There are various ways to earn free NFTs. You can find free NFT mints on low-cost blockchains or enter free giveaways. You could also get free airdrops just for holding an NFT collection in your wallet.
Here are all the different ways to earn free NFTs along with links to popular websites so you know where to go get them. While there are many legit ways to earn free NFTs, there are also many scams. So make sure to stick to reputable websites and always do your own research.
Overview
Before we jump in, it's important to cover why do free NFTs exist and is it actually worth it to spend your time trying to claim them?
Why Do Free NFTs Exist?
Free NFTs are often used as an incentive to attract new users to the project. Whether it's free mints, giveaways, or airdrops there are a variety ways projects can grab attention. CryptoPunks were originally released for free. Bored Ape Yacht Club airdropped ApeCoins to reward their holders. And Unstoppable Domains regularly gives away free NFT domain names to promote their website.
Whether it's a play to earn game, art collection or something else, free NFTs can be a good way to build attention around a project.
Are Free NFTs Worth It?
In most cases, free NFTs aren't going to be worth much. However, if you enter lots of quality projects and one of them blows up, the reward can be huge. Imagine if you minted a CryptoPunk for free. But more likely, you can get a few projects that grow to $100-$1000+ floor price. Although you might waste some time searching for free NFTs, you don't need to invest any capital (apart from a few cents or dollars for gas fees on some strategies).
Now, here are the best ways to earn free NFTs in 2023:
1. Follow NFT Calendars
NFT calendars allow you to keep track of upcoming mints, airdrops, giveaways, and more. There are several websites that track NFT releases, so it's a handy starting point for discovering free NFTs. Many sites allow you to filter by blockchain type, requirements, and more to locate the information you need. You should use these as a starting point for finding the other strategies listed here.
2. Collect CoinMarketCap Diamonds
It's no secret that CoinMarketCap is one of the most popular crypto sites, but it also offers the opportunity to earn free NFTs. The Diamond Rewards program lets you collect diamonds every 24 hours and build a daily streak. You just have to press a button every day to check-in. Once you get at least 1,000-5,000 diamonds, which can take 30-100 days, you'll have enough to shop in the rewards section where they occasionally do NFT drops. Some past rewards include Bitcoin Conference tickets and tons of NFT collections.
3. Find Free NFT Mints
CryptoPunks were originally released for free, and all you had to do was pay an Ethereum gas fee, which was quite low at the time. While you might not be able to find the next CryptoPunks collection, you can still obtain free NFT mints on blockchains such as Solana, Binance Chain, and others with low gas fees or no fees. To find free NFT mints, you should use the NFT calendars above, learn how to use crypto Twitter search filters, and prepare a list of NFT marketplaces to regularly visit.
I Just Minted 3 Free NFTs in 15 Minutes
While editing this post, I used Gem.xyz, an NFT aggregator, to find and mint 3 free NFTs. I went to the website, clicked on "Mints" and filtered it to "Free Mints" as you can see here:
How to find free NFT mints on Gem.xyz
Then I looked for projects with lots of activity in the last 30 minutes and lots of unique minters - all of which you can see on the Gem.xyz dashboard. I found 2 collections and minted these 3 NFTs for free:
I minted 3 free NFTs in 15 minutes
I only paid ETH gas fees which are pretty cheap right now. The total gas was about $15 or 0.0033 ETH for each mint or 0.0136 ETH total. If you were to use cheaper blockchains, the $15 fee could be just a couple dollars or less. Just always do your own research before connecting your wallet to random websites. Here are some of the many sites where you can find free NFT mints:
4. Grind Play-to-Earn Games
According to DappRadar, there are at least 800 play-to-earn games available and many P2E titles allow users to play for free. Each game has a built-in NFT marketplace where you can buy and sell items used to play the game (eg. characters, swords, shields, and other items). So if you like playing games, you can grind and collect in-game NFTs to sell on the marketplace. If you get good at the game you can even find more efficient ways to level up and monetize. You can also get lucky if you pick games that you think will get popular.
While the earning potential of these games varies widely, the P2E space will keep growing in popularity. Axie Infinity is already one of the most successful examples. Check out these sources to discover new Blockchain games:
5. NFT Giveaways
NFT giveaways happen all the time since it helps projects get free awareness and engagement on social media.
While you won't win every giveaway, you can enter lots of them. The best way to find giveaways is to use crypto Twitter, NFT calendars, and make a list of NFT marketplaces you want to keep an eye on.
The process of entering giveaways is usually very straightforward. It involves providing a public wallet address and completing small tasks like following their social media.
6. NFT Airdrops
An NFT airdrop is similar to giveaways and regular crypto airdrops. It's when a project sends free NFTs to wallet addresses that meet certain criteria. NFT airdrops can be as easy as providing your wallet address, or it may need extra steps like following their social media.
You can even get free NFT airdrops just for holding the right collection. BAYC airdropped ApeCoins to everyone that held a Bored Ape. During that time, it was valued at about $400,000. Sometimes these types of drops are random and sometimes you can see them coming in your project's Discord channel.
If you want to find NFT airdrops, pay attention to announcements from the projects you hold. And check out the following websites here:
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