Bitcoin is the world's primary and largest cryptocurrency, with a global market cap of over $147.7 billion. The popular digital token is available to purchase on a variety of exchanges, P2P trading sites, such as LocalBitcoins, and on trading platforms. Following the rise of Bitcoin's price in late 2017, many people have looked for ways to get free Bitcoin. Even though it was, and still is worth a lot of fiat currency, it is indeed still possible to receive free Bitcoin if you know where to look. Is there such a thing as ‘Free’ Bitcoin? As we all know there is no such thing as a free lunch. Like is of course true about bitcoins - or is there? And if so, how to how to get a free bitcoin? Today, given the value of 1 BTC = $8,100+, it is impossible to receive free Bitcoin. What you can receive is free Satoshi. A Satoshi is a fraction of Bitcoin, just like a cent is a fraction of a dollar. It takes far more than 100 Satoshi to make a Bitcoin, however, it actually takes 100 million. As a result, whilst you can get free Bitcoin, you'd unlikely get rich from the quantity you get. How to Avoid Scams Scams are everywhere and you must be careful not to become the latest victim. The cryptocurrency sector has, unfortunately, become a magnet for scammers who trick unsuspecting traders out of their funds. As a result, the best way to stay protected from scams is to be suspicious and extremely cautious. It is a good idea to remember the age-old mantra, if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true. Taking massive risks is akin to gambling, and when you gamble you have a higher probability of losing money than winning it. The purpose of this guide is to help you make money, not lose it. One of the most common scams involves requesting you to pay an upfront fee of whatever value with the promise of a return. The scammer might pose as a successful Bitcoin investor or request the fee for setting you up with an account. Whatever the reason, you should never send any funds. There are several ways to legitimately get small amounts of Bitcoin for free, so you don't need to take the risk of paying any fees to strangers. While on the subject of scams it is worth mentioning that many Bitcoin online casinos are not scams, as some may think. There are several reasons to allow customers to pay with Bitcoin, including lower fees and faster transaction times. Technically, playing on online casinos can result in you winning free Bitcoin, but online gaming should only be used as entertainment, not to make money. What are Bitcoin Faucets and How do They Work? A Bitcoin faucet is one of the most popular and straightforward ways to earn free Bitcoin. Similar to a leaky faucet, a Bitcoin faucet is a website which continually releases a fraction of currency. Faucets are available for more than just Bitcoin, and generally, faucets for other cryptocurrencies release a significantly higher amount than Bitcoin faucets. As a minimum requirement, you would need to be a user of the website to stand a chance of receiving any digital tokens. The amount dispensed varies, but this is usually equivalent to a few cents or a dollar at a time. Users are requested to accomplish a certain simple task in order to get this reward. Tasks include watching a promotional video, answering a simple questionnaire or just keeping the website open since this increases the potential advert revenue the website can receive. Bitcoin faucets are a suitable and often genuine way to make free Bitcoin since both the one providing the free tokens and the one receiving them are getting something of value for their time and effort. Coinbase Crypto Faucets Coinbase is one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, known for its superb security features and variety of features. You can buy, sell, and trade a variety of cryptocurrencies using several payment methods, including cards and bank transfers. Coinbase also allows you to earn free cryptocurrencies through its dedicated faucet. To participate, you need to start by opening a Coinbase account. Next, follow these steps: 1. At the top of the page click on the Earn crypto link Screenshots are shown for illustration purposes only. Actual product may vary. 2. Go through the opportunities on the page. These will vary based on your jurisdiction. Screenshots are shown for illustration purposes only. Actual product may vary. 3. Once you find an opportunity which you like, click on the relevant button to find out more. Coinbase is often used to promote new cryptocurrencies, and often rewards users for learning about these. Screenshots are shown for illustration purposes only. Actual product may vary. After you have looked through the information, if you are happy to begin, click on Earn ___ to start getting free Bitcoin or Altcoins. Screenshots are shown for illustration purposes only. Actual product may vary. [cta text='Visit Coinbase' href='/out/coinbase'] Bitcoin Games Bitcoin Games represent a more exciting way to get free Bitcoin since it involves you playing a video game online. Whilst the rewards may be tiny, you're basically getting paid to be entertained, which is not a bad deal. Very often, these games include advertisements, which is where the creators get their funds from. If you enjoy playing games on your phone or computer, you might as well get paid for it. Software creators are able to charge higher advert fees if they have more players playing for longer, so naturally, the longer you play a Bitcoin game the more rewards you'll normally get. Bitcoin Mining A few years ago it was possible for you to build your own Bitcoin mining rig and start receiving free Bitcoin. Today, due to the intense competition amongst miners and the difficulty of Proof-of-Work algorithms, this is no longer really possible. Today, Bitcoin mining involves big players and mining pools which combine significant resources, leaving individuals and less powerful computers unable to profitably mine the cryptocurrency. One solution used to be cloud mining, but this too has now become unprofitable. As mining algorithms get harder it takes more cloud miners to solve, which means that diminishing rewards are split into smaller fractions. Bitcoin halving further compounds the problem. As a result of these more recent realities, mining Bitcoin, even if using equipment you already own, cannot be considered as a way to get free Bitcoin. Once you calculate the running costs, particularly electricity, you'll realise that it actually costs you money to get a fraction of a coin. Getting Paid in Bitcoin Getting paid in Bitcoin is a way to get the cryptocurrency without using an exchange. Although it's not technically free, since you need to carry out a service or sell a product, neither is playing a Bitcoin game or faucet, since you're selling your time and attention. In order to get paid with Bitcoin, you should understand how Bitcoin transactions work to avoid being scammed. Some of the ways to get paid in Bitcoin include: Find employment with companies who already pay their employees in cryptocurrenciesSelling goods or services online and requesting payment in Bitcoin by providing a wallet address and QR codeCarrying out freelance work and requesting payment in BitcoinBecoming a Bitcoin broker, offering your services to buyers and sellers in return for a commission Concluding Thoughts As you've probably realised, earning a significant amount of Bitcoin for free is close to impossible. Even when the price of Bitcoin increases tenfold, your Satoshis will be worth a dollar or two at most. However, earning a little at a time over a long period of time can start to make a difference. Once you own a decent amount you can use arbitrage to find the best exchange to sell the coin, using your funds to invest in other Altcoins. If making money is not really your ambition, then you could be satisfied just earning tokens for learning about new cryptocurrencies or playing entertaining Bitcoin games.