It's true. I frequently discuss cryptocurrencies with family and friends and the one topic that is always unclear: how to get started investing in crypto?

Anyone who has tried to explain how to get started investing in crypto to a person who is entirely new to this realm knows it is a challenge! After trying to explain it dozens of times, myself, I realized that I was totally neglecting the old saying "TIME IS MONEY". And, as it turns out - you do not need money to start investing in crypto.

Quickly, I realized that I was too busy explaining how to buy cryptocurrency and how to get money from fiat to BTC and then how to trade, store, and secure your crypto that I totally skipped the fact that there are many approaches to earn crypto without spending $1 of your hard-earned cash. And so, PROOF OF TIME made perfect sense for an appropriate title.

To be honest, I believe this is a more effective way for people to introduce themselves to crypto than trying to navigate more common buy-in methods. Proof of Time allows people to start a wallet and exchange their time for many forms of crypto, which essentially is developing their vested interest alongside their holdings.

As we earn cryptocurrency - we learn cryptocurrency. I truly believe the opportunities that I present in this article will help readers to realize their own ability to stack crypto.

If you are interested in identifying ways to earn cryptocurrency and would like to get started investing with your time without investing your money, please read on to see how your time is enough to get you started.

Traditional Method of Investing

Investment Capital (CASH) ➔ Send to exchange (ex. Coinbase) ➔ Exchange for Cryptocurrency (limited options for fiat) ➔ Start trading exchange account ➔ Transfer funds ➔ Set up a wallet/storage method ➔ Enjoy your crypto

Proof of Time Method of Investing

Register for tools that allow you to earn ➔ Input time➔ earn crypto ➔ Start trading exchange account ➔ Transfer funds ➔ Set up a wallet/storage method ➔ Enjoy your crypto

⏰ IS 💰• SPEND TIME, EARN CRYPTO

There are a few things to take note of prior to committing to this method of trading your time for cypto:

• Time is Money - NEVER invest more TIME or MONEY than you can afford to lose

• Using your time to earn cryptocurrency is not typically a "big-money-maker" BUT it does get new users into cryptocurrency who otherwise would not have had the opportunity. There is still huge potential to earn this way, don't take that the wrong way!

• Only you know what your time is worth - not all opportunity is created equal, so it is up to you to determine which opportunities are right for you.

• BEWARE OF THE SCAM AND CON-ARTISTS - if it doesn't seem right to you, you're probably right. Do your own due diligence. Anything that seems too good to be true usually isn't good.

• Be YOURSELF - Don't worry about not being good enough to earn - everyone has something to share with the world. Just be you and have fun.

Quick Overview & Reason for Writing

This article will list out each method and further explain/elaborate on each one. This won't be a quick read. There are many ways to earn crypto, but only a few that I know of that are easy enough for the average person to reasonably accomplish. The crypto world has so much to learn that it becomes swiftly overwhelming for a majority of users entering this arena.

Hopefully, these methods that I share below will help more people find their entry into Cryptoland with much less friction than I had to endure. I will, however, fair warn that there is much more to learn than what I can cram into this post. I'll try to sprinkle some helpful resources throughout this post and hopefully you find my efforts here to be greatly informative.

WHY?

First learning about Bitcoin back in 2010 or 2011 and I was at the mercy of anyone who understood (or thought they did) and made a video tutorial or informative post. There is much more information out there today, however, that means there is even more misinformation than ever. Be diligent and verify information, ALWAYS, before investing.

I hope to share some real, valuable information regarding ways that I know and have verified to earn crypto without investing. YES, this information will be shared with my own personal bias attached. I intend to share information accompanied by my personal experience, so there is certainly some personal bias attached. I hope to present this as accurately as possible and as transparent as possible.

Here Are My Tried-&-True Proof of Time Methods of Earning

METHOD 1 • The Greatest Potential to Earn = STEEMIT.COM

You read that right.

Some of my fellow Steemit users might disagree with me already, but hear me out. If you have not signed up for Steemit - why not?! You can find how to do so at the foot of this post.

