This article provides a detailed guide to the 5 most effective methods to receive crypto “for free” or with almost no capital: Airdrop; Referral & Learn-to-Earn/Earn Programs; Staking/Rewards; LP & Yield Farming & Liquidity Mining; On-chain Lending.
Airdrop
Airdrops are still the most common free method to receive tokens from new projects, especially from Layer 1/Layer 2, DeFi, AI/DePIN apps, and web3 games. At present, many projects are conducting or have announced clear opportunities for airdrops: for example, Mitosis (MITO) – a cross-chain liquidity protocol with a confirmed & ongoing airdrop; Nexus (NEX) with its testnet program; and Debank, also suggested in this month’s airdrop lists.
Furthermore, there are other chances with Monad, MegaETH, OG Labs, Ambient Finance,…
1/6
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👉 https://t.co/Gum7P9xJl2 pic.twitter.com/uyrK540bgY— DeBank (@DeBankDeFi) July 8, 2024
The DropHunting board from CryptoRank updates “potential airdrops” with specific tasks (for example Vana, Irys, Nerite) along with estimated reward sizes. In addition, you can track via tools such as CoinGecko Airdrops, DefiLlama Airdrop, NFTPlazas, Airdrop.io…
Source: Coingecko
For new projects, expectations range from a few dozen to a few hundred USD for regular users; past “blue-chip/L2 large” airdrops have provided several hundred to even thousands of USD for active addresses, though this is not guaranteed to repeat.
Users should also note: use a secondary wallet to interact if concerned about risks; maintain interaction history in case the project requires a snapshot. Carefully read eligibility conditions (KYC, region, required holdings, testnet vs mainnet) before completing tasks. Never pay for “claims” from unofficial sources — rely on trusted trackers (CoinGecko, CryptoRank, Airdrop.io) to verify.
For more: Best Free Crypto Airdrop 2025: Optimize Airdrop Potential
Referral and Learn-to-Earn
Referral and Learn-to-Earn are low-risk methods that require little or “no capital”, which means “free money” and suitable even for beginners. Currently, many new programs with clearer numbers show high effectiveness if you complete all steps and take advantage of regional promotions.
CEX Referral
Some examples:
- Binance Referral / Affiliate: The August 2025 Binance report shows that active users in the referral program can earn 40–50% of invitee trading fees if the invited person trades frequently.
In addition, users can diversify their implementation methods such as creating content to convey affiliate links, creating valuable communities.
Refer to this channel: NFT Trading Community
- Coinbase Quests: The Quests program allows users to learn about the new tokens that launch on the platform. Users need to complete the quizzes through watching videos and then receive free tokens. In Q3/2025, Coinbase’s Earn program announced a new token campaign – about 10–20 USD worth of tokens per person if all steps are completed (region-dependent).
- Bybit: The Referral + Deposit/Trading reward program is still active with regional limits; recently announced “Refer & Earn USDT” in the Asia-Pacific region with rewards up to ~1,717 USDT if the invitee achieves the required trading volume while you maintain referral activity.
Referral Programs
Referral programs usually follow this structure:
- Direct rewards for both referrer and invitee (for example, some USD / tokens when you invite someone new to sign up & KYC or deposit/trade a minimum amount)
- Commission from invitee trading fees (depending on the exchange, usually 20–50%)
- Learning bonuses + small gifts in Learn-to-Earn programs (usually new tokens, low value but an “entry point”)
Source: Binance
If you have a community of 1,000 active people and a 5% conversion rate who meet the trading conditions, commissions of 20–50% of trading fees can bring more sustainable income than airdrops thanks to compounding. However, many programs have regional quotas, and rewards may be vested/locked, but remember to always read terms carefully.
If your community is small or has little engagement, referral earnings won’t be high immediately, but with the right approach (content, guidance, clear benefits), it can become a steady income.
For more: Binance Referral Code September 2025: QH6V74V5 ($100 USDT Signup Bonus)
Staking
Staking or delegating the native coin of a blockchain has been a popular method since the inception of Proof-of-Stake chains. As of September 2025, there are around 35–37 million ETH staked on the Ethereum network. It accounts for nearly 29–31% of the total supply, showing very high staking participation.
Source: Binance
Staking APY depends on how you stake: staking through exchanges/custodians usually shows ~1.8–2.0% annually (depending on provider); staking directly with a validator (32 ETH) can provide higher yields by capturing MEV/fees — technical estimates suggest ~4–5.7% per year with MEV-Boost in some analyses (not guaranteed).
After the hype of staking, liquid staking, and liquid restaking in late 2024 and early 2025, staking currently no longer offers the high yields seen during early DeFi incentive periods, but it provides stability & lower risk (if you choose reputable networks). Users seeking “free or very low capital” can stake existing holdings or buy small amounts of altcoins to try. Some of the most famous protocols are Binance Staked, Lido, Eigenlayer, Rocket Pool, Jito…
If you have little capital, consider liquid staking (like Lido, Binance staking) to join with small amounts while keeping liquidity; if you have 32 ETH and enough skill, running your own validator may increase APY but comes with operational risks.
