How to Earn Passive Income with Crypto in 2025: LEDN, Cake DeFi and Swan Bitcoin

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You do not have to actively trade to make money with crypto. Some of the best returns come from simply holding your assets in the right places and letting them earn for you. Here are the three platforms I use for passive crypto income.

1. LEDN — Earn Interest on Bitcoin

LEDN is one of the most trusted crypto lending platforms, used by institutional investors and retail clients alike. You deposit Bitcoin or USDC, and LEDN pays you interest — currently up to 6.5% APY on Bitcoin.

Unlike many DeFi protocols, LEDN operates with full transparency and publishes monthly proof-of-reserves reports. Your assets are never lent to retail borrowers — only to institutional counterparties.

• Up to 6.5% APY on Bitcoin
• Monthly interest payments
• Institutional-grade security
• No lock-up periods on savings accounts

2. Cake DeFi — Liquidity Mining and Staking

Cake DeFi offers some of the highest yields available in the crypto space through liquidity mining, staking and lending. Their Freezer product lets you lock up assets for higher rewards, while Liquidity Mining generates fees from DeFi trading activity.

• Liquidity mining yields of 30-100% APY
• Staking available for multiple coins
• $30 welcome bonus for new users
• Transparent, audited platform

3. Swan Bitcoin — The Best Bitcoin DCA Platform

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) into Bitcoin is one of the most proven wealth-building strategies in crypto. Swan Bitcoin makes it effortless — set up an automatic weekly or monthly purchase and let it run. No watching charts, no emotion, just consistent accumulation.

• Automatic Bitcoin purchases (daily, weekly or monthly)
• Low fees — lower than most exchanges
• Self-custody withdrawals to your own wallet
• Bitcoin-only focus — no distractions

Important Reminder

Always store the bulk of your long-term holdings in a Ledger hardware wallet. Only keep what you are actively earning with on third-party platforms. Track all your earnings for tax purposes with Koinly.