What is steemit.com?

Steemit has redefined social media by building a living, breathing, and growing social economy - a community where users are rewarded for sharing their voice. It's a new kind of attention economy. https://steemit.com/faq.html

Potential to Earn = Virtually Limitless

When you create content on Steemit, there's an incredible opportunity to earn. Will you join, write a post, then be rolling in crypto? Probably not, but that is not to say you cannot be the first. There are some great creators on Steemit.com that do very well and some great creators who do not do so well - many are simply undiscovered. For a platform that is merely 2 years and a few weeks old, the userbase is still very minuscule compared to the "big media" platforms.

How can you earn on Steemit?

Posting - By sharing your posts, you can earn upvotes from community members. Depending on the upvotes you receive, you may get a portion of the "rewards pool".

and also by:

Voting and curating - If you discover a post and upvote it before it becomes popular, you can earn a curation reward. The reward amount will depend on the amount of Steem Power you have.

If you make content, of any kind, try to present it as best as you can

Formatting is something we do here on Steemit because we can! Many other sites that offer an outlet to create content are not even close to this platform. The amount of control that a content creator has here is far and beyond that of any other platform. Authors/creators can really set their content apart from these other platforms and the best part - Steemit posts rank very high on search results. Even for a small userbase, the content that is shared on Steemit gets seen well outside of the site itself.

If you like to learn, you're in the right place!

Learning how to structure your posts can be tricky and requires some effort, learning, and trial & error. I highly recommend following @sumatranate if you are a new user or even a veteran Steemian looking to take your content to the next level. Even if you know all the html and markdown that Steemit will accept - there are always new ways these are being used!

There's a little something for everyone here (if not - YOU can create it!)

You can really create some unique content here with the tools at your disposal. It does not mat​ter if you are a fiction author, DIY tutorial creator, vLogger, or music performance artist - you have the best tools to publish content, right here on Steemit. Not to mention the growing number of tools and ways to access the STEEM blockchain. That could be a mile-long post in itself.

^{Click the image ⇧ to leave this post and read the Steemit Welcome Page}

Ok, so you've joined Steemit - Now When MOON?

Pump your brakes there, leadfoot. It takes time! remember I said:

⏰ IS 💰• SPEND TIME, EARN CRYPTO

You will actually have to spend some time before you earn, believe it or not! There is no welcoming party where people throw money at you as you enter. Well, that is not entirely true either! Start with an #introduceme or #introducemyself post. That is a great way to start out and will let people of Steemit know that you have arrived!

What to include in your #introduceme post

📌 Who are YOU? Tell us who you are (if you wish for others to know) and share some details about yourself.

📌 Verify with a photo - take a photo with a hand-written piece of paper that includes your Steemit @username.

📌 Share with the world WHY you joined Steemit - this helps others identify ways to encourage their friends to join.

📌 Share things that interest you and things that you like or enjoy - this helps people with similar interests find you!

📌 use the #introduction, #introduceme, #introducemyself tags - use them properly and only for relevant posts!

What do I do after I post content?

Just wait? No way! In order to maximize your experience, always use the community resources at your disposal. If you have joined Steemit, the list of resources available to you is HUGE and growing. You will really want to START HERE on the Welcome Page. You will also want to join the fun on DISCORD, there are so many Steemit communities on there - don't miss out! There are some great ways to get exposure on your content like #PYPT, hosted by @shadowspub on Steemit Ramble / Ramble Radio. You can check out the most recent Pimp Your Post Thursday. I've had a ton of fun listening and participating and highly suggest my fellow Steemiansjoin me. You can tune into the #PYPT show every THURSDAY at 11am EDT / 3pm UTC and again at 7pm EDT / 11pm UTC.

Do it the wrong way and you will progress backward...

Things NOT to do:

• Plagiarize content = copying content without citing the source and using quotations or presenting content as your own than you did not create yourself. This also includes using images from the web - ALWAYS use public domain images if you did not purchase the rights or license to use the media.
• Treat others how you would not like to be treated - seems like common sense, but I must reiterate that.
• Give up - do not give up, set your own pace and stick with it.

