What’s a Crypto Faucet, and How to Earn with It?

A recurring theme in the crypto world is widespread adoption. Although bitcoin and NFTs have been very often in the spotlight in the last few years, the domain is still a nascent industry. That’s why in the short history of cryptocurrencies, there’ve been numerous attempts to drive adoption. 

An early example in this regard was the Bitcoin faucet introduced by the developer Gavin Andressen in 2010. A crypto faucet is an app or a website that distributes crypto for free in exchange for completing a simple task. The faucet by Andressen was giving away 5 BTC for free to anyone who solved a captcha. 

Looking back, it appears to be an incredibly generous reward. But this was back when Bitcoin was still in its infancy, and the goal was to raise awareness about it. 

How Do Crypto Faucets Work?

Nowadays, the mission of faucets is still to get people interested in a cryptocurrency project. But the rewards are very low and distributed in tiny quantities over time. Much like a leaking faucet, the app drips one drop of currency every day. It’s possible to accumulate coins in this manner, but it takes time. So, if you’re keen on receiving rewards via faucets, be aware that you’ll need to invest a significant amount of time. 

A typical crypto faucet assigns you a simple task like solving a captcha, reading an article, viewing ads, playing a game, or taking a quiz. In turn, you receive cryptocurrencies for free. 

Although some faucet apps pay directly, regular web3 wallets usually don’t work with them. Instead, rewards must be first sent to a micro wallet that is able to store tiny amounts of cryptocurrency. A popular micropayment wallet is FaucetPay, for instance. After you accumulate enough funds with the micro wallet, you can transfer them to your standard wallet. 

Types of Faucets

There aren’t faucet apps for every cryptocurrency. However, there are almost always opportunities for established currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Two of the well-known Bitcoin faucet sites are freebitcoin and cointiply. Ethereum-faucet focuses on Ethereum rewards. Some websites like firefaucet or konstantinova offer faucets for multiple cryptocurrencies. Some apps exist to draw attention to new or less established cryptocurrency projects. For instance, free-tron only distributes Tron. 

How to Choose a Crypto Faucet?

• Check the minimum withdrawal limit. In order to receive your rewards, typically, you need to register an account with the app and provide the details of your crypto wallet. But, since the crypto faucet rewards are usually very low, most of the time, there’s a withdrawal threshold. This means, with some apps, you’re not able to cash out your rewards before a minimum amount is reached. So, to decide which faucet is right for you, always check if there’s a withdrawal limit.
• Is there a referral program? Inviting friends to the app can earn you much more than completing the tasks. Compare the referral reward percentages of different faucet apps to select the best one.
• How long do you have to wait between claiming rewards? Faucets with shorter claiming intervals bring you more crypto. 

Other Similar Blockchain Concepts

Some crypto reward mechanisms are not referred to as faucets, but they work in a similar vein. For example, learn-to-earn is one such concept. Its purpose is also to draw attention to a specific cryptocurrency project. But, this time, you’re rewarded for learning about the project. Typically, you’re provided with a set of text-based or video lessons followed by a quiz to demonstrate that you understood the learning material. Once you pass the quiz, you’ll receive tokens of that particular cryptocurrency.

Many industry leaders offer learn-to-earn programs. For example, Coinbase offers multiple learn-to-earn paths, including the Graph protocol that distributes $4 worth of GRT tokens upon completion of the course and another one about Project Galaxy with $3 worth of GAL tokens, among others.

Other prominent learn-to-earn programs are offered by Binance and Coinmarketcap. Thanks to these programs, you can increase your crypto knowledge while at the same time collecting new tokens with the potential to grow in value in the future. 

Hidden Gems

You can come across similar opportunities in every corner of crypto. You just need to take the time to dig deeper. 

To have an idea, consider the new move-to-earn app Sweatcoin. It rewards users with its native currency, Sweatcoin, for walking. Users are also rewarded with free coins for viewing ads from partners. When the cryptocurrency launches, holders will be able to exchange the coins they collected for other currencies with real-world value.

What’s the Difference Between Crypto Faucets, Bounties, and Airdrops?

Don’t confuse faucets with bounties or airdrops, though, they’re very different. In order to receive airdrops from a project, you must hold the cryptocurrency or an NFT of that particular project in your wallet over an extended period of time. 

Bounties also function differently, they’re similar to freelance project gigs. Typically, the team of the crypto project announces them as lists on related websites and asks the community members for their support to move the project forward. In turn, contributors receive one-time rewards. 

Final Thoughts

Taken on their own, faucets may seem to be unimportant. Nonetheless, in the harsh crypto market conditions, you might like to use some of your time to collect coins that may rise in value when the market recovers. They may be especially worth your time when combined with referral links.

Finally, a word of caution. Crypto faucets provide a variety of simple tasks, some of these include clicking links, so be aware of the perils of malicious links, always do your own research, and only interact with the apps you trust.