Yield Farming
Providing liquidity for DEXs (Uniswap, Curve, PancakeSwap, etc.) earns trading fees; many protocols also add reward tokens (liquidity mining/incentives) during certain phases to boost TVL. LP is always considered a highly volatile earning strategy but can offer big opportunities if you pick the right project/pool/timing.
Example incentive program:
- Linea Ignition: The Linea Ignition is an incentive program approved by the Linea Consortium. The program is to bootstrap the network TVL up to 100B, and power the upcoming new feature added.
What is Linea Ignition?
A program approved by the Linea Consortium to:
– Accelerate active TVL on Linea
– Reward liquidity providers (LPs)
– Power Linea’s upcoming Native Yield featureTarget: An additional $1B TVL with 1B LINEA tokens distributed as rewards.
End Date: Linea…
— Linea.eth (@LineaBuild) September 2, 2025
- Curve Finance / Cross-Chain Stable Pools (e.g., Fantom or Arbitrum): At the time of writing, some stablecoin pools show APR/rewards of ~5–20% annually when including reward tokens + swap fees, especially on chains where liquidity is not yet too large to dilute rewards.
Source: Curve
- PancakeSwap (BSC / Binance Smart Chain): Still offers new LP farms with double-digit APR for new pairs + CAKE rewards; in some fresh cases, APR can reach ~25–40% if reward tokens are heavily incentivized.
If you want to maximize returns while accepting some risk, choose LPs with stablecoins or less volatile tokens, on chains with low gas fees, and protocols with clear incentives where reward tokens are listed and liquid.
On-chain Lending
Lending in DeFi is a way to “deposit capital” to earn interest; you provide assets to money markets (Aave, Compound, Venus…) and earn yield; rates change depending on supply and demand. Stablecoins usually reduce price volatility risk, but you must still consider contract and liquidity risks.
- Aave V3 (Ethereum): DefiLlama aggregate shows USDC APY ~5.2% (30-day avg ~4.5%), pool TVL around $594M (at recording time; constantly changing).
Source: Aave v3
- Venus (BSC): The Dashboard shows USDT Supply APY ~5.7% at present; third-party aggregators reflect real daily/30-day measured yield.
- Compound (Ethereum / Layer2): Rates update in real-time according to the market; the markets page publishes supply/borrow APY for each asset (USDC/DAI/ETH…).
Stablecoin lending lowers price volatility risk, but you still pay gas fees (if the chain has high costs) and face smart contract risk and liquidity risk if many withdraw at once.
When considering the lending option, users need to pay attention to interest rate changes. When supply/demand changes, the interest rate fluctuates too. When supply is too high, APY falls; when demand rises, APY increases, but reward tokens or incentives may lag.
So that, users must prioritize large & audited protocols with stable track records (e.g., Aave, Compound, Venus). If you hold multiple stablecoins, spread them across protocols to reduce single-point risk. You also need to monitor interest rates daily & supply/demand changes, so when yields start to drop, you can switch to other methods (LP or staking) or withdraw.
For more: Fixed Yield Farming in DeFi: An Expert Analysis
FAQ
Airdrop: Is It Really Free?
Yes, but you pay with time, gas fees, and/or privacy/KYC risks; most “upcoming airdrops” remain rumors until officially announced. Reliable watchlists include CoinGecko (07/2025) and Koinly; DropHunting boards provide specific missions to “check in” early.
How Much Is ETH Staking Yielding?
Depends on the model. Centralized providers show ~1.8–2.0%/year; self-run validators + MEV-Boost can earn ~4–5.7%/year according to technical estimates; actual figures depend on MEV, fees, and the network’s staking ratio.
Does Yield Farming Bring High Returns?
When incentives are strong, APR can be double digits, but it’s volatile, and after the reward phase there’s usually sell pressure plus impermanent loss.
Is Lending Safe?
Relatively safe if using major platforms like Aave/Compound, but there’s still smart contract risk or bank run scenarios.
Do Referrals Need Capital?
No, only an exchange account. But results depend on your marketing ability.
Is There A Guaranteed Way To Know Which Airdrops Will Happen?
No guarantee. Many projects are only “rumors” or “potential.” For example, Ambient and Hyperliquid are widely discussed but not yet official.
If I Stake Or Lend, Can I Lose Money If Token Prices Fall?
Yes. If the token you stake or the rewards you earn drop sharply in price, high nominal yield may be wiped out by token depreciation.
Do Referral Programs Have Regional Or Time Limits?
Yes. For example, Coinbase Referral in Singapore has a deadline of 31 Oct 2025.