Outlets to earn will continue to grow...

Many of us on Steemit are awaiting some exciting updates, one being SMT. This will allow potential to earn in ways that we cannot yet imagine. I believe this will open the doors to new earning potential for the community as a whole and with community features, I can almost assure that when it happens it will present vast opportunity. I created a simple infographic for those interested in learning more about SMT:

Do NOT Limit Yourself

Explore, learn, and grow your skills on Steemit because you will always earn. Maybe not always monetarily, but you will be rewarded in other ways as you hone your skills and develop your own style. Once you set yourself in motion and begin to create, you will begin to see progress as you continue to stay true to your path. If you are not seeing this sort of progress in your Steemit journey, simply take a moment to honestly assess your direction.

What does your content do?

Does your content make you feel good about yourself? Does your content make others feel good about themselves? What is it that you intend to gain from sharing your content? If it is money that you wish to gain - you must create something of value in order to attain the monetary reward. If you have content and find that it is not earning, then it is your duty to identify WHY it is not earning. Is it something you have overlooked or could have done differently? These are serious questions to ask yourselves when you are not seeing the return that you had anticipated.

Unexpect More

Don't expect anything and everything becomes a bonus!

Be honest with yourself and others will appreciate that. Do not set your sights high unless you have the slingshot to propel you there. This article is geared toward those who may not have a large following or funds to risk in order to begin investing in cryptocurrencies. Many people mistakenly think that there's no possibility for one to invest in crypto without having money to invest. This simply is not true.

You'll amaze yourself at what you can do in just 1 year

I came to Steemit a little more than one year ago. In this one year period, I grew a following, participated in dozens of Steemit-based projects, started communities, and published content that was recognized by some highly respected curation groups, such as @curie. I was lucky enough to have had a few #curie votes and that sort of recognition (above and beyond the monetary rewards) was something that encouraged me to continue.

The struggle is real, but don't let it own you

I admit that I had many articles and content that I had worked tirelessly on - flop and not do well at all. It can be hard to identify whether it was your content, your timing, or way of delivering/presenting that is the cause. Regardless, I have written 195 posts/articles here on Steemit since joining. I have voted 5,200+ times on content, received 13,500+ upvotes on my content, and have earned a nice bit of STEEM-POWER - which much is delegated to initiatives, ongoing projects, and new Steemians.

Give up bad practices, do not give up on yourself

Going back to what I said earlier: do not give up. Continue to focus on your content and being involved with communities on Steemit that share like interests and you will find a well of encouragement. I know that my journey has not been all fun and glory, but it only takes a few great people to encourage you to reach in and pull out your inner-greatness. It sounds cheesy but it is entirely true. When the Steemit community sees those of diligent and dedicated ones struggling - there is usually someone nearby ready to provide some encouragement. There are so many people here that will be happy to provide support and a shoulder to lean on, believe me. You won't have to look far to find communities of helpful people.

---

🐟My Fellow Minnows, You're Not Alone! Don't Give Up • My Unfiltered Thoughts + Awesome Tools + Tips for Steemit Users

I wrote that over 9 months ago and as you can surmise - I have not given up. I encourage readers to open that article and give it a read if you'd like to learn more about my Steemit journey. It can sometimes feel like we are on this ride alone, but we are surely not. There are so many great people on this platform who are just waiting to find you! You will find them if you look!

---

So you have earned some STEEM & SBD from your content, now what?

This is where it can get tricky. This depends upon personal preference, as well as your location. Thankfully, there's a ton of tutorials on how to start an exchange account, in order to cash those earnings in. You will find several exchanges listed below in this article.

Although, if you are like me - you would rather trade than cash out. I've actually never sold STEEM or SBD in return for a fiat currency - ever. Not once. I have bought and sold STEEM and SBD, but never have exchanged it for physical money to spend. I prefer to keep what tiny bit I have accumulated and trade it when it presents​ an opportunity to do so.

