Bitcoin Is Booming—You Can Earn More by Playing These Free Games

Bitcoin has been on a hot streak since Donald Trump's election win last month, boosting its all-time high price mark by $30,000 during the span and finally smashing through the $100,000 milestone last week.

If you’re keen on stacking satoshis however you can, then here’s one way that won’t cost you anything but time: You can earn Bitcoin by playing a bunch of free games. Decrypt’s GG has been covering the rising trend of free-to-play mobile games and apps that offer up small bounties of Bitcoin for playing levels and seeing ads all the while.

While the amounts given are historically tiny, in our experience, the rising price of Bitcoin means that they are becoming… well, less tiny. And if your goal is amassing Bitcoin in any way that you can, these are certainly among the most enjoyable ways to earn a bit of free BTC. Here’s a look at some of the games you can play, with links to our coverage on each.

Mine fake Bitcoin, earn real BTC

Here's a fun riff on the concept of crypto mining: Bitcoin Miner for iOS and Android tasks you with building an elaborate mining operation across all sorts of cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin and those that don't even have mining capabilities in real life, like Solana. And the reward? Real Bitcoin, in the form of satoshis that you can stack up while playing.

You Can Earn Real Bitcoin for Playing This Crypto Mining Game—Here's How Much

We’ve covered a lot of mobile games that pay players Bitcoin rewards, but Bitcoin Miner is the most literal interpretation we’ve seen to date: You’re mining fake cryptocurrency in this iOS and Android game, but can cash out real Bitcoin. As Decrypt’s GG recently reported, Bitcoin Miner first launched several years ago without real BTC earnings baked in, and it went nowhere. But once Fumb Games tried implementing the ability to earn and cash out satoshis (the smallest unit of Bitcoin, or 1/100,00...

This idle game is simple and colorful, with an appealing pixel aesthetic and a fun sense of humor. It's a game you can play for a couple minutes here and there, but you'll also keep earning in-game coins and potential rewards all the while.

'Bitcoin Miner' Game Guide: 7 Tips to Earn More BTC on iOS and Android

Bitcoin Miner is one of the most compelling mobile games we’ve played that pays out actual Bitcoin along the way. Unlike BTC-infused riffs on solitaire, sudoku, and other classic games, it does so in a colorful, recursive game about mining fake cryptocurrency. It’s a slam dunk for crypto enthusiasts, even though—as with all of these games—the actual amount of Bitcoin you’ll earn for casual play comes out to pennies per hour. But as we’ve logged hours into the game, we’ve discovered strategies an...

Granted, Bitcoin Miner does turn repetitive after a while and the full-screen video ads are obnoxious, yet this is one of the rare play-to-earn games that we keep coming back to time and again. And with a new mid-week limited-time event added in addition to the usual weekend one, it is implementing more variety over time.

Mining asteroids for Bitcoin

Here's an amusing iOS and Android game that you can pop into for a few minutes at a time to stack sats. SpaceY is an idle asteroid-mining game for phones and tablets, and it's decidedly straightforward in approach: You tap asteroids to scan them, tap again to mine them, upgrade your ship and tech over time, and then repeat as you hop across the galaxy.

You Can Earn Bitcoin for Playing This Asteroid Mining Game—Here's How Much

Asteroid mining could be big business in the future, if anyone figures out how to make it economically feasible. For now, at least, you can mine Bitcoin from digital space rocks in the mobile game SpaceY. And yes, you really can cash out the BTC that you earn. SpaceY—no, not SpaceX— is a simple, straightforward idle mining game in which you’ll guide the adventures of a crew aboard a space freighter as it hops across the galaxy, looking for Bitcoin, and sucking dry whatever resources you can find...

What's refreshing about SpaceY is that it doesn't force you to watch obtrusive, full-screen video ads. Instead, it rewards you for watching them in the form of free bonuses or resource boosters. It actually makes you want to watch them to get ahead faster, and all the while you'll earn satoshis that you can cash out to a ZBD wallet.

'SpaceY' Game Guide: 7 Tips to Earn More Bitcoin on iOS and Android

If you're looking to bank a little bit of Bitcoin while playing fun mobile games, there are loads of free play-to-earn iOS and Android games that pay satoshis (1/100,000,000 BTC) while you play and view ads. Not all of them are worth the hassle, but we’ve recommended some that we like. One of them is SpaceY, an amusing asteroid-mining game from Fumb Games that pays out Bitcoin as you skip across the galaxy to harvest resources. It’s simple and straightforward, but there’s a bit of strategy in th...

Into the Bitcoin mines

Just launched in fall 2024, Idle Mine! Earn Real Bitcoin is the latest iOS and Android title from Fumb Games. And while it certainly sounds similar to Bitcoin Miner, it takes a different approach to a similar theme.

