Experts in the cryptocurrency space have stated that the industry is in “crypto winter.” Analysts believe that the “season” began in early 2022. Many consider the phrase “crypto winter” came from Game of Thrones. In this popular TV series, the House of Stark motto was “Winter is coming.” It did not just herald a change in season, but also symbolized a warning of imminent trouble and conflict.
When prices fall by 30% in the traditional financial world, they refer to this period as a bear market. Since the value of most cryptocurrencies has fallen over 30%, “crypto winter” seemed to be more apt in describing the crypto market today. This is certainly not good news for crypto traders, but HODLers or long-term investors can earn income using their digital holdings. Read on and find out how.
Lend your crypto
Lending digital assets is one of the most popular services today in both centralized and decentralized sectors of crypto. Investors earn fees when they lend their crypto coins to borrowers. The total amount of fees will depend on the value of the coin lent, the length of the loan, and the interest rate. Typically, larger and longer loans at higher rates earn the most income.
Investors can choose peer-to-peer, centralized, decentralized or DeFi lending platforms. Margin lending is another option, which you can only do on a crypto exchange.
Stake your crypto
Staking is an alternative to mining and is possible on blockchains that use a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Investors will lock their funds to help validate transaction blocks. In exchange for staking your funds, the blockchain will reward you in its crypto. Staking will not only enable you to earn income; you will also help in maintaining the network’s security.
Save your crypto in interest-bearing accounts
A crypto savings account works just like a savings account in a traditional bank. The entity that supports a savings account will lend, invest, or stake your crypto. You then earn a cut from the proceeds. Centralized exchanges like Binance or Coinbase offer crypto savings accounts. Other companies that provide this service are Celsius, BlockFi, and Nexo. You simply open an account in one of these providers and deposit your crypto. There may be a lock-in period where you do not have access to your funds.
Mine coins through the cloud
Proof-of-work mining is not accessible to everyone. Mining cryptocurrencies require a tremendous investment for mining rigs and substantial technical knowledge. What you can do instead is buy cloud mining contracts. You pay a monthly or yearly fee to a service provider as “rent” for their mining resources. The provider will then pay you a portion of the mining rewards. There are three types of cloud mining you can choose from. You can “rent” a physical farm, a virtual farm, or computing power. Some of the well-known cloud mining service providers are HashShiny, ECOS, Gminers, and Copium Protocol. Be very careful in choosing a company, though, because there are many cloud mining scams.
Market coins you believe in
If you are a social media influencer with a significant number of followers and a crypto enthusiast, you can earn passive income through crypto affiliate programs. Apply or sign up with companies like Paxful, Coinbase, or Changelly. Introduce their platform or product to your followers. You get paid each time your followers act on an offer, such as opening an account or availing services.
Opting in one of these opportunities will allow you to earn income during crypto winter without selling your assets. You may incur taxes from what you earn, but it will be less than what you would need to pay if you sell them. You also earn without too much effort compared to active trading. This will also be an opportunity for you to support promising new projects that have the potential for big returns. These methods are not without risk, though. Scams, rug pulls, and project failures happen. Due diligence is a must in order to keep your digital assets safe.
Monero holders can take advantage of any of these methods, except staking, since XMR works on a proof-of-work network. You can, however, use XMR and trade it with another crypto you can stake. Create an XMRWallet to keep your earnings safe. XMRWallet is a lightweight web-based Monero wallet that allows you to hold your keys and coins. It is free forever and you can send and receive XMR instantly. You will enjoy faster, uninterrupted transactions with XMRWallet.