You, however, might want to turn that newly earned crypto into cash and you'll need to have an exchange account + some sort of account like Coinbase which is linked to your bank account. To be honest, this process gets confusing very quickly and costly with all the fees involved. If you are interested in learning how to cash out your STEEM & SBD, you may find that information on the welcome page (linked above). There is a ton of information on how to go through that process on various exchanges and can be found in the RESOURCES section of the Welcome Page.

Active users of Steemit earn STEEM, SBD, and SP - STEEM & SBD can be re-invested/spent to promote your content, spent or exchanged for fiat or crypto, or powered up into STEEM POWER to further enhance your staked power in the platform.

Airdrop on Steemit!

If you are new to Steemit, you might not have heard about the recent airdrop on July 12th of this year. In that case, you'll definitely want to read a recent article of mine: How to Claim Your Byteball Airdrop • Easy Step-by-Step Tutorial + How to Find Your Referral Bonus Link.

This was the first of its kind and leads me to believe that it won't be the last. Steemit users were rewarded for their reputation on the Steemit platform and that is just one instance of how consistent effort can pay off. Those who quit and walk away before they even got going - missed out, big time!

Imagine the new possibilities that will come to this platform and remember that this is still early in the process. I hope this really opens some eyes to the fact that people can earn cryptocurrency and invest in themselves without spending a single cent.

If this wasn't enough to sway your opinion that it is entirely possible to earn crypto WITHOUT investing any money, allow me to introduce several other ways to invest with only time and zero dollars.

METHOD 2 • FAUCETS & REFERRALS

There are quite a few opportunities to earn crypto, but they are not all created equal. There are two other alternative ways that I would like to mention under method 2. These two things are faucets & referrals.

Now, before you frantically close the page, allow me to explain why I feel these two ideas are certainly viable alternatives to investing in crypto without spending money. Let me begin by saying that I have earned crypto by doing both faucets and referrals. Of course, the return is based upon actions and the more action you can manage to accomplish - the greater your potential to earn.

Faucets

First off, most of them are garbage - don't use them. Use the ones that have been around for a few years and have proven their worthiness. Things to look for are whether or not they actually pay out, the overall 'health' of the faucet, and how long they have been in business.

I remember the days when one could claim up to 100 BTC per day on some faucets (yeah, don't we all wish we knew that back then?!). There was a time when these tiny trickles were nearly worthless, but yet they added up to far more than most anticipated as the markets rose to all-time highs. Many functional faucets do not payout mega-sums of crypto, however, there are some really good ones out there and you can really grow crypto holdings this way if you have the time.

Which ones do I use?

I have tried many over the years and with mixed luck. Early this year, I found some really good ones and I have since earned enough crypto to recommend it to others. With these listed faucets, I have made well over $20 USD worth of crypto, which isn't much but every little bit helps. This is also worth noting: the prices of BTC and paired currencies have been in a downtrend since I began using faucets, so the value grows as the price of BTC increases.

https://coinpot.co • Coinpot Cryptocurrency Microwallet • All you need to start!

What is Coinpot?

Coinpot is a cryptocurrencymicro wallett that has partnered with MOON-faucets to provide some really awesome ways to stack crypto. I have used their faucets for several months and can attest to their trustworthiness, ability to payout on-demand, and the ease of use. You can see what they've paid out in the last 7 days to their users and it is nothing to ignore:

I'd say with confidence that this is a 'healthy' faucet. It has been around for over 4 years and they run a good system from my experience with it. Just do not abuse it and it will be there next year, I'm sure.

Once you have a Coinpot wallet setup - which takes minutes - simply register your email address (this is how you sign into the faucets) and set your password.

After you have your wallet, you're ready to collect some crypto! Here are a few things to note before going faucet-wild:

• The faucets can be claimed every 5 minutes, but the 'prime-time' to maximize reward is about 30-45 minutes. Claiming frequently does not always equate to larger claims.

• The faucets operate from advertising revenue - you cannot run ad-blockers or else you might be banned from the faucet. This is how they generate the money needed to run & maintain the faucet for us to use, so it is truly a vital part of this mechanism. If you can't stand ads, this is not the alternative method for you.

