by the day, crypto borrower’s are better governed and safer to work with. On top of that, the spiking demand for stablecoin (as a hedging and reserve asset) has further made lending safer and more predictable. We expect crypto-backed loans to become extremely popular in the nearest future.

Note that you can use two types of platforms here, each to its own benefit: 

Decentralized platforms

• No middleman: You interact directly with smart contracts.
• Non-custodial: You keep control of your funds until you lend them.
• Transparent: All transactions and reserves are visible on the blockchain.
• Permissionless: Anyone with a wallet can lend or borrow — no KYC.
• Risks: Smart contract bugs, protocol exploits, and volatility.
  

Best for: Users who value decentralization, transparency of operations, and control over funds.

• Examples: Aave, Compound

Centralized services

• Custodial: You deposit funds to the company, which manages them.
• Easier UX: Apps have enterprise-grade support and insurance.
• KYC required: You must verify identity to use services.
• Opaque operations: Lending strategies and risks are less visible.
• Risks: Platform mismanagement, insolvency.
  

Best for: Beginners or those seeking simplicity, fixed rates, and customer support.

• Examples: Nexo, YouHodler

Yield Farming

• Estimated returns: Varies highly, 5%–50%+ depending on the pool and volatility.

Yet another proven way to earn passive income with crypto is to help maintain liquidity and demand for various dApps by passing your crypto funds through them. Yield farming allows you to contribute to the uptime of a certain DeFi protocol and get maximized returns. 

How it works:

You move your crypto across DeFi protocols, contributing to their liquidity and gaining profitable interest, fees, or reward tokens.

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

You can simplify your strategizing of DeFi crypto investments, eliminate risks, and cut gas fees with the help of today’s automation tools and aggregators. Your best bet is to stick to blue-chip protocols and never move assets through unaudited platforms.

• Platforms you can use: Yearn Finance, Beefy.

Liquidity Mining

• Estimated returns: 10%–40% APY, with some pairs offering bonus tokens.

For more methods to capitalize on the cryptographic liquidity, you can also contribute to decentralized exchanges, or DEXs if you will. This is when you allow a certain DEX to use your tokens to maintain the network’s internal liquidity and thus keep operations stable and demanded.

How it works:

You store your crypto on a DEX, or move your crypto through DEX (via platform-wide transactions), contributing to this DEX’s overall liquidity and earning a share of transaction fees and/or extra token incentives.

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

Centralized platforms are becoming tightly regulated — even J.D. Vance has recently expressed the US government’s intentions to double down on decentralization. So liquidity providers like you are becoming all the more valued.

• Platforms you can use: Uniswap, PancakeSwap

Play-to-Earn Games

• Potential earnings: Varies by time, skill, and game, usually $1 to $20/day for casual players.

How to earn cryptocurrency while having fun at the same time? There’s actually a way, with an abundance of P2E games we have on today’s market. These types of games usually run on a cryptographic engine, where simple yet mass actions (e.g., tapping or clicking a screen) contribute to mining or other crypto and blockchain operations. 

How it works:

You play blockchain-based games and earn crypto and NFTs in the process (by contributing actions like clicks and taps).

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

Web3 has matured as never before, with games running on better economies and not necessarily being reliant on suspicious brands and speculative inflows. Many now include daily rewards and sustainable tokenomics.

• Games you can play to earn: Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained, Pixels.

Cloud Mining

• Potential earnings: Varies a lot, high ceiling, depends on the effort invested.

If you’re looking to start earning crypto but still don’t want to go all in with mining, there are less risky, cloud-based alternatives. With cloud mining, you don’t need to buy, install, and manage your own mining rig — you can rent out any extent of hash capacity from a data center and mine via a virtual environment. 

How it works:

You rent hash power from a data center and earn mining rewards without owning or maintaining any hardware of your own (except for your PC).

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

The cloud mining platforms available today allow you to mine profits in peace while the cloud’s owner takes care of all the maintenance and technical issues. You can track profitability and leverage tons of advanced features.

• Platforms you can use: NiceHash, Bitdeer

Crypto Savings Accounts

• Potential interest: 4%–10% APY depending on asset and lock-up period.

You can actually make money with crypto by saving and preserving it over time — a good crypto savings account will pay you a pretty penny in interest for it. By accumulating your savings’ interest rates, you are looking at up to 10% of profits that you can get as overtime interest.

How it works:

You register a savings account in crypto, deposit funds with a platform, and withdraw the interest accumulated over time.

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

Stablecoins and top market cryptos, like BTC and ETH, can be saved on trusted platforms that have grown to now offer insured, audited savings environments.

Platforms you can use: Ledn, Nexo

Affiliate Programs

• Potential earnings: Varies a lot, depending on the price per and number of affiliates

If you’re wondering how to make money in crypto with a minimum involvement of the crypto itself, you can help established platforms, exchanges, and organizations promote and gain more users/customers by referring new people to their services. 

How it works:

You refer new users to a crypto exchange, wallet, or platform and earn respective commissions in crypto.

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

As competition over crypto heats up once again, many industry-dedicated platforms offer lifetime revenue sharing or up to 50% commission per referral. Just make sure to refer people to reputable platforms with a high-level UX to keep things organic.

Platforms you can affiliate to: Binance, Bybit.

Airdrops and Bounties

• Potential earnings: Varies based on a specific event

Last but not least, you can hunt for special offerings online and take part in various airdrops happening regularly across startup launchpads, promotions, events, and websites. You can also complete tasks (e.g., create content, partake in bug testing, etc.) for bounties. With regular participation, you have all the chances to yield major profits. 

How it works:

You take part in project promotions, testing or launch efforts and get free tokens or other monetizable incentives.

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

Thanks to Layer-2s emerging on the blockchain market, gas fees drop and airdrops can be once again leveraged as an efficient passive income source. 

How to find them: Track sites like AirdropAlert or follow projects early on X and Discord.

Tokenized Real Estate and DeFi ETFs

• Potential returns: 6%–10% annually, with more transparency and lower volatility than most DeFi.

You can get major profit yields by investing your crypto wisely, e.g., into real estate or ETFs tied to DeFi assets. You can tokenize any real estate bonds you have to get higher interest rates (e.g., based on crypto’s price and demand). 

How it works:

You invest in tokenized assets like real estate or crypto ETFs and automatically yield profits from rent, appreciation, etc.

Why it’s relevant in 2025:

You can tokenize investments via specialized platforms that offer fractional ownership with passive income streams, often in USDC or fiat-backed stablecoins.

Platforms you can use: ReaIT, MatrixdockDo you need to consult further or pick the best crypto for passive income for your purposes? Talk to specialists at EZ Blockchain for tailored assistance.