Coinbase Earn
The easiest way to start generating crypto rewards on Coinbase is through Coinbase Earn. In exchange for learning the basics about certain cryptocurrencies (usually by watching short videos), you can get some to try for yourself. Since the launch of Coinbase Earn in 2018, users have received more than $100 million in crypto including 0x, Basic Attention Token, Zcash, Stellar Lumens, EOS, Dai, Tezos, Orchid, Compound, Celo, Nucypher, and the Graph.
Stake some of your crypto
Many cryptocurrencies now use a “Proof of Stake” consensus mechanism — which is a way their decentralized networks can ensure that all transactions are verified and secured without a bank or payment processor in the middle.
With such cryptocurrencies, you can earn rewards simply for contributing to the security of the network — by “locking” some of your holdings into a staking pool for a certain timeframe. In exchange, you’ll earn rewards. This is an excellent option if you were planning to hold onto the crypto for a longer period — instead of having it sid idle, you can put it to work for you.
Via the main Coinbase app or website, you can stake Tezos, Cosmos, or ETH and earn APY rewards that can range up to 7.5 percent (depending on the type of asset being staked) as of March 2021.
ETH2 staking rewards are coming soon to Coinbase You may be able to put your Ethereum to work and earn up to 6% APR.
Join the waitlist
Turn your dollars into stablecoins
One potential downside of staking rewards is that they’re paid in the native cryptocurrency, which can be volatile. If you’re looking for a dollar-based experience that’s more like an interest-bearing savings account, you can earn rewards simply by buying and holding dollar-pegged stablecoins like Dai and USD Coin.
As of March 2021, you can earn 2.00% APY rewards by simply holding Dai in your Coinbase account. You can also earn 0.15% APY for holding USD Coin.
Lend some of your crypto with DeFi apps
If you’re comfortable with higher potential risks for higher returns, you can experiment with lending some of your crypto via DeFi apps. (DeFi remains an emerging technology, so make sure not to invest more than you can afford to lose if you decide to experiment with these protocols.)
DeFi can enable transparent, peer-to-peer lending for potentially higher yields than traditional financial offerings. Investors that supply their cryptocurrency to DeFi lending protocols receive rewards in the form of interest that is charged to borrowers. You need a crypto wallet that is compatible with DeFi apps. Coinbase Wallet (which is a separate product from the main Coinbase app and can be used by anyone, not just Coinbase customers) is one of the simplest mobile options.
Via Coinbase Wallet, you can experiment with lending some of your crypto using DeFi protocols such as Compound or Aave. One relatively easy way to get started is to buy some stablecoins and lend them out — which you can do directly from Coinbase Wallet.
Here are the estimated current annual yields for lending USDC and Dai on Compound v2 and Aave respectively.