• Signing up with multiple accounts will not benefit you - it'll likely get you banned instead. Do not abuse this system because it really is a good way for people to enter the crypto realm without spending money that they may not have. This is creating opportunity for mass adoption when people can start a crypto wallet and begin growing assets without risking their own money. Don't allow greed to ruin such a great thing.

• Claiming from faucets is not going to make you rich, but it might really be worth it later. I have earned enough to buy some lower value tokens that I would not otherwise own if not for having crypto from faucets to spend. I have not made a significant amount, but I also spend very little time claiming.

If this is something you would like to further explore, go ahead and start your coinwallet account and read on. I will also share how you can earn referral bonuses from sharing your links to friends who might be interested in claiming their free crypto. As full disclosure, the following links are my referral links to the MOON Faucets.

^{simply start a free COINPOT MICROWALLET & claim crypto with @grow-pro}

Why I love the ALL of the MOON Faucets:

• YOU choose when you claim - as often as every 5 minutes, but it continues to increase over time, eventually slowing down after long periods elapse without a claim.

• There are bonuses: Daily Loyalty bonus + Referral Bonus + Mystery bonus on every claim, on every faucet!

• ALL MOON faucets (links above) pay immediately to your COINPOT microwallet.

• COINPOT tokens are earned for each claim you make, you get 3 Coinpot tokens in addition to the crypto you've claimed. These can be used to buy lottery chances or even use their Multiplier (a provably fair Hi-Lo game). I have won more than I have claimed just about.

If you are interested in trying the faucets out, feel free to use my links above to help me earn for sharing this information. You may also find these faucets on your own via simple search queries. I hope that what I have shared helps some of you grow your crypto stack and I think this is a perfect time to get into the second part to our method 2 alternatives...

Referrals, Referrals, Referrals!

I know that some are already shaking their head 'No way!', but that is because they have either not used them properly and experienced positive results OR they have had them improperly presented to them in sneaky and sly ways

I realize that this will always have mixed reviews because some of us just hate being advertised to. Rightfully so, it's often done the wrong way and gets annoying when you see it all the time and everywhere you go online. There's plenty of referral programs out there offering crypto, but again, few are created equal.

Referral marketing is beneficial when you approach it with honesty, integrity, and transparency. Nobody likes to be tricked into doing something, so those three keys are mandatory for me prior to recommending to others.

I do not recommend things that I do not use myself.

I do not recommend things that I do not feel present value to those I am presenting it to.

It's all about sharing things that we know, use, and appreciate with others who might also find that same value. That is what referrals should be, not a spam nightmare. Do it openly and always disclose when you are using affiliate links because your readers will appreciate that. Some might have been turned off at the sight of the word 'referral' but I assure you that it can be a great way to earn if you do it properly.

Here are MY referral links to each faucet that is supported by COINPOT:

faucet http://bonusbitcoin.co/?ref=46DB7AB55992 Bonusbitcoin
faucet http://moonbitcoin.cash/?ref=9354A4A9F6B6 moon bitcoin cash
faucet http://moonliteco.in/?ref=2cf49b956bc9 moon litecoin
faucet http://moonbit.co.in/?ref=00b1bf122ea4 moon bitcoin
faucet http://moondoge.co.in/?ref=e13f8f083e93 moon doge
faucet http://moondash.co.in/?ref=D0AC494CD0DF moon dash
faucet http://bitfun.co/?ref=6A04E98EE88F bitfun!

I keep them in a spreadsheet so that I can organize them and refer back to my referrals (pun point!).

What projects can you earn referral bonuses from?

Here are just a few examples of exchanges that offer referral rewards, (but not limited to):

Exchange	Official Links	My Referral Buttons
Binance	https://www.binance.com/
SatoExchange	https://www.satoexchange.com/
Kucoin	https://www.kucoin.com/
Cobinhood	https://cobinhood.com

How I Earn Using Referrals

To give one example, I began using a new platform called TRYBE, it's a knowledge sharing network that is soon to be running on the EOS mainnet. You might have seen this footer in previous posts:

That is a referral link to TRYBE - by joining you will earn 100 tokens and I will earn 50 for each sign up that I refer. It costs you nothing to use that link and you actually get something out of it. I enjoy creating content and I have enjoyed creating content on TRYBE (which also earns me tokens when my articles are rated by the community). I have also done pretty well simply from writing about TRYBE, right here on STEEMIT!

