There are a number of different ways that you can earn passive income with cryptocurrencies. These methods vary quite considerably in terms of the minimum investment requirements, returns, ease and other factors, which we have outlined simply below. That said, there are a few key points that you should take note of before diving in!
- Returns are only an estimate and are liable to change. Be sure to check calculators and consult members of the community for the most up to date information before investing.
- Return estimates often do not take into account the cost of electricity – depending on calculator – or investment in equipment. Crypto passive income methods that require running full nodes will undoubtedly add an extra cost.
- Always remember the continuation of earning interest is dependant on the success of the project, so lower market cap coins are likely to be higher risk. Always do your own fundamental research before investing.
Proof of Stake Comparison
Earning interest by staking is one of the easiest ways to earn passive income with crypto. Usually all that is required is to buy some of the coin and hold it in a wallet. Some will require you to have the wallet open and running in order to earn interest, whilst others do not. Depending on the staking type, some may also require voting which adds a bit of extra work/cost.
| Coin | Staking Type | Aprox. Returns Per Annum | Reward Currency | Calculator | Wallet | Recommended Min | Notes | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ark | DPoS | 9-12% | ARK | Ark Calculator | Ark Client | 100 ARK | Requires voting costing 1 ARK, 1 vote per address. Wallet can be closed. | Ark Blog |
| Lisk | DPoS | 10% | LSK | Lisk Calculator | Lisk Nano | 400 LSK | Requires voting costing 1 LSK per vote, max 4 votes at once. Wallet can be closed. | earnlisk.com |
| Neo | dBFT | 3-6% | GAS | Neo Calculator | Neon Wallet | None | Does not require wallet application to be run constantly. No setup. | |
| PivX | PoS | 4-5% | PIVX | PivX Calculator | PivX Desktop | None | Wallet must remain open. Reward oscillates with masternodes, see calculator. | PivX Guide |
| NavCoin | PoS | 5% | NAV | NavCoin Calculator | NavCoin Core | None | Wallet must be running constantly, can run on Raspberry Pi. | |
| Reddcoin | PoSV | 5% | RDD | Reddcoin Calculator | Reddcoin Core | None | Wallet must be running constantly. | |
| Decred | PoS | 16-20% | DCR | DCR Stats | Decrediton | 65 DCR | Voting - a little more complicated than others. Wallet always on. Staking pool fees 1-5% | Decredible Staking Guide |
| Neblio | PoS | 10% | NEBL | Neblio Calculator | Neblio Core | None | Wallet must be running constantly, can run on RPi. Coin age affects rewards, weighting starts at 24h and reaches max at 7 days. | Neblio Blog |
| Stratis | PoS | 1-2% | STRAT | Stratis Calculator | Stratis Staking Wallet | None | Wallet must be running constantly. | |
| Blocknet | PoS | 9-14% | BLOCK | Blocknet Calculator | BlocknetDX | None | Wallet must be running at all times. | Blocknet GitHub |
| Komodo | PoS | Up to 5.1% | KMD | Agama Wallet | 10 KMD | Wallet does not have to be open. KMD rewards stop accruing after 1 month and need to be collected to reset gaining of interest by initiating a transaction/s. | KMD Staking Guide | |
| Qtum | PoS | 5-6% | QTUM | Qtum Calculator | Qtum Core | None, but more increases chance of rewards | Wallet must be running consantly, can run of Pi |
Masternode Comparison
Running a masternode is not something recommended for beginners as you will usually need to have some programming knowledge. Barriers to entry are also significant, with high minimum coin requirements and the need to purchase specialist equipment.
| Masternodes | Staking Type | Aprox. Returns Per Annum | Reward Currency | Calculator | Minimum | Notes | More info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dash | PoS | 7-7.5% | DASH | Dash Calculator | 1000 DASH | Requires dedicated IP address, computer to be running 24 hours a day, server or VPS installed with Linux. High barrier to entry. % of block reward reduces by 7% every 380 days - currently at 45%. | Dash.org |
| PivX | PoS | 5-6% | PIVX | PivX Calculator | 10,000 PIVX | Requires dedicated IP address, computer to be running 24 hours a day, server running Rasp Pi or Linux. Relatively low barrier to entry. | Pivxmasternode.org |
| Blocknet | PoS | 13-17% | BLOCK | Blocknet Calculator | 5000 BLOCK | Requires two computers - one to host node and one to host wallets. Wallets required for each coin you want to support, but only node computer needs to be running constantly. | Blocknetprotocol.com |
| NEM | PoI | 5% | XEM | NEM Calculator | 10,000 - 3,000,000 XEM | Vesting done at rate of 10% per day. Min vesting amount of 10,000 XEM for delegated harvesting, min 3,000,000 for Supernode. Delegated harvesting can be done offline. High barrier to entry for Supernode. | NEM Blog |
Exchange Coin Comparison
Exchange coins are a relatively new mechanism for earning interest with crypto. They are essentially shares in an exchange that pay you dividends – usually as a percentage of trading fees. As such, returns will depend entirely on trade volumes, with higher volumes leading to more fees and a better ROI.
| Coin | % of Fees | Approx. Returns Per Annum | Reward Currency | Calculator | Recommended Min | Notes | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KuCoin | 50% | 4-4.5% | KCS | KuCoin Calc | 6 KCS | Fee share planned to reduce to 15% in future. Automatic distribution of KCS shares to exchange wallet every 24 hours. | KuCoin FAQ |
| COSS | 50% | 7-8% (before distribution fees) | Currency of Trade | COSS Calculator | 2000 COSS | Fees fixed at 50% due to DAO hard coding. Fee share paid in currency of trade. 0.002 ETH fee to claim each coin share, which is why there is a high viable minimum, and must be claimed manually with weekly distribution. COSS can be stored in MEW, but requires smart contract setup for payout. | COSS FAQ |
| CryptoBridge | 50% | 5-10% | Currency of Trade | BridgeCoin Staking Calculator | None | Coins are locked for staking period of either 1 month (0% bonus), 3 months (20% bonus), 6 months (50% bonus), 12 months (100% bonus). Payouts are bi-weekly and still occur when locked but BCO cannot be traded. | CryptoBridge Staking Tutorial |
| Cryptopia Fee Share Token | 4.5% | 7-10%? | Currency of Trade? | Cryptopiashares.com - likely inaccurate | None | Fixed supply of 6300 CEFS. Limited information available from Cryptopia, so not recommended. | Cryptopia Twitter |
