Crypto Yield: How to Earn Passive Income from Blockchain Assets
When you hear crypto yield, the earnings you get from holding or lending cryptocurrency assets. Also known as passive income crypto, it’s not magic—it’s just blockchain doing what it was built for: enabling trustless financial interactions without banks. You’re not mining. You’re not trading. You’re simply letting your coins work for you.
That’s where staking, locking up coins to help secure a proof-of-stake blockchain. Also known as proof-of-stake participation, it’s how networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano keep running. come in. Instead of paying miners, these networks pay you. For holding ETH, you might earn 3-5% a year. For SOL, it’s often higher. It’s not risky like gambling—it’s more like earning interest on a savings account, but with more tech behind it.
Then there’s DeFi yield, earnings from lending or providing liquidity on decentralized finance platforms. Also known as lending protocols, it’s where you put your USDC or DAI into a pool and get paid in interest, often in the form of another token. Think of it like renting out your money. Someone else borrows it to trade or leverage their position, and you get a cut. But here’s the catch: not all DeFi yields are safe. Some are built on shaky code or fake demand. That’s why you’ll see posts here about platforms like Saros Finance or DeGate—some are legit, others are barely alive.
Yield farming, the practice of moving assets between protocols to chase the highest returns. Also known as liquidity mining, it’s where things get wild. You might deposit ETH into one pool, earn a token, then swap it and deposit it somewhere else, stacking rewards. It sounds like free money—but it’s high-effort, high-risk, and often overhyped. Most people lose money to impermanent loss or scams. That’s why you’ll find guides here on spotting real opportunities versus fake airdrops like HyperGraph HGT or HaloDAO RNBW.
And yes, crypto yield isn’t just for techies. Even if you’re not running a node or writing smart contracts, you can still earn. Just use a trusted wallet, stick to well-known protocols, and avoid anything promising 100% APY. The best yields aren’t the flashiest—they’re the ones that last.
What you’ll find below isn’t a list of the top 10 yield platforms. It’s a real-world collection of what’s actually working, what’s dead, and what’s a trap. From how staking rewards changed after Ethereum’s upgrade, to why JulSwap’s token rewards vanished, to whether tokenized real-world assets like those in RWA markets can offer stable yield—this is the unfiltered view. No fluff. No hype. Just what you need to know before you lock up your crypto.
Figure Markets Crypto Exchange Review: Fees, Yields, and Real-World Asset Trading in 2025
Figure Markets is a regulated U.S. crypto exchange offering zero-fee trading, SEC-registered YLDS stablecoin with 3.85% APY, and crypto-backed loans. Ideal for long-term holders seeking yield and compliance.