What Is a Crypto Faucet?

By Lipsa Das

Ever wondered how many hours you’ve spent online watching those annoying ads that pop up at the most inconvenient times? What if you could turn that time into a rewarding opportunity? Enter crypto faucets — platforms that dispense small amounts of cryptocurrency to users at regular intervals.

But don’t go thinking a crypto faucet can make you a millionaire. Yes, you can collect some money, but realistically, it won’t make you rich. Rather, the original idea behind crypto faucets was to generate your interest in a cryptocurrency so you eventually start interacting with it more by trading or investing. This is still the case today, though many crypto faucets have expanded into standalone businesses at this point. There are even some web2 platforms that have crypto faucets attached to give users rewards.

In this article, you’ll learn what a crypto faucet is, how they work, popular crypto faucets, and the benefits of using them. Let’s dive in.

What Is a Crypto Faucet?

A crypto faucet is a website or application that rewards you with cryptocurrency for completing simple tasks. These tasks could involve watching an ad, participating in a survey, or completing a quiz. Some faucets don’t even need you to complete tasks, you just need to prove you are a human by completing a captcha. 

But remember, crypto faucets are called ‘faucets’ because the rewards you earn are teeny-tiny, just like the drops from the leaky kitchen faucet you’ve been meaning to fix for a week. 

If you’ve ever played an online game, you’ve probably come across the concept behind crypto faucets, except the rewards may not have been crypto. For example, when you run out of energy, life, gems, or other in-game resources on an online game, you often get the option of earning more by watching an ad or video. Crypto faucets are pretty much the same mechanism.

Some crypto faucets are for raising awareness and curiosity about a specific cryptocurrency. Others are more of a straightforward business based on ad revenue, much like mobile online gaming. Indeed, there are even non-crypto and web2 platforms that employ crypto faucets as a way to entice users (like the web browser, Brave, for example). 

There are also crypto faucets specifically designed for providing gas fees to new users, such as the Optimism ETH faucet. This faucet gives users 0.002 oETH to pay gas fees on the Optimism layer 2 network. However, it does require users to first bridge 1,500 USDC onto Optimism using the faucet.

The Origin of Crypto Faucets

The first crypto faucet was created in 2010 for Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency. Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen created a crypto faucet website where people could solve a simple captcha to earn 5 BTC every day. Yes, 5 whole Bitcoins, not Satoshis. Of course, Bitcoin was only worth 20 to 30 cents that year. And yes, you might be fairly rich if you had collected Bitcoins from Andresen’s website back then and held onto them for a few years, but we don’t have time machines (yet).

Andresen wanted to promote Bitcoin and increase its adoption — he created the website because he wanted “the Bitcoin project to succeed,” he wrote in a post on the Bitcoin forum. Andressen thought that if people could get a “handful of coins to try it out,” Bitcoin adoption would increase. Remember, the best way to get Bitcoins back then was to mine them, which required significant computing power. Similarly, buying them was not easy as neither centralized nor decentralized crypto exchanges existed. Andresen funded the faucet rewards with his own holdings at first, then had some community help later on.

Bitcoin adoption caught on pretty fast (probably faster than he anticipated), and Andresen had to shut down the website in 2012. It simply became unsustainable to keep giving out Bitcoin since the cryptocurrency’s price had risen to nearly $30 by mid-2011. 

Many other cryptocurrencies followed Andresen’s lead, but these faucets faced the same sustainability issue as the prices of their cryptocurrencies rose. As a result, crypto faucets started partnering with advertising networks and used part of their revenue to fund the rewards to users.

How Does a Crypto Faucet Work?

To earn rewards from a crypto faucet, you must first become a registered user. You have to provide some basic information, like your name, email, or wallet address, to sign up. You will also need a micro wallet for your rewards, though most crypto faucets create one for you automatically upon signing up. To explain, a micro wallet is just like a regular crypto wallet, but for managing very small amounts of crypto. 

Once you are a registered user, you can begin completing tasks for crypto. What’s more, crypto faucets usually set rules and timelocks around the tasks. For example, you might only be allowed to claim rewards once every hour or day.

When you complete the tasks, your rewards are automatically added to your micro wallet. It is important to note that on some crypto faucet platforms, you may have to pay a fee to withdraw rewards to your main wallet. Furthermore, many crypto faucets have a minimum amount of crypto that you need in your account before you can make a withdrawal. For example, you might have to amass $5 worth of tokens before you can withdraw them to your main wallet.

Benefits of Using a Crypto Faucet

Now that you know what is a crypto faucet and how it works, let’s take a minute to see how a crypto faucet can benefit you.  

Earning Crypto With Minimal Effort

Crypto faucets are a great way of acquiring cryptocurrency without spending money. In addition, they often require less effort than strategies like airdrops. Plus, airdrops are often restricted to users who check all the boxes on a criteria list, and crypto faucet rewards get dished out much more frequently. 

