What is a Bitcoin Faucet? Here’s how they work

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Cryptocurrency and the work-from-home culture emerged around the same time — and if you’re looking to earn a bit of the former with one of the latter, a bitcoin faucet might be just the thing for you.

Bitcoin faucets – and crypto faucets in general – allow just about anyone to earn small amounts of free cryptocurrency with minimal effort on their phones and computers. They won’t turn you into tomorrow’s next crypto millionaire, but if you’re just starting out and want to add some tokens to an empty digital wallet, a Bitcoin faucet can be a great way to enter the cryptocurrency space—even if you don’t have no money to spend on even the smallest investments.

What is a Bitcoin Faucet?

A Bitcoin faucet is an application or website that awards small amounts of cryptocurrency to users who perform simple tasks such as completing a captcha, playing a game, solving a puzzle, clicking on ads, or watching videos.

If the word “faucet” conjures up images of a steady and endless stream of bitcoin flowing into your digital wallet, temper your expectations. On the contrary, the term alludes to the minuscule size of bitcoin prices, which drip out in tiny drops like water from a leaky faucet.

How can I get 1 Bitcoin for free?

You have to spend a lot of time on a bitcoin faucet to earn even a single token – or even $1 worth of bitcoin. Just as you can divide dollars into smaller units such as pennies, nickels and dimes, bitcoin can also be divided into smaller denominations.

The smallest of them all is called a Satoshi, named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious founder or founders of bitcoin. According to SoFi, most Bitcoin faucets reward task completion with one Satoshi unit.

According to CoinDesk, a single Satoshi is worth one hundred millionth of a bitcoin – or 0.00000001 BTC. You need to accumulate a hundred million Satoshis to create a single Bitcoin. Another way to look at it is that for one Satoshi to be worth a single penny, the price of bitcoin must rise to $1 million per token.

At current exchange rates, one Satoshi is worth $0.000205.

Is Free Bitcoin Faucet Real?

Free Bitcoin faucets are real, but their big money heyday has long since passed. According to CoinGeek, software developer and cryptocurrency pioneer Gavin Andresen created the first bitcoin faucet on June 12, 2010, at the dawn of the cryptocurrency era.

Andresen communicated directly with the still anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto through private messages and forum posts. When Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared, Andresen took control of the nascent bitcoin project.

Andresen created the faucet concept to introduce people to bitcoin, spread it to new users and establish its utility as a digital currency. Since cryptocurrency was virtually unknown in the mainstream, the dollar value of a coin wasn’t as important back then as what bitcoin could do — but the faucet would soon be worth a fortune.

According to Medium, Andersen created a simple website that awarded five bitcoins to anyone who used it to solve a captcha, download the bitcoin software and establish a bitcoin address.

What would be the value of these Bitcoins today?

At today’s conversion rate, these five bitcoins would be worth around $98,000 today. During 2010, Andresen gave away 19,700 Bitcoins.

Had Andresen kept the coins, they would now be worth more than $386 million.

So, the Bitcoin faucet concept endures, but if you missed the boat, here’s the hard truth. A few clicks can net you a prize that would soon have turned into something approaching six figures in value.

Which crypto faucet is the best?

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and Andresen’s project launched the first faucet, but just as other digital coins emerged in bitcoin’s footsteps, so did other crypto faucets. Which crypto faucet is the best? It depends on which cryptocurrency you are interested in earning.

Here’s a look at some of the best bitcoin faucets and some of the best crypto faucets that award other types of coins.

FreeBitco.in

Founded in 2013, FreeBitco.in is one of the oldest bitcoin faucets still in existence. The site gives away up to $200 in free bitcoin every hour. So far, more than 179,325 Bitcoins have been awarded in total to nearly 19 million registered users through more than 90 billion games played.

Users love it for the simplicity and familiarity of the casino-based dice game format – you don’t need a credit card and no deposit is required to sign up. You are allowed to complete a captcha and roll the dice once an hour, every hour – and Satoshis are guaranteed for each roll. The faucet awards bigger prizes through weekly and monthly jackpot contests, and if you refer friends, you get 50% of their faucet winnings for life.

Bitcoin Aliens

The Bitcoin Aliens faucet has been awarding cryptocurrency since 2014 – and not just bitcoins. The site’s collective apps have given away more than $20 million in bitcoin, bitcoin cash (BCH) and litecoin (LTC).

Today, more than 5 million users continue to use the site to earn crypto from their phones. There are several different ways to earn tokens through the Bitcoin Aliens series of apps, which include:

• Litecoin Giveaway
• Bitcoin Cash Giveaway
• Alien Run
• Blockchain games
• Free Bitcoin.

Some of the apps involve playing games, and others require you to watch videos, solve puzzles, or watch ads — but all are free to download and use.

Cointiply

Cointiply has 3 million users who have earned more than $12 million in bitcoin, but the site also awards litecoin, dogecoin (DOGE), and dash (DASH). The site is known for its high payouts and many ways to earn, which include:

• Surveys: Earn $1-$5 in coins for every survey you complete for businesses, products and services.
• Game: Install games and earn coins as you progress through them in either desktop or mobile mode.
• Videos: Earn crypto for every video you watch.
• Assignments and offers: You can earn reward points for every task you complete and every offer you accept.
• References: Earn 25% of the faucet prices from each friend you refer and 10% of their referral earnings.
• Interest: Earn 5% interest on all your holdings when you reach 35,000 coins.

CoinPayU

CoinPayU uses crypto faucets as part of its advertising platform, and it stands out for the wide variety of tokens it awards, including:

FreeBitcoins.com

FreeBitcoins.com allows users to participate with up to two accounts to double their rewards on Bitcoin and several available altcoins. Offerings include ethereum, dash, dogecoin, bitcoin cash, clamcoin, curecoin, rhombus, mazacoin and more. Users never have to make a deposit or risk anything.

The site has a long history dating back to 2010 when bitcoin was trading at around $0.25. The site is a full-service exchange, and the faucet rewards users for testing and using the site so that the administrators can identify bugs and make improvements. It also awards coins to tell people about the exchange through its affiliate program.

What are the risks of Bitcoin faucets?

According to SoFi, users of cryptocurrency faucets should adopt a guarded stance and take the same precautions as they would if trading crypto. Some websites and apps pretending to be faucets can install malware, and there have been phishing attacks and other scams associated with impostor faucets.

The temptation of free money can make people fail – a fact hackers know well. Phishing scammers can use the decoy as part of a scheme to steal identities or break into crypto wallets by asking users to click a decoy link, download a malicious file, or reveal passwords or other critical data.

Use common sense and avoid faucets that contain many grammatical errors or other suspicious visual cues. You’re not going to get rich using a crypto faucet – if the rewards seem too good to be true, walk away. Finally, be wary of any unsolicited faucet offer you receive via email or message.

Final Take

Crypto faucets do not provide a viable way to accumulate significant crypto holdings. The tasks required to earn crypto can quickly become tedious, and earning even a few dollars in coins usually requires a time commitment too great to justify the smaller reward.

However, faucets give away real crypto. It gives beginners and hobbyists the chance to fill their wallets with different types of coins while learning how different cryptocurrencies work and what they can do. As an added benefit, they can be a fun way to pass the time online in a productive way – at least for a while.