In 2025, cloud mining and crypto staking are popular ways to earn passive income with cryptocurrency. Both require little technical knowledge, but they differ significantly in terms of risk, returns, and reliability. Making a careful consideration is therefore essential.
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Cloud Mining in 2025 #
When you start cloud mining, you are essentially using someone else’s hardware to mine cryptocurrency. The advantage is that you don’t have to buy those expensive machines that consume loads of electricity.
A major downside is that you have to trust the counterparty, as they could simply tell you they mined much less crypto than they actually did. This is difficult to verify, except perhaps on TrustPilot, where companies receive ratings.
You purchase a contract from a cloud mining service provider and rent hash power (computing power) that is used on your behalf to mine crypto. You pay service fees, maintenance costs, and other expenses associated with cloud mining.
The largest cloud mining companies in 2025 with TrustPilot ratings are MiningToken (3.9), ECOS (3.3), NiceHash (1.4), and IQ Mining (1.1). The reviews indicate a significant quality difference between these companies.
An average cloud mining contract for Bitcoin yields a return of approximately 5-10 percent per year. If you mine other cryptocurrencies, you are often dealing with speculative contracts where returns are certainly not guaranteed.
Crypto Staking in 2025 #
In 2025, crypto staking is one of the most popular ways to earn passive income with crypto. Staking means locking up coins to secure a Proof of Stake network. For this service, you receive interest.
Which cryptocurrencies are available for staking and the amount of interest varies per platform. Ethereum can be staked, for example, at major providers like Coinbase and Binance. The interest rates offered are not the same: 2.91 percent and 2.39 percent, respectively.
Additionally, some platforms offer different types of staking. For example, at Bitvavo, customers have the choice between flex staking and fixed staking. The difference is that with flex staking, you can continue to trade and withdraw your crypto whenever you want, whereas with fixed staking, the coins are locked for a certain period and cannot be traded.
Due to the risk difference between the two staking options, the interest rates vary. On Bitvavo, the interest rate for Ethereum with fixed staking is 2.50 percent, while with flex staking it is 0.70 percent. That’s a considerable difference, but the lower percentage of flex staking comes with more flexibility.
Bitcoin usually cannot be staked because its network uses Proof of Work, not Proof of Stake. This means new bitcoins are only earned through mining with computers and energy, not by locking up coins.
The differences in staking returns are enormous. Therefore, make sure you carefully consider which coin you will stake and where.
Cloud Mining versus Crypto Staking #
When you opt for cloud mining, you don’t have to do anything complicated except read the contract. Everything is done for you; you only need to invest money and wait for the returns.
Similarly, when you start crypto staking, you don’t need to do anything special, unless you want to run a validator node. You buy coins, stake them, and wait. A tricky aspect of staking is the timing risk. It’s possible that the coins you lock up will decrease in value.
With fixed staking, you cannot suddenly sell these coins and must wait to see what the price is when the agreed-upon staking period is over. Staking is becoming increasingly regulated, however, which means you can do it more safely.