Coinbase Earn: What It is and How to Make Money on Coinbase? (2024)

Are you seeking ways to boost your income? Maybe you want to improve your investment portfolio within the cryptocurrency industry. Rest assured because I’m here to tell you about a really interesting option to earn passive interest: the Coinbase Earn reward program offered by Coinbase!

It’s widely known that Coinbase is one of the largest and most used cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. However, you might be asking yourself, if there are so many alternatives, what makes Coinbase worth the shot?

Worry not, I will provide you with reasons to consider choosing Coinbase Earn, as well as a tutorial on how to start using it. So, by the end of your reading, you will have all the information you need to earn Coinbase free cryptos and improve your cryptocurrency wallet.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the Coinbase Ecarn program!

Why Choose Coinbase Earn?

It goes without saying that you should be aware of all of your options before making a major decision on which platform to use to start earning from your crypto holdings. Whether you're thinking about using Coinbase Earn or any other earning program.

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Of course, naturally, the first ones that come to mind are the most famous in the crypto world. Among them, there is Coinbase, a well-established exchange platform that has been around for quite some time, which tells a lot about its reliability, as well as its security.

Later on in this article, when I give the step-by-step on how to make money on Coinbase, I will tell you more about KYC protocols and other security measures used by the platform.

But, besides its security and reliability, Coinbase is also considered by many a user-friendly platform. In other words, it has an interface that is easy to understand and navigate through.

This is also related to the fact that the Coinbase Earn crypto program is ideal for investors who want a practical and all-in-one platform, where different assets can be discovered, viewed, and managed.

For those who are beginning their investment journey, having access to a clear yet feature-packed program might make a huge difference!

It doesn’t end here, though, because besides being practical and easy to use, the platform is flexible, as well: users can withdraw their assets anytime they want, meaning that there are no lock-up periods!

These aspects alone are enough to give Coinbase Earn major points, making it a great alternative to gain passive income on your crypto! But since we don’t want to make any hasty decisions, let’s analyze the actual earning solutions offered by Coinbase Earn.

Ways to Earn Coinbase Rewards

There are three main ways to earn Coinbase free cryptos: Staking, DeFi Yielding, and Learning. Before we get deep into them, though, it's important to know that the Coinbase Earn program users can earn an Annual Percentage Yield of up to 6.00%.

Moreover, it’s also worth noting that Coinbase interest does not come from Coinbase itself, it comes from DeFi protocols. This means that Coinbase Earn acts as an intermediate between users and the protocols!

Therefore, the job of the Coinbase Earn program is to pass along any rewards earned. However, this operation is not done without any costs: a Coinbase fee is subtracted from the value received.

Anyway, having said this, allow me to introduce the variety of possibilities for earning Coinbase rewards.

Coinbase Earn: Staking

As stated before, staking is one of the main options to earn Coinbase rewards. But what is staking? It’s very likely that you already know the answer, yet let’s do a quick recap.

At the very core, staking is simply holding your assets to generate passive income. Besides that, staking is part of the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, which is one of the most famous protocols used to ensure the security and validation of the transactions done in a blockchain.

In simple words, the Proof-of-Stake method works like this: an elected user adds a new block to the blockchain after validating the transactions, and, in exchange for their service, they earn free cryptos.

Basically, following this protocol, new blocks are created through the minting process.

The requirement to become a validator - the person who creates and validates these blocks - is the staking of their tokens. Thus, by holding onto certain cryptocurrencies, the validator can earn interest in return.

To give some perspective, it’s interesting to know that this protocol differs from the Proof-of-Work consensus, in which the creation of a new block involves a competition between validators / miners to solve a cryptographic puzzle.

Put simply, in order to become a validator in a Proof-of-Work network, the user needs to have significant hash power - powerful validator hardware. Whereas, in a PoS system, what matters is whether you hold certain tokens or not.

Though, it’s not always limited to that. Some PoS systems often demand a lock-up period as part of the requirements, meaning that only holding onto crypto assets is not enough - validators need to do it for a certain period of time.