Here, you won't mine (fake) digital coins. Instead, you'll mine physical gems and resources, like ruby and sapphire, continuously upgrading your mine and workers while earning real Bitcoin along the way. It's packed with video ads, but they're all optional—and pretty beneficial too.

Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage of Idle Mine! at Decrypt, but we've earned thousands of satoshis from playing this over the last few weeks. It's not as exciting or whimsical as Bitcoin Miner, but it's an easy game to fire up and half-play while working, making dinner, or watching TV.

Bitcoin Sudoku

If you dig sudoku and want to earn a little bit of crypto while playing, then Bling Financial's Bitcoin Sudoku will do the trick. It's a solid mobile recreation of the number plotting puzzler, and because each puzzle takes longer than in many of the other Bitcoin-infused games on this list, there are fewer annoying ads that pop up along the way.

You Can Now Earn Bitcoin for Playing Sudoku—Here's How Much

Looking for a chill way to stack some satoshis while killing time? One of the best casual crypto games we’ve played so far is Bitcoin Sudoku, one of many such mobile games from Bling Financial that lets you earn points while you play—and you can then convert those points to Bitcoin or Ethereum. Bitcoin Sudoku, available on both iOS and Android, is built similarly to other Bling games like Sweet Bitcoin, Word Breeze, and Ethereum Blast. It’s a simple take on a familiar, free-to-play mobile puzzle...

Splitgate

Popular free-to-play PC shooter Splitgate is the latest "Web2" game to get the Bitcoin treatment, as payments startup ZBD partnered with game studio 1047 Games to integrate Bitcoin's Lightning Network with the game. That means that players will be able to earn Bitcoin when playing in certain competitions or on particular servers.

For starters, the companies launched the Splitgate Winter Invitational, an online team competition that rewarded 0.5 BTC last December. Splitgate 2 has been announced for release in 2025, though there's no immediate sign that the game will support Bitcoin at all. Decrypt's GG reached out to 1047 Games to confirm, but did not receive a response.

You Can Earn Bitcoin by Playing PC Shooter ‘Splitgate’—Here's How

Splitgate, a first-person shooter that pairs arena-style blasting with the ability to spawn and travel through portals, will implement the ability to earn Bitcoin by playing thanks to a new Lightning Network integration from fintech startup ZBD. ZBD has collaborated with Splitgate developer 1047 Games to roll out the Bitcoin integration for the PC version of the free-to-play shooter, with an upcoming tournament set to showcase the Lightning payments functionality while awarding players a share o...

Bitcoin solitaire games

There are three iOS and Android solitaire games that let you stack sats as you stack digital cards. Club Bitcoin: Solitaire, Bitcoin Solitaire, and Solitaire - Card Game all basically do some very of the same thing, but vary in presentation, tolerability of ads, and amount of Bitcoin you might actually earn. Click here to read a comparison of the three mobile games and find links to download each.

You Can Earn Bitcoin by Playing Mobile Solitaire Games—Here's How Much

There's a slew of crypto-infused games out there that let you earn Bitcoin while you play—and you don’t have to buy any NFTs to get started, or spend any money at all. Solitaire is one of the most popular games to be injected full of Bitcoin rewards on iOS and Android, with two main games that let you stack sats (or satoshis, a.k.a. 1/100,000,000 BTC) while stacking digital playing cards: THNDR Games’ Club Bitcoin: Solitaire and Bling Financial’s Bitcoin Solitaire. Both games are broadly simila...

Bitcoin bubble shooters

There are plenty of bubble-matching puzzle games like Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move on iOS and Android, but Bitcoin Pop and Bitcoin Bay are unique in that they let you earn Bitcoin while you play. Which game offers the best balance of fun and earning funds? Read our head-to-head review to see which bubble popper we liked best.

You Can Earn Bitcoin by Playing Mobile Bubble Shooters—Here's How Much

Bubble shooter (or popper) games have been a fan favorite dating back almost 30 years to Taito’s Puzzle Bobble (aka Bust-a-Move), and the genre has corralled a new generation of casual fans on mobile. Now you can earn Bitcoin by playing them, too. A pair of games on iOS and Android—Bitcoin Pop and Bitcoin Bay—offer cryptocurrency rewards while playing, although beyond that shared premise they vary in design, amount of ads that pull you out of the game, how they each dole out Bitcoin rewards. Aft...

Bitcoin puzzle games

We also reviewed a pair of mobile puzzle games that both pack in Bitcoin earnings: Sweet Bitcoin and Ethereum Blast. Sweet Bitcoin is a pretty straightforward Candy Crush Saga clone, but among mobile puzzlers in this category, it’s solidly entertaining. And despite the name, the block-clearing puzzle game Ethereum Blast actually does give you the option to cash out your rewards in Bitcoin.