I Just Joined TRYBE today! Calling All Blockchain Content Creators - More Ways to Earn and Grow Your Reach - which got some attention with 577 votes and a few SBD, STEEM, and SP on top of that.

My Results After 2 Weeks of Content Creation on TRYBE + 6 Articles You Might Have Missed! - here was my results after just 2 weeks on TRYBE, again shared on Steemit, getting some attention with 841 votes and earning $18.88 of Steem rewards.

My results from those two posts, alone, blew my referral expectations out of the water. I had anticipated maybe 4 or 5 sign-ups, but far more people signed up than I ever expected. Sharing it with likeminded individuals was certainly the right approach and I found some great results. I highly suggest putting this to the test for yourself!

I have earned 8,699 TRYBE tokens as of writing

This is not all from referrals, but a large portion of it was. I have earned much of the tokens from creating quality content that the community has rated highly, affording me the opportunity to earn that way as well.

Tips to using referrals as a viable opportunity to earn crypto:

• Quality companies and products will always provide better opportunity to earn.

• Presentation Matters - it is all about presentation.

• Transparency - let people know that they are using a referral link and also what benefits you gain from them using it.

• Use the products or services yourself and know why you are recommending them to others.

SHARE NEW PROJECTS TO HELP THEM GAIN EXPOSURE & EARN CRYPTO!

There are many referral programs from new crypto projects all the time. Just beware that some are not trustworthy and some are total scams. Always be diligent and always verify before recommending to the public. You do not want to be the one with the finger pointing at you when all your friends get scammed or hacked in some unfortunate way that is essentially your fault for recommending.

Now that we have gotten the common sense portion out in the open, let's run through some opportunities to get referral links and what to do with them after that in order to maximize your return.

Inform, Educate, or otherwise Entertain

Have fun talking about whatever you are referring, share and present it to the best of your ability, and that is going to excite others to join you. If you are not getting referrals for great services or products - take an honest look at how you are presenting it. If you aren't excited about what you are sharing then do not expect others to become excited by listening to you.

Give them the information that they need and let them make up their own mind.

I realize this article is rather lengthy, but I am really making a valiant effort to share my experience, thoughts, knowledge and opinions. I want what I share to help the maximum number of people I hope to present this information in a way that you, the reader, can identify value. Hopefully, if you have made it this far into this rabbit-hole, it is because you see the value in what I am sharing. I don't want people to feel obligated to use my referral links and I commend those who choose to seek these opportunities out for themselves. I am simply sharing opportunity and encourage others to do the same.

Don't let the $ value alter your sense of your self-worth or your content. Never compare yourself to others on this platform - you're not them and they're not you. Just be tough, work hard and don't quit. Sharing our skills and knowledge with each other is a powerful bond that will resonate far into the future. @grow-pro

Just look at what happened to T-Rex after he let $ value determine his self-worth. He's extinct.

Airdrops and Affiliate Links

It won't hurt to exercise caution when it comes to any sort of affiliate marketing endeavor, regardless if it is for cryptocurrency or not. Some of these programs are dishonest and flat-out scams. That said, there are some really incredible projects and airdrop opportunities that are way under the radar.

One that I already mentioned in METHOD 1, being the obvious one for those who are on Steemit: BYTEBALL AIRDROP - my article explains how to participate, requirements for eligibility, and how to locate your referral link. My approach to putting my referral link out there was simple; share some helpful information with the community and allow them to make their own decision whether to utilize my referral links or not.