However, those interested in the Coinbase Earn crypto program don’t need to worry about that! As was already mentioned in this article, Coinbase Earn allows their users to unstake anytime they want! More than that, no fee is charged for staking or unstaking, as the fee demanded by Coinbase is based on the rewards only.

Furthermore, there is no exorbitant restriction when it comes to the amount allowed for staking: investors may contribute with any amount they desire, as long as they acquire the minimum balance of the asset!

So far, it's pretty clear that I made sure to mention the positive aspects of Coinbase staking services. Naturally, there are also some downsides. Firstly, this solution is only available for certain cryptocurrencies on the platform, such as Ethereum.

Secondly, the reward rates depend on market conditions at the time of staking - of course, they are also based on the cryptocurrency chosen. This downside is associated with the risk of losing funds, which can happen, among other causes, by the drop in the cryptocurrency’s value.

Thirdly, by locking up your assets, you lose liquiditysince you cannot use them for as long as they are being staked. In Coinbase's case, though, this is somewhat compensated by the fact that the platform doesn’t impose lock-up periods, as I mentioned before.

Beyond that, you already know that Coinbase charges a commission on every reward earned. And, while the fee may not be substantial, it is still an expense that users should take into account when determining whether to choose the staking solution.

Obviously, some of these downsides are not particular to the platform - they are natural risks of staking. Nonetheless, it’s important to know them in the context of the Coinbase Earn program.

So, in short, through the staking solution of the Coinbase Earn crypto program, users can participate in securing the networks of the assets they stake. In turn, they get compensated - they earn Coinbase interest!

If you want to learn more about staking on Coinbase, check out this beginner-friendly step-by-step guide.

Coinbase Earn: DeFi Yield

If you are not interested in earning Coinbase interest through staking, you might like the DeFi Yield option! Since I took the time to explain what staking is, let me do the same with DeFi Yield.

First of all, let’s revise the basics. DeFi stands for “decentralized finance”, which is a new financial system built on decentralized ledgers, such as blockchains.

In the crypto world, a ledger is meant to keep an account of all transactions done within a cryptocurrency network. Furthermore, it’s decentralized because there is no central authority to enforce regulations. In other words, there is no single point of failure.

Having said this, you might be wondering, “if there is no central authority, how is security maintained in such a system?”; and the answer to this question has already been mentioned in this article!

The security and integrity of a decentralized ledger are achieved through a consensus algorithm. I briefly talked about the Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Work methods, but there are many others. However, I'm not going to linger on this subject, because we still need to cover the “Yield” part.

In the context of Coinbase, yield is short for “yield farming”, a strategy to generate passive income on cryptocurrencies through dApps (decentralized applications) and DeFi platforms. This strategy is essentially an investment practice in which a user locks up their crypto in a DeFi protocol to receive rewards in exchange.

These locked crypto assets are then borrowed by or traded with other users through smart contracts. The users who provide crypto assets - the lenders - are referred to as yield farmers, or sometimes even liquidity providers, due to the fact that they improve the liquidity in the dApp/DeFi platform they chose to invest in.

Thus, by depositing their tokens into a DeFi protocol, yield farmers make their funds available to anyone using the dApp. And, in return for their service, they earn interest.

The DeFi Yield option on the Coinbase Earn crypto program works exactly like this - users lend their crypto assets and get rewarded with Coinbase interest in return!

As was already mentioned, though, Coinbase is only responsible for passing along the rewards. This means that the crypto assets of yield farmers get invested in a third-party DeFi protocol instead of being invested directly on Coinbase.

The DeFi protocol in question is Compound Finance, a decentralized lending platform. On Compound, lenders deposit crypto assets into liquidity pools and borrowers can obtain loans from these pools by using other crypto assets as collateral. As borrowers pay interest on their loans, lenders earn rewards in the form of the crypto they initially deposited.

So, put simply, the customers of the Coinbase Earn program invest in Compound Finance, and the rewards paid by Compound are then forwarded to the yield farmer by Coinbase.

In a way, this makes the process a bit more centralized due to Coinbase being a middleman, which can be considered a disadvantage by some, and an advantage by others.

Essentially, the main downside of this is the fee charged by Coinbase, which is subtracted from the rewards. The main positive aspect, on the other hand, is the extra layer of security added by having an intermediate that demands extensive safety measures.