Crypto faucets do not require any technical knowledge, which makes them great for beginners. They are accessible to everyone, and all it takes to earn crypto is a bit of time and minimal effort. 

Risks of Using a Crypto Faucet

While crypto faucets are usually built by people with good intentions, there are still some risks to interacting with them. Common risks include data farming or possible scams. Let’s deep dive into the potential risks of using a crypto faucet.

Possible Scams

There are plenty of legitimate crypto faucet platforms that help you earn crypto such as the ones listed above. But hackers and scammers can easily use the allure of free crypto to trap unsuspecting victims. Malicious crypto faucets can be used for an array of nefarious things. For example, some may seek to infect your device with malware, while others may be phishing attempts to steal your credentials. Alternatively, if it’s an Ethereum-based crypto faucet managed by smart contracts, you could be fooled into signing a malicious smart contract approval.

Therefore, it is important to research a crypto faucet platform properly before you connect your wallet. If you learned about the platform from an unsolicited email, it may have come from a scammer. If the platform is offering unusually high rewards, it’s probably too good to be true. Be cautious about which crypto faucets you use, and also consider using a different wallet than your main crypto wallet to be safer when withdrawing rewards. 

Data Farming

Remember how Andresen’s crypto faucet had to be shut down because of unsustainability? Well, most crypto faucets now have better business models than funding rewards from their pocket. Crypto faucets now sell ad space to make money, part of which is doled out as rewards. 

But sometimes, crypto faucets might also sell whatever data you provide them to generate revenue. This could include things like your email and wallet address or even device information.

Low Rewards

It is worth repeating that crypto faucets dish out very low rewards. For instance, completing one task might get you just one Satoshi, which is equal to one-hundred-millionth of a BTC. In US dollars, that’s a tiny fraction of one cent at current BTC prices. So, crypto faucets are not going to make you much money.

Besides, you might find the tasks monotonous and tiresome after a while. How many ads can you willingly watch anyway?

Top Crypto Faucets

Bitcoin Crypto Faucets

The oldest and most popular Bitcoin faucets include Freebitcoin, Cointiply, and Firefaucet. 

Freebitcoin claims to have over 50 million registered users who can win up to $200 worth of Bitcoin every hour by playing games. It also advertises prizes such as a jackpot of up to 1 BTC, a weekly lottery, and even Lamborghinis. Similarly, Cointiply offers daily login bonuses and games that let you earn Bitcoin. And on Firefaucet, you can earn Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by filling out surveys, watching videos, and more.  

Ethereum Crypto Faucets

Some popular Ethereum faucets include Freeethereum, Firefaucet, and Allcoins. On Freeethereum, you can earn ETH by playing simple games, and win up to $300 worth of Ethereum every hour. Meanwhile, Firefaucet goes beyond just payouts, featuring daily bonuses and rank rewards along with games. All of these features make earning free ETH a dynamic experience.

Other crypto faucets like Allcoins allow you to earn not just Ethereum but also several other cryptocurrencies through mining and games. Some of the games on Allcoins might require you to pay a fee, however. 

Monero Crypto Faucets

You can earn XMR tokens through Monero faucets like Allcoins and Firefaucet. On Allcoins, you can earn Monero by simply filling in a captcha. The website also has an Exchange Tool that allows you to convert your rewards tokens to any token of your choice. 

Firefaucet, on the other hand, presents a diverse array of options to earn XMR. With a built-in referral system and a claim of the highest reward rates, Firefaucet introduces a unique leveling system. In this system, your level increases through task completions, which in turn increases the rewards you can earn. 

Other Crypto Faucets

Various other crypto faucets offer easy ways to earn cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, Litecoin, Tron, Polygon, Solana, and more. This includes Faucet Crypto, where you can earn crypto by clicking on links to ads, completing surveys, and downloading games and apps. The platform also allows you to claim free crypto every 20 minutes. 

Final Thoughts on Crypto Faucets

Crypto faucets are designed to get those new to the crypto realm acquainted with cryptocurrencies and increase awareness and adoption. Beginners get to learn about crypto without having to put any skin in the game. However, crypto faucets are not some magical shortcut to achieving your dream of becoming a millionaire. The faucet rewards are usually minuscule. That said, who doesn’t like free stuff? 

While dealing with crypto faucets, however, you must be vigilant and exercise caution to avoid scams and other malicious attempts to steal your assets. As much fun as it can be to earn crypto by playing games, security should always remain your priority. If you enjoy your first forays into crypto and decide to get seriously involved, don’t hesitate to get yourself a Ledger device.

Ledger devices give you the power of self-custody, helping you to keep your private keys safe from any bad actors. Not to mention that Ledger Live’s user-friendly platform makes it easier than ever to navigate all that blockchain has to offer – even for beginners. 

Whether you’re a novice or a veteran, step into the Ledger ecosystem so you can explore the wide world of web3 with the ultimate confidence.