Bitcoin in Play-to-Earn Games

Bitcoin is hovering just below its all-time mark of nearly $112,000 set in May, maintaining recent momentum as analysts project another record surge in the near future.

If you’re keen on stacking satoshis however you can, then here’s one way that won’t cost you anything but time: You can earn Bitcoin by playing a bunch of free games. Decrypt’s GG has been covering the rising trend of free-to-play mobile games and apps that offer up small bounties of Bitcoin for playing levels and seeing ads all the while.

While the amounts given are historically tiny, in our experience, the rising price of Bitcoin means that they are becoming… well, less tiny. If your goal is amassing Bitcoin in any way that you can, then these are certainly among the most enjoyable ways to earn a bit of free BTC. Here’s a look at some of the games you can play, with links to our coverage on each.

Learn Botanix, earn Bitcoin

Here’s the latest addition: Bitcoin layer-2 network Botanix just launched its mainnet on July 1, and alongside the rollout was a browser-based game, Bitcoin 2100, that lets you earn real Bitcoin on the scaling network.

According to Botanix, Bitcoin 2100 is an educational game that lets you earn satoshis for completing quests. They’ll teach you about Bitcoin and Botanix, plus there will be partner quests over the next couple months that explain more of the Botanix ecosystem while handing out more BTC. It’s real Bitcoin that you can cash out to your wallet, so give it a whirl.

> Bitcoin 2100 is an immersive experience where you can explore a city built on Bitcoin.
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> Play games, Complete weekly quests via Intract (Soon), discover ecosystem partners, and earn rewards.
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> Connect your wallet, bridge to Botanix, and start the journey.

Mine fake Bitcoin, earn real BTC

Here’s a fun riff on the concept of crypto mining: Bitcoin Miner for iOS and Android tasks you with building an elaborate mining operation across all sorts of cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin and those that don’t even have mining capabilities in real life, like Solana. And the reward? Real Bitcoin, in the form of satoshis that you can stack up while playing.

This idle game is simple and colorful, with an appealing pixel aesthetic and a fun sense of humor. It’s a game you can play for a couple of minutes here and there, but you’ll also keep earning in-game coins and potential rewards all the while.

Granted, Bitcoin Miner does turn repetitive after a while and the full-screen video ads are obnoxious, yet this is one of the rare play-to-earn games that we keep coming back to time and again. And with a new mid-week limited-time event added in addition to the usual weekend one, it is implementing more variety over time.

Mining asteroids for Bitcoin

Here’s an amusing iOS and Android game that you can pop into for a few minutes at a time to stack sats. SpaceY is an idle asteroid-mining game for phones and tablets, and it’s decidedly straightforward in approach: You tap asteroids to scan them, tap again to mine them, upgrade your ship and tech over time, and then repeat as you hop across the galaxy.

What’s refreshing about SpaceY is that it doesn’t force you to watch obtrusive, full-screen video ads. Instead, it rewards you for watching them in the form of free bonuses or resource boosters. It actually makes you want to watch them to get ahead faster, and all the while you’ll earn satoshis that you can cash out to a ZBD wallet.

Into the Bitcoin mines

Launched in fall 2024, Idle Mine! Earn Real Bitcoin is one of the latest iOS and Android titles from Fumb Games. While it sounds similar to Bitcoin Miner, it takes a different approach.

Here, you won’t mine (fake) digital coins. Instead, you’ll mine physical gems and resources like ruby and sapphire, continuously upgrading your mine and workers while earning real Bitcoin along the way. It’s packed with video ads, but they’re all optional—and pretty beneficial too.

Bitcoin Sudoku

If you dig sudoku and want to earn a little crypto while playing, Bitcoin Sudoku by Bling Financial will do the trick. It’s a solid mobile recreation of the number plotting puzzler, and because each puzzle takes longer than in many of the other Bitcoin-infused games on this list, there are fewer annoying ads that pop up along the way.

Splitgate

Popular free-to-play PC shooter Splitgate is the latest “Web2” game to get the Bitcoin treatment, as payments startup ZBD partnered with game studio 1047 Games to integrate Bitcoin’s Lightning Network with the game. Players will be able to earn Bitcoin when playing in certain competitions or on particular servers.

They launched the Splitgate Winter Invitational, an online team competition that rewarded 0.5 BTC in December 2023. Unfortunately, the new Splitgate 2 doesn’t appear to have any Bitcoin integrations, at least for now.

Bitcoin solitaire games

There are a couple of iOS and Android solitaire games that let you stack sats as you stack digital cards. Club Bitcoin: Solitaire and Bitcoin Solitaire basically do some variation of the same thing but vary in presentation, tolerability of ads, and the amount of Bitcoin you might earn.

Bitcoin bubble shooters

Plenty of bubble-matching puzzle games like Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move exist on iOS and Android, but Bitcoin Pop and Bitcoin Bay allow you to earn Bitcoin while you play. Which game offers the best balance of fun and earning funds? Check our head-to-head review to see which bubble popper we liked best.

Bitcoin puzzle games

We reviewed a pair of mobile puzzle games that pack in Bitcoin earnings: Sweet Bitcoin and Ethereum Blast. Sweet Bitcoin is a straight-up Candy Crush Saga clone, yet it’s solidly entertaining. Despite the name, Ethereum Blast allows cashing out rewards in Bitcoin.

Word Breeze is another fun mobile puzzle game that pays out Bitcoin rewards, combining anagram solving with crossword filling for points you can exchange for satoshis. While not groundbreaking, it’s one of the most enjoyable play-to-earn Bitcoin games we’ve tried.

Bitcoin mobile games

Thanks to a collaboration between ZBD and advertising platform Adjoe, you can earn Bitcoin by playing more than 100 different Android games—including hits like Match Masters and Dragon City. You’ll need to play through the ZBD Android app to earn satoshis as you watch ads between games.

Bitcoin walking app

sMiles is a mobile app that lets you earn Bitcoin for being active, with its Bitcoinverse feature rewarding users with BTC for walking to various destinations on the map. Powered by Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, sMiles aims to motivate users to explore via BTC incentives.

And Minecraft?!

Much of 2023, the player-run Satlantis server in the PC version of Minecraft rewarded players with Bitcoin. However, Microsoft and developer Mojang sent a cease-and-desist letter, shutting down the crypto-powered feature. The Satlantis creators are planning to launch another Bitcoin-earning game on a platform that isn’t restrictive about blockchain features.

Need more?

While we’ve played and covered numerous games that let you earn Bitcoin, many more are worth checking out. For instance, Bling Financial offers games like Bitcoin Food Fight and Bitcoin Blocks, while the Android version of Fumb’s Merge Monsters provides Bitcoin rewards; the iOS version does not, as of now.

ZBD is also continually adding new games to its Bitcoin rewards app. Stay tuned as we cover more Bitcoin play-to-earn games as they emerge.

Edited by Stephen Graves

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on November 10, 2023, and was last updated with new content on July 6, 2025.