Anyway, back to Compound: it’s important to know that the rewards earned through this process are subject to change depending on the rates from Compound and market conditions!

In other words, Compound determines the amount paid to the yield farmer based on the amount available in the liquidity pool. Naturally, the rates also depend on the demand for deposits, meaning that, if there are already enough crypto assets being deposited, and not a lot of borrowers are interested in them, the rate of the rewards will drop.

This translates to high volatility. Thus, there is the risk of not earning as much as expected, as well as the risk of losses if the cryptocurrency’s value experiences a significant decline.

Beyond that, remember when I told you that one of Coinbase Earn’s perks is the no lock-up period for the crypto assets staked? Well, this is also true for the crypto assets deposited through DeFi Yield!

Pretty interesting, huh?

So, that's pretty much it! Now you have a good idea of how to make money on Coinbase through yield farming, as well as through staking. But, don’t go anywhere just yet, because our discussion about Coinbase Earn is far from over!

Coinbase Earn: Learn and Earn

I've already talked about two of the main solutions to earn Coinbase rewards - Staking and DeFi Yield. But there is still one other way left: the Coinbase Learn and Earn program.

It works as the name suggests: you learn about certain topics and receive rewards in return.

Put simply, the Coinbase Learn and Earn product provides cryptocurrency-related courses. They are educational tutorials (videos) that can be accessed by any user who has signed up on Coinbase Earn and had their identity verified.

If a user decides to take one of these courses, by the end of it, they will have their knowledge tested through a quiz. Then, after completing this test, the user will be rewarded with certain amounts of crypto assets.

Therefore, as you’re done setting up your account on Coinbase, you can start learning (and earning) right away through the Coinbase Learn and Earn program!

It seems like a pretty simple and easy way to get Coinbase free cryptos, right? And it is... though, only to a certain extent. Allow me to explain what I mean by that.

First of all, while it’s not as complicated as staking and yield farming, this solution can still be quite time-consuming, as well. However, note that the time depends on which course you chose and on how long it takes for you to finish it.

What’s more, when it comes to educational content, a lot of tutorials don’t provide in-depth information, as they are made for beginners. Thus, if a user is looking for something beyond introductory courses, this option might not be to their liking.

Now, regarding the size of the rewards, the amount of tokens earned by completing a quiz is always the same - they don’t change with time. Though, each course offers different rewards. However, their corresponding dollar value may vary, since it follows the USD spot price of the cryptocurrency at the time of earning.

All of these disadvantages, though, are small compared to the benefits that make the Coinbase Learn and Earn program an engaging and relatively easy opportunity to earn some extra money! Thus, you should definitely check it out, especially if you're a beginner.

Reward Earning Requirements

So, now that you know the options of earning interest on the Coinbase Earn platform, let's talk about the requirements you need to meet for earning these rewards.

Basically, there are two main requirements to participate in the Coinbase Earn program: you need to have your personal information verified, and you must live in a country in which Coinbase Earn is allowed.

Put simply, when signing up on Coinbase, the user will have to meet specific requirements related to account uniqueness in order to satisfy their internal fraud and compliance-related criteria.

The personal information requested includes the customer’s date of birth and address. Do note that you can only start earning after your identity has been verified! Moreover, when it comes to the Coinbase Learn and Earn program, there is an additional step: complete ID and photo verification.

As I mentioned earlier, Coinbase takes its security quite seriously! So, their KYC protocols are very important. This does not mean, though, that it takes too long to sign up on the platform to start earning Coinbase free cryptos! On the contrary, the process is very fast and easy.

Now, regarding the geographic requirement, the Coinbase Earn program is available in more than 100 countries around the world. Besides, users who live in countries where Coinbase is available while Coinbase Earn is not, can get verified and join a waitlist to become eligible for Coinbase Earn.

Check out the Coinbase website for the most up-to-date list of supported countries.

So, what else do you need to start earning passive income on the platform? Well, to state the obvious, in order to stake or yield farm, the user needs to have an eligible asset in their Coinbase account. Thus, you must buy the desired crypto asset beforehand.