There are plenty of airdrops in the crypto realm and now also similar programs called "airgrabs". These are basically opt-in airdrops that typically require signing up and referring others. I have participated in well over 20 airdrops to date and can only vouch for the ones that have been completed. Here are a few that I have recently completed and I'll share my affiliate links for each below:

You can help me, help you, and we help STEEM too! Check this out:

• SATOexchange / site: https://www.satoexchange.com/ / my referral link: https://www.satoexchange.com/?ref=5zm7gm4k

REASON FOR SHARING: I recently signed up to help out a new Steemit friend @cryptoslicex, when I realized I could help STEEM get listed on SATOexchange. Well, I submitted all the information, links, contacts, etc to get STEEM listed and submitted a request. Every registered user can VOTE for which tokens get listed - how awesome that you can earn 1000 SATX for signing up, help me earn 100 for your signup, AND potentially get STEEM listed on another new exchange?

I used all 5 of my monthly user votes to VOTE for STEEM to be listed - Once you have an account, you can help vote for it as well at https://www.satoexchange.com/coin-voting/

SATOexchange is currently in ICO and is a new exchange without much trading volume to date. Be cautious and do your own due diligence prior to signing up. You can always ask questions in the SATO Telegram • https://t.me/satoexchange_official to get answers straight from the source.

If you would like to know more about some of the airdrops that I have participated in and might be interested in participating in yourself - simply comment below! I'm always happy to discuss opportunities and also love to hear about new ones, so if you have something to share, please do!

Word of mouth is king on the marketing world, so YOUR word is gold

That means that we have a responsibility to uphold our word. Trust is an incredible asset to share and when people trust you,​ then you have an obligation to hold true to your word.

If you recommend things without using them yourself, you are undermining your credibility. Share things that interest you and do it for the right reasons - making money is not a very good reason.

Money or crypto tokens are merely the byproducts, not the objective.

Sharing knowledge, experiences, and opinions while potentially earning a reward - while sharing that very same opportunity with others is synergy at its finest

I feel Faucets & Referrals are a viable method of earning cryptocurrency without investing a cent. Do you Agree?

We're not quite done yet, so if your eyes are burning - might I suggest bookmarking this post! 😆

I am still going to share one more tried & true method to earn crypto without spending a penny and only your time.

METHOD 3 • FREELANCE #STEEMGIGS and BOUNTIES

STEEMGIGS.org • I've done graphics for well over 150 unique Steemians since joining Steemit and I can attest to this being a wonderful opportunity to earn for your time. This is one of the only ways that you can really set your parameters for how much you will earn in exchange for your time, so I felt it was certainly worth mentioning.

What is STEEMGIGS.org?

A freelancing platform that runs on top of the STEEM blockchain where "Everyone has something to offer".

Trade your special skills & talents & time for STEEM or SBD

Like I said, it does really work if you can market your skills. Steemgigs.org makes it easier than ever to do that. No matter what your level of skill, there is certainly a way to offer it to the Steemit community. You would be surprised what skills people are willing to pay for. I once saw a guy getting paid to say whatever you told him to, in a pirate voice, on video, so there are many clever ways to #freelance your hobbies. I, myself, have done quite a number of freelance projects here on Steemit and #steemgigs has certainly opened many doors for me in that regard.

Where else can you set your own rate, decide what you are going to do and not going to do and actually have the potential to earn what you want to earn for your time exchanged?

You saw the list of categories, but there really is no limit to what you can do (so long as it is legal, ethical, and does not harm others - duh!). This provides a wonderful opportunity for anyone with technical, computer, drawing, art, musical, graphic design, media creation skills to really grow a nice investment by only contributing their time. I highly recommend those of you with something to offer (that is all of you) to try this out. We are now able to create services and products in digital form and make a living do so. I firmly believe that freelancing will grow exponentially in the future. Especially after the recent article out from FORBES just 7 days ago - The Next Hot Market: Freelancers, which points to the freelance market growth potential due to changing regulation, tax liability, and legislation for global business.

Why freelance on Steemit & Steemgigs.org?

• Blockchain - because every action is a transaction, it is all recorded in the chain. This adds a level of trust to a contract because that contract, once on the blockchain, is immutable. Neither party can state there was never a contract if it is on the blockchain.

