1. Mining

No, we’re not talking about heading into a cave with a pickaxe and a hardhat—we’re talking about Bitcoin mining, one of the first ways to ever obtain BTC. This is the process in which miners use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical problems. When they crack the code, they’re rewarded with newly-minted BTC. It’s basically a race to see who can solve the block the fastest and those lucky enough to do so reap the rewards.

Back in the day, mining wasn’t as complicated. Some of the earliest miners were able to mine thousands of BTC using just their home computers. Now, it’s a very different scenario. To mine in today’s BTC scene, you’ll need top-tier equipment—which can set you back a few thousand bucks. Also, since Bitcoin has made a name for itself now, you’ll have a lot of competition.

To give yourself a fighting chance, you can join Bitcoin mining pools or mining clouds. A Bitcoin mining pool is a collaborative group of miners who combine their computing power to solve complex mathematical problems faster. A Bitcoin mining cloud is similar, but instead, they use the cloud to connect their computing power. That way, they won’t have to install and run the hardware and related software directly. In either case, the miners’ fees paid from transactions and the newly-minted coin are split among the people in the group.

2. Buying and holding

Buying and holding Bitcoin is the answer to the age-old question of “How to invest in Bitcoin and make money?”. HODLing, the other term for buying and holding, is one of the most straightforward and most beginner-friendly trading strategies out there. First, get a Bitcoin wallet, buy BTC, and then hope that the Bitcoin price spikes in the future—no matter how long that may take. It could be weeks, months, or even years before you decide to sell.

The term HODL was coined because of this. It started as a typo on a forum, then it became a full-time trading strategy. It also means to Hold On for Dear Life—so it’s essential to look at how Bitcoin is valued and go from there.

3. Trading

If HODLing is long-term investing, trading Bitcoin is its fast-paced equivalent. Essentially, BTC trading means taking advantage of Bitcoin’s highly volatile nature. This method requires practice and knowledge of the market, so be sure to do your homework before you even think about giving it a shot.

Here are a few styles of trading to get you started:

• Day trading – Bitcoin day trading entails short and quick trades, allowing opportunities for small and fast profits. Day traders don’t hold any open positions overnight, so the method consists of carefully analyzing the market, seeing small money-making opportunities, and capitalizing for a small profit. At the end of the session, day traders could have a significant cumulative gain.
• Swing trading – If HODLing is long-term and day trading is short-term, swing trading is kind of in the middle. Like HODLers, swing traders will buy low, wait long enough to see their holdings increase in price, and then sell high. However, their holding time isn’t as long as a HODLer and isn’t as short as a day trader.
• Arbitrage – Bitcoin arbitrage is similar to the styles above. However, instead of looking for money-making opportunities within the same exchange, traders who use arbitrage look for those opportunities across different platforms. In essence, they buy BTC from exchange A then sell it at exchange B for a higher price.

How to make money off Bitcoin using these methods requires a lot of practice, so don’t expect to get it right on the first try. Just do your own research, figure out which strategy is best for you, and trust that you’ll be on your own way.

4. Taking advantage of affiliate marketing

A lot of companies use affiliate marketing to bring in new customers. This type of marketing incentivizes existing users to bring their friends and family to the business as well. You’ll see these types of incentives all over the market, but they differ from one another—so carefully study each one and choose which program you want to invest your time in.

Here at Paxful, we’ve got our very own affiliate program. It’s one of the best on the market as it gives users the best opportunity to make money from Bitcoin. Look into it and see if you’d be down to try it.