Having said this, let’s go through a step-by-step tutorial on how to start using the Coinbase Earn program.

How to Join Coinbase Earn: A Step-by-Step Guide

So, if any of the earning options presented to you in this article have piqued your interest, you might consider signing up on Coinbase. To put the whole process briefly, you must complete these four steps:

• Step 1: provide your name and email address, and create a strong password;
• Step 2: confirm your email address by engaging with an email sent by Coinbase;
• Step 3: provide your phone number as part of the 2-step verification protocol, and pass KYC verification (or do the latter later);
• Step 4: add your credit / debit card - this step can also be skipped at this point, but will be needed later on.

Looking at the steps in more detail, to create an account, you first need to provide your first and last names together with your email address. And, of course, you will need to create a password, as well as agree with Privacy Policy and User Agreement (after reading them thoroughly, of course!).

While we are on the topic of passwords, allow me to give you some tips on how to create a strong one, which is especially important when it comes to financial platforms:

A strong password often includes a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols while avoiding personal information or common words/phrases. It’s also best if it has a length of at least 8-12 characters. Also, don’t forget that it's crucial not to reuse the same password across multiple accounts!

After providing your name and creating a password, Coinbase will send you an email in order to confirm the email address you provided in the first step. Go to that email and click on "Verify Email Address."

Then, your phone number will be requiredas part of the 2-step verification protocol, which is an additional protective measure used to enhance the security of online accounts. This involves the use of two different types of authentication methods to verify your identity when logging in.

In other words, whenever you want to access your account, you'll need to enter your email address and password, followed by an additional piece of information, such as a code sent to your mobile phone.

After the phone verification, you have to pass a full KYC verification process. Here, you'll have to provide all basic information about yourself, as well as confirm your address. Usually, to pass KYC, you need to use your ID and something that proves your place of residence (like a utility bill). Though, as mentioned before, you can do this later.

Lastly, you'll have to addyour credit or debit card. Even though the step is optional at that moment, it will become indispensable as you begin your investment journey.

So, that's it, now you know the four main steps you'll have to take to start out with Coinbase Earn. Pretty easy, huh?

An Alternative Solution: Coinbase Affiliate Program

Well, I showed you how to make money on Coinbase with their main products available. However, I will also tell you something that not a lot of people know about: the Coinbase affiliate program!

This is the Coinbase Earn crypto product available for those who own a website or a blog and want to collaborate with Coinbase by promoting them in exchange for rewards.

The ways to promote Coinbase include sharing links, writing articles or social media posts, and putting on ads about Coinbase on your own social media platforms. If you do any of those and end up being successful in attracting people to Coinbase, the platform will provide you with 50% of each referral’s trading fees for their first three months using the program.

Note that only promoting is not enough to actually receive Coinbase rewards in return: people need to see what you’ve posted and then engage with the platform as a result of your work.

In other words, your Coinbase advertising needs to be effective! Sounds reasonable, right?

If this seems like a good deal to you, and, of course, if you meet the criteria of having a social media platform, you just need to fill out a form for the affiliate program. Also, it goes without saying that you need to have a Coinbase account in order to participate in the program.

To fill up the form, you have to provide personal information, such as your name, address, phone number, and time zone. Moreover, at the bottom of the form, there will be the Terms of the Program and other important information, so check those out carefully.

That's it, after you fill out the form, just wait for Coinbase to get back to you.

Conclusions

So, now you know the ways you can earn passive income with Coinbase Earn. At this point, it should be quite clear that this platform provides interesting solutions and major benefits, such as a high level of security, a user-friendly interface, and the no lock-up periods policy.

To summarize all earning options, you can either use the Coinbase Earn staking program, DeFi Yield program, the Learn and Earn program, or the affiliate program (which is not technically a part of Coinbase Earn).

What’s even better: you get all of the aforementioned benefits regardless of the solution you choose! In other words, whether you choose to stake your money, lock up your savings, or even learn more about different cryptocurrency-related topics, you will earn passive income in a safe and practical way.

Overall, being one of the biggest and most well-known exchange platforms out there, Coinbase certainly deserves your attention. So, good luck putting your assets to work on Coinbase Earn!

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