• Transactions are fee-free on Steemit - you may send and receive funds from other users on Steemit without paying ANY FEES!!

• Others are earning on here as well and many are happy to spend those funds to get services or products in return. Not only can you cash out your STEEM, but you could also spend it on a growing number of products and services on this chain and never pay a withdraw fee!

• Reputation System - there is a reputation system on Steemit that can provide some level of assumed trust on the blockchain. Users who have bad behavior will often have a low reputation. This isn't always the case, obviously.

• FREE to list your services - try that with your local newspaper...

• This is GLOBAL - many companies struggle with cross-border payments and there are always regulations that create barriers and expensive processes - Steemit makes those entirely unnecessary. STEEM and SBD are easily transferred P2P fast and free. This offers large business a streamlined way to seek talent without having to worry about the headache of cross-border limitations. Steemit is a global network.

If that was not enough to spark your fire, I'm not sure what will do it. If you have special talents or skills and some interest in exchanging your time for STEEM or SBD, then I highly suggest you look into @steemgigs and https://steemgigs.org.

BOUNTIES

Completing tasks for new start-ups and ICO's. There are many risks and less benefit to going​ this route, but if you do your own research and find legitimate projects then you might have a fighting chance. In my personal opinion, many of these companies that reward (pay for) followers to their telegram, twitter, FB, or some other platform - it is typically not a worthy project. If you have to pay people to like your idea, it's probably a bad idea.

That is not to say there aren't some great bounty opportunities in the crypto realm. If you'd like to discuss or share bounty opportunity then feel free to comment below. My pal & Steemit Witness, @jackmiller, recently posted Easiest Lot of Airdrop Coins I Ever Earned! which shares his thoughts on a particular bounty program he participated​ in.

I also recently participated in an EOS-related bounty program at https://www.xdac.co/bounties/ - where you can complete social tasks, create content like articles or videos and earn tokens. If you'd like to see my contribution as an example, check it out:
xDAC – Self Governed Platform for Creating & Managing Decentralized Autonomous Companies (on EOS).

There are many projects out there which are legitimate and are utilizing bounty programs as a non-traditional marketing technique. These sort of techniques, when applied properly, really can be effective in reaching large communities. We just have to remain vigilant when it comes to vetting these projects and we really do need more community effort in order to achieve that. Cryptocurrency can hit the critical mass adoption stage that we believe it can - only not without a large network of knowledge sharing and community engagement.

Once you have a crypto wallet and have earned some crypto, here are a few things you can do with it:

• SAVE IT

• SPEND IT

• GAMBLE

• TRADE

• INVEST IN OTHER CRYPTO PROJECTS

• BUY STEEM AND POWER UP

The possibilities are only limited to your imagination, my friends. I hope you now realize there are a few opportunities to invest in crypto without spending a cent - only your time. Time is precious, so I suggest you don't listen to me but rather what you feel is best for you. There are so many methods to earn and these are simply some that I have tried and can recommend from personal experience.

Concluding Thoughts

Investing your time is wise, but always remember that time is our most precious asset. How you spend your time certainly plays a large part in what you earn, in life, in general. Most of the things that are easy are not worth doing, so effort surely is an ingredient if you want to ​bake some cake for your wallet.

There are so many opportunities out there to take advantage of. Just be sure you aren't being taken advantage of. Always verify information for yourself and formulate your own opinions by trial and observation.

Steemit is an incredible outlet for creators and I remain optimistic​ that it will grow into much more than just another social platform. This is a great blockchain and I can't stress enough how much opportunity exists for new users to enter the crypto world and begin investing in themselves without even having a bank account! That is glorious.

The doors are wide open.

I hope that I have provided some valuable information for anyone who would like to learn about crypto currency and invest their time in exchange for crypto. I truly hope this breeds opportunity for many people who might not have otherwise had the means to invest and therefore​ would not know about the tremendous potential that awaits.

Best luck to all and may the rewards always be with you, I and all of those who express a ​tremendous effort and dedicatio​n to this platform.