Earn Income from Your Bitcoin, No Matter the Market
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| By Marija Matic |
For most holders, Bitcoin (BTC, “A-”) is still treated like a bar of digital gold: Buy it, store it, forget about it.
No yield. No cash flow. Just … waiting.
That mindset makes sense. Bitcoin is meant to be a store of value.
(In fact, I just made my case for why I believe Bitcoin is a better store of value asset than gold.)
But the ecosystem around BTC is quietly changing. Today, your Bitcoin no longer has to sit idle while you wait through market turbulence.
Bitcoin can work to earn you additional income while you hold it.
But tapping into that yield requires an understanding of a few moving DeFi parts.
The goal isn’t to target insane DeFi yields. Instead, Bitcoin yield is structurally conservative. It doesn’t chase hype or short-term incentives.
In short, this strategy offers steady, compounding returns.
So, let’s start with the obvious question: “How much yield can you get on your Bitcoin right now?”
The answers vary based on how active you want to be.
If you do nothing clever at all? Roughly 0.01% APY.
That’s the baseline. That’s Bitcoin sitting in the safest, most conservative DeFi rails.
That number climbs if you …
- Accept a little more complexity,
- Understand where yield comes from and
- Are willing to move beyond pure “cold storage forever” thinking.
At the moment, yields are on the lower end, shaped by market dynamics. But they still stem from real economic activity, and earning a little is still better than not earning at all.
So, let’s walk through where I’ve seen real economic demand driving BTC yield recently.
Aave: The ‘Savings Account’ of Bitcoin DeFi
If Bitcoin earns yield anywhere at scale, it’s on Aave (AAVE, “B-”).
That’s one of the largest and most battle-tested lending protocols in crypto. No gimmicks. Just a simple borrowing and lending platform.
Current yields
- Roughly 0.01% APY for BTC on Ethereum network
- Up to ~0.06% APY for BTC on Base network
That’s low, especially for DeFi yields.
But risk is also low with this approach. In fact, this is the lowest-risk DeFi yield Bitcoin can get.
Where does the yield come from?
Simple:
- Traders and DeFi users borrow BTC (usually to hedge, short, or deploy leverage).
- They post overcollateralized assets like stablecoins or ETH as collateral and pay interest on the borrowed BTC.
- That interest flows to BTC lenders.
So, it’s just borrowers paying to use your Bitcoin liquidity.
Think of this as the Bitcoin money market. Not exciting, but an extremely clean option for long-term holders.
That, combined with no lockup period, makes Aave a solid option for beginners.
Lombard: Bitcoin Starts Earning for Its Security
This is where things get interesting.
Lombard (BARD, Not Yet Rated) now lets you stake Bitcoin. Not to secure the Bitcoin network itself, but to help secure other networks that are willing to pay for Bitcoin’s credibility and economic weight.
Ledger users can access this via the in-wallet Figment dApp. Everyone else can stake BTC directly on Lombard’s platform.
Current yield
- ~0.41% APY
Nearly a billion dollars of BTC is already staked here, so this isn’t fringe anymore.
How it works:
- You deposit BTC
- You receive LBTC, a token fully backed by Bitcoin
- Over time, LBTC appreciates against BTC as yield accrues
Important detail: LBTC is not 1:1 value permanently. Each LBTC represents more BTC over time because rewards accumulate inside the system.
If you ever want out, simply redeem your LBTC to receive native BTC back. But just note that unstaking takes about 7-9 days.
Which means if you’re not careful, your BTC may be locked when you want to sell it. You’ll need to keep a close eye on the market and any “sell" targets you have to avoid getting stuck.
Where does the yield come from?From Bitcoin being used as economic security.
Other networks want Bitcoin’s reputation and capital backing their systems. They pay BTC holders for that service.
In short, you earn from security fees.
Fluid: Higher Yield, Higher Complexity
If you’re comfortable going a few steps deeper, Fluid offers stronger BTC yield via liquidity provisioning.
The most notable option right now is the WBTC / cbBTC pool:
- WBTC = Bitcoin wrapped on the Ethereum network
- cbBTC = Bitcoin wrapped by Coinbase
Current yield
- ~1.16% APY
- The pool is about 70% full, so capacity remains
Yield here comes from three sources:
- Trading fees from users swapping between these two wrapped BTC variants
- Borrowing demand inside Fluid’s lending system
- Protocol incentives designed to bootstrap liquidity
Unlike the other two strategies, this is no longer a “park BTC and forget it” approach.
On top of wrapped-BTC issuer risk, you’re taking on smart contract risk and need to understand simple liquidity dynamics.
That increases the risk a bit. Not into dangerous territory. But this pool may be overwhelming for beginners.
Yes, You Can Push Bitcoin Yield Much Higher
There are pools offering 2%-4% APY, sometimes more. You can find these on:
- Newer chains,
- Smaller protocols,
- Experimental incentive programs.
And yes, Bitcoin paired with stablecoins can theoretically generate double-digit or even 50%+ APYs.
But these opportunities have you playing a different game. One with impermanent loss, active management and far more ways to get it wrong.
If you’re new to Bitcoin DeFi, those aren’t the place to start.
But they shouldn’t scare you from making the most of your Bitcoin, either.
Even modest yield matters when the asset itself is capped, scarce and increasingly valuable.
You don’t need to chase. You don’t need to over-optimize.
Sometimes, simply letting Bitcoin do something — instead of nothing — is progress enough.
That’s a pretty optimistic place for Bitcoin to be …
And a profitable path forward for your portfolio.
Best,
Marija Matić
P.S. To maximize your Bitcoin strategy even further, I suggest you check out Juan Villaverde’s Weiss Crypto Investor. In it, his Crypto Timing Model can help you target the best moments to buy and sell for long-term gains.
