How to make money with crypto in 2025

There are many ways to earn more coins. Staking, liquid staking tokens, yield farming, liquidity provision, and options income can all grow a stack, but they do not reliably put cash in a bank account without extra steps. Most readers searching for how to make money with crypto or how to make money with bitcoin want fiat outcomes. In practice, there are two primary paths. Keep holdings and borrow against a portion to fund productive assets, or hold until value appreciates and sell a slice to raise cash. Everything else can supplement these paths, not replace them.

Buy and hold, then borrow against a portion

Bitcoin’s long-run growth story is compelling. It is also volatile and non-yielding on its own. Borrowing against a portion of your holdings lets you diversify into cash-flowing assets and unlock day-to-day utility without selling core exposure.

Think of it as converting part of your balance sheet from pure price appreciation to a blend of appreciation and income. You keep the asset you believe in. You add cash flow that can fund life, build credit history, and smooth cycles.

Why it still makes sense even if bitcoin keeps compounding

• You add independent return drivers like rent or dividends that are not perfectly correlated with crypto.
• You turn unrealized gains into usable cash flow while deferring a taxable sale.
• You preserve upside participation, since your core stack remains intact.
• You build optionality. Cash flow can service debt, buy dips, or fund new opportunities.

How to put it to work

• Use a crypto mortgage to acquire an investment property. The property’s rent can create what many call bitcoin-yield while your BTC underpins the financing, either as pledged collateral or recognized as reserves.
• Channel proceeds into productive, cash-generating assets you understand, such as a business, select equities with dividends, or income funds with clear risk controls.
• Size the loan conservatively so cash flows cover interest with room to spare, and keep a liquidity buffer for surprises.

Platform choice in one paragraph

• Centralized lenders offer custodians, disclosures, service, and cure windows. You trade unilateral control of pledged assets for institutional safeguards and clearer operations.
• Decentralized protocols enforce rules in smart contracts with public parameters and on-chain execution. You gain transparency and 24/7 access, but you take on monitoring duties and code governance risk.

Choose based on custody preference, operating style, and how hands-on you want to be.

Guardrails that keep the strategy healthy

• Match duration. Do not finance long-term assets with short-fuse liabilities.
• Keep loan-to-value conservative and pre-fund top-up liquidity.
• Model your worst reasonable drawdown and a rate increase. Confirm cash flows still cover the bill.
• Document everything. Expect wallet proofs and ownership links if your BTC is counted as reserves. Track interest expense treatment based on use of proceeds in your jurisdiction.

This path fits owners who want to keep upside, earn cash flow, and diversify without liquidating. It is less appealing if you cannot monitor positions, if income is unstable, or if you need maximum leverage to make the numbers work.

Buy and hold, then sell a slice after appreciation

Selling a fraction after gains is the cleanest way to turn bitcoin into cash without adding leverage. You let value compound, set rules in advance, and convert a slice to fiat when targets hit. Proceeds can fund investments, diversify a balance sheet, or meet personal goals. There are no margin calls, cure windows, or custody transfers.

Why this can make sense even in a long-run bull case

• You lock in part of the advance while keeping a core position for future upside.
• You simplify operations. No collateral management, no monitoring of loan-to-value.
• You can rebalance into income assets, building a second source of return that is not tied to crypto’s volatility.

How to execute with discipline

Execution works best when you write the rules first. Set sell bands that tell you exactly when to act, either at specific price levels or on a fixed schedule. Many investors use tranching, which is simply breaking one sale into several smaller sales over time. For example, after a 50 percent gain you might sell 10 percent of the position, then another 5 percent if the price rises another 10 percent, and a final 5 percent if it rises further. Tranching lowers the chance of selling too early, reduces regret if the rally continues, and still locks in cash along the way. Use limit orders to control slippage and avoid illiquid hours. Keep accurate cost-basis records so tax reporting reflects the lots you actually sold.

Simple illustration

• Starting position: $300,000
• Appreciation: +50% to $450,000
• Sell 20% → gross cash $90,000
• Subtract capital gains and fees to find the net amount you can deploy
• Retain 80% for continued exposure

Trade-offs to weigh

• Realizing gains creates a tax event and reduces future participation if the rally continues.
• Psychological regret is common if price rises after the sale. Tranche rules help.
• On the plus side, operations stay straightforward and there is no collateral risk to manage.

Good fits for this path

• You want clean liquidity now and prefer to avoid leverage.
• You value simplicity and can commit to written sell rules.
• You are rebalancing concentrated holdings into property, equities, or a business where cash flow is the priority.

The choice is practical, not ideological. Start with what you need in cash, how much control you want to keep, and how much operational effort you can manage.

Choose to borrow against crypto when

• You have a clear project with measurable yield, like an investment property financed with a crypto mortgage.
• Cash flows from the new asset can cover interest with room to spare.
• You want to keep long-term exposure and you are comfortable with collateral rules and routine monitoring.

Choose to sell a slice when

• You want clean liquidity with no collateral mechanics or top-ups.
• You prefer simplicity and accept realizing gains today.
• You are rebalancing concentration or managing tax timing.

Psychology matters. Some holders find it easier to monitor a property and a loan than to part with a core position. Others value the clean slate that comes with a realized gain and a funded goal. Write down your tolerance for volatility, your ability to monitor positions, and your preference for service versus self-management. Pick the method that fits how you actually operate.

Best practices before you choose

• Size conservatively relative to income and liquidity.
• Keep a reserve for repairs, vacancies, or collateral calls.
• Price the full package, including interest, closing costs, custody or servicing fees, taxes, and your time.
• Set action thresholds in advance and review them on a schedule.

Putting it together How to make money with crypto and how to make money with bitcoin reduce to two cash choices. Keep the stack and borrow against a portion to fund assets that out earn your rate, or hold for appreciation and sell a slice to redeploy proceeds with no collateral rules. A crypto mortgage sits naturally inside the first choice and remains one of the clearest ways to translate holdings into property income that feels like bitcoin-yield.

Neither path is universally superior. The right answer depends on time horizon, operational capacity, and appetite for complexity. Run the numbers for your situation. Build a base case and a stress case for each path. Check that the plan survives a reasonable drawdown and a reasonable rate shock. Move forward with the structure that matches how you actually manage risk and opportunity in real life.

The opinions expressed in the Blog are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product.