The Bitcoin community has proven to be inventive - just holding the first cryptography-based digital currency wasn't enough, so they figured out ways to profit from it. Granted, nothing is guaranteed in the crypto market. But if you believe that "with great risk comes great reward", Bitcoin can be worth a shot.
There are many scenarios where Bitcoin can make you some money, but we'll focus on the main five.
Method 1. Investing
HODL, originally a typo for "hold" turned into "Hold On for Dear Life", is the crypto lingo for long-term investing. This method is straightforward - you buy the crypto, move it to a secure wallet, and wait for the price to increase significantly. This option works for those who believe in Bitcoin's ability to expand and achieve mass adoption.
Here is some context for you.
If you invested $1,000 in BTC last year at a price of $10,990 per coin, your investment would be worth $3,890. If you invested $1,000 five years ago, your investment would be over $75,800. And if you invested ten years ago, you would've earned more than $3,547,000. These are crazy calculations, but they're accurate.
Method 2. Trading
Get yourself a Bitcoin exchange app and start taking advantage of price fluctuations. This is a short-term commitment based on technical analysis (so it requires a bit of studying), but the earning potential is massive. You can adapt your strategy to your risk tolerance and employ as many or as few analysis tools to make price predictions.
Don't shy away from using analysis tools. Once you go through the learning curve, you'll be able to find your grove and make informed decisions. There is a good reason why the most profit in Bitcoin is generated through trading - it does pay off.
Method 3. Mining
Mining is the process of running the verification process to validate transactions and receiving bitcoins as a reward. You have two options here: run the equipment yourself or rent it from a cloud mining provider.
The first one is quite expensive if you've never done it before, especially with currency prices for the gear. Consider joining a mining pool to work together with other miners and share the rewards.
Cloud mining allows you to do the same but without the need to manage the hardware. You also need minimal technical knowledge for this - simply contact the best provider available to you and start renting.
Method 4. Lending
Bitcoin lending is self-explanatory. This is a form of passive income where you lend your bitcoins to other people for a commission. All you need to do is to deposit your crypto into a P2P lending platform. You'll receive weekly (or monthly) interest anytime another person borrows it (3%-7% on average, up to 17%).
Method 5. Cashback
Some services offer "Bitcoin Back" when you shop, with rewards ranging from 1% to as much as 30% with different retail partners. There are even credit cards that give out rewards in BTC instead of regular cashback or points with every swipe. Shop around for different offers and earn BTC by spending BTC (or even fiat money in some cases).
If you're not sure where to start, consider trying a couple of methods at the same time. Plus, it might take a while before you see results. Lastly, remember the most important rule of investing - never invest money that you can't afford to lose.