You Can Now Earn Bitcoin for Playing This Candy Crush Clone

Deep down, I know that Candy Crush Saga isn’t a particularly clever or inventive puzzle game—but nearly a decade after first savoring its specific brand of freemium dopamine hit, I still can’t help but get lost in its mindless, color-matching glow from time to time. And now there’s a version that pays you cryptocurrency for playing it. Granted, Sweet Bitcoin isn’t an official Candy Crush Saga game, and it’s not created by mobile giant King. Like so many iOS and Android games, it’s a pretty convi...

Another fun mobile puzzle game that pays out Bitcoin rewards is Word Breeze, which serves up a familiar premise—part anagram solver, part crossword filler—and doles out points that you can exchange for satoshis. It's hardly mind-blowing and the ads are a bit overwhelming, but it's one of the most fun play-to-earn Bitcoin games we've played to date.

You Can Earn Bitcoin for Playing a Fun Mobile Word Game—Here's How Much

Word games are a perfect fit for smartphones, as they’re easy to control, are often well-suited for short bursts of play, and help jog your brain here and there throughout the grueling day. Most of them don’t let you earn Bitcoin for playing, however—but Word Breeze does. Developed by PlayDay Studios and released as part of the sizable Bling Financial lineup of mobile games, Word Breeze is a simple but entertaining word-generating game that’s available for both iOS and Android. You Can Now Earn...

Bitcoin mobile games

Thanks to a collaboration between ZBD and advertising platform Adjoe, you can earn Bitcoin by playing more than 100 different Android games—including hits like Match Masters and Dragon City. You’ll have to play them through the ZBD Android app to earn satoshis as you watch ads between games, however.

You Can Earn Bitcoin for Playing Over 100 Android Games

The list of mobile games that pay players cryptocurrency has just grown significantly. Today, Bitcoin payments startup Zebedee launched a feature in its Android app today that pays people small amounts of Bitcoin for playing what it says are over 100 eligible mobile games. Zebedee’s Android app, called ZBD, now offers a broader selection of playable games that include Bitcoin rewards thanks to a new partnership with advertising platform Adjoe and its Playtime network. The games use a time-based...

Bitcoin walking app

sMiles is a mobile app that lets you earn Bitcoin for being active, and its Bitcoinverse feature is a location-based game that rewards you with BTC for walking to various preset destinations on the map. Powered by Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, sMiles aims to motivate users to get out and explore via BTC incentives.

You Can Earn Bitcoin for Walking Around Major Cities—Here's How

Mobile app sMiles launched in 2020 with the promise of letting users “earn Bitcoin for things you already do,” like walking and shopping. But the app has  now expanded to encourage users to go beyond the routine, with a Pokémon Go-like map that points you toward real-world locations that can earn you small stashes of Bitcoin. Bitcoinverse is the latest feature added to the sMiles app on iPhone and Android, and it takes the real-world map of your surroundings and peppers it with secret stashes of...

And Minecraft?!

For much of 2023, the player-run Satlantis server in the PC version of Microsoft’s smash building game Minecraft rewarded players with Bitcoin. But after Microsoft and developer Mojang got word of the crypto-powered feature, they sent a cease-and-desist letter to the server operators, who removed the functionality.

Minecraft Server Will End Bitcoin Earnings After Mojang Demand: Report

An independent, fan-run PC game server for Minecraft that paid players in Bitcoin will remove its play-to-earn functionality following what the creators claim was a demand from Minecraft creator Mojang. In a late Friday Discord post, Satlantis server founder David Dineno said that Mojang—which, like Minecraft, is owned by Microsoft—asked the server administrators to remove the play-to-earn feature. The functionality allowed users to accumulate and withdraw small amounts of Bitcoin, as detailed i...

Watch the video below to get a sense of how the feature worked before it was shut down. The Satlantis creators say they’re planning to launch another Bitcoin-earning game in the spirit of the earlier Minecraft experience, but on a platform that isn’t strict about blockchain features.

Need more?

While we've played and covered numerous games that let you earn Bitcoin, there are even more out there that might be worth checking out. For example, Bling Financial has games like Bitcoin Food Fight and Bitcoin Blocks.

You can find iOS and Android links on Bling's website. ZBD is also continuously adding new games to its Bitcoin rewards app too. Stay tuned as we'll continue to cover Bitcoin play-to-earn games as they emerge.

Edited by Stephen Graves

Editor's note: This story was originally published on November 10, 2023 and was last updated with new content on December 8, 2024.