Get Paid to Learn About Crypto: Platforms That Reward You…

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Coinbase shut down its original Learning Rewards program in May 2025 and then replaced it with Wallet Quests on Base, which now pays users up to $35 in OP tokens.
2. Binance Learn and Earn gives users between $1 and $5 in crypto per completed campaign on a first-come, first-served basis, with geographic restrictions applied across multiple global jurisdictions.
3. Revolut attracted nearly 1.5 million customers from 32 countries who completed its Learn and Earn crypto education courses within the first month of the program's July 2022 launch.
4. Learn-to-earn crypto rewards are generally treated as taxable ordinary income at fair market value on the date of receipt in most major tax jurisdictions, including the United States.
5. TokenPicks launched a gamified crypto education rewards system in March 2025 that distributes daily reward tokens and monthly Bitcoin prizes to the top-performing users on its competitive quiz leaderboard.

Several major cryptocurrency exchanges now pay users for learning about digital assets. These platforms distribute small token rewards after users complete short video courses and quizzes. Coinbase alone distributed more than $150 million in tokens before ending its original program.The model pairs brief educational content about specific tokens with direct financial incentives for participation. Users watch short video lessons and then answer quiz questions to unlock token deposits. Rewards typically range from $1 to $35 per completed course, depending on the platform. Binance, Revolut, CoinMarketCap, and newer entrants like TokenPicks all operate active programs. This article covers how each program works, what participants can earn, and the tax treatment of these rewards.

How Learn to Earn Programs Work

Learn to earn programs follow a consistent model across nearly every major crypto exchange. Users select an available course focused on a specific cryptocurrency or blockchain protocol. Each course typically contains between two and five short video lessons lasting a few minutes each.Coinbase then launched Wallet Quests on its Base network as the replacement offering. Wallet Quests pays between $5 and $8 in OP tokens per completed quest, with a maximum of $35 available. This shift moved the rewards model from the centralized exchange to an on-chain application.Unlike the original quiz-based program, Wallet Quests rewards users for completing on-chain tasks, such as swapping tokens, minting NFTs, or staking, rather than watching videos and answering questions.Coinbase operated the most recognized version of this model through its Learning Rewards program for several years. The exchange paid between $3 and $6 per quiz and distributed tokens across more than 100 countries. The program ended on May 27, 2025, according to a report from Cryptonews.Coinbase then launched Wallet Quests on its Base network as the replacement offering. Wallet Quests pays between $5 and $8 in OP tokens per completed quest, with a maximum of $35 available. This shift moved the rewards model from the centralized exchange to an on-chain application.

Major Platforms and What They Pay

Binance Learn and Earn operates on a first-come, first-served model with campaigns that pay $1 to $5 in crypto rewards. The program restricts access based on geography, and campaigns often fill their participant slots within hours of going live.Revolut's Learn and Earn program originally paid up to $15 in DOT tokens across its educational modules at its July 2022 launch. The program was available in the United Kingdom, European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, Singapore, and Brazil. Revolut reported that nearly 1.5 million customers from 32 countries completed courses in the program's first month alone.TokenPicks entered this space in March 2025 with a gamified rewards system built around competitive learning. The platform's CEO stated that the goal was to make crypto learning engaging, interactive, and rewarding for everyone, according to a Decrypt report. TokenPicks distributes daily tokens and awards monthly Bitcoin prizes to users who top its quiz leaderboard rankings.Other active platforms include Robinhood (EUR 1 to 2 per lesson in select European Union countries), Phemex ($0.60 to $1 per lesson), eToro Academy ($5 per quiz, up to $100 total across 20 quizzes), and Bitstamp ($2 per quiz).

Tax Treatment of Learn to Earn Rewards

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) classifies cryptocurrency received through learn-to-earn programs as taxable ordinary income. The taxable amount equals the fair market value of the tokens at the exact moment they arrive in the recipient's wallet.This treatment mirrors the tax rules that the IRS applies to airdrop distributions and promotional crypto giveaways. Participants must report the income on their annual federal tax returns regardless of the dollar amount they received. Michelle Legge, Head of Crypto Tax Education at Koinly, detailed this treatment in the platform's published tax guide for Learn to Earn participants.In the United Kingdom, these rewards fall under income tax obligations at the recipient's marginal tax rate. The European Union leaves the specific treatment to individual member states, creating a patchwork of obligations across the bloc. Australia generally taxes crypto rewards as income, while Canada applies income tax only if the activity qualifies as business income.Small rewards of $2 to $5 may fall below taxable thresholds in certain jurisdictions, but the reporting obligation remains in force. Participants who later sell the tokens they earned will also owe capital gains tax on any price appreciation above the initial value.

Regulatory Implications

No Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions have targeted learn-to-earn programs directly as of October 2026. Geographic restrictions remain the primary compliance mechanism, with CoinMarketCap Earn and several other programs blocking users in the United States. Platforms operating reward programs must still comply with local securities and money transmission laws in each jurisdiction where they distribute token rewards.

What's Next?

Coinbase's transition from centralized rewards to on-chain Wallet Quests signals a broader shift toward decentralized education incentives. Gamified entrants like TokenPicks suggest that competition in this space will intensify through 2026 and beyond. The expansion of IRS broker reporting under Form 1099-DA may also increase compliance obligations for platforms distributing learn-to-earn rewards.

FAQs

What is a learn-to-earn crypto program? Learn to earn programs pay cryptocurrency rewards to users who complete short educational courses and pass quizzes on exchange platforms about specific digital assets and protocols. How much can you earn from crypto learning programs? Rewards range from $1 per quiz on platforms like Phemex to $35 in total from Coinbase Wallet Quests, depending on the platform and available campaigns. Is Coinbase Learn and Earn still available in 2026? Coinbase ended its original Learning Rewards program in May 2025 and replaced it with Wallet Quests, a new on-chain rewards program running on the Base network. Do you pay taxes on learn to earn crypto rewards? Yes, the IRS treats crypto earned through learn-to-earn programs as taxable ordinary income at the fair market value on the date the tokens are received. Which learn-to-earn platforms are available in the United States? Coinbase Wallet Quests and eToro Academy are accessible to United States residents, while CoinMarketCap Earn and several other global programs restrict access from that jurisdiction entirely. Are learn-to-earn rewards deposited automatically after quiz completion? Most platforms deposit tokens directly into the user's exchange wallet within minutes of a successful quiz submission, though some programs use a first-come, first-served capacity model. Can one learn to earn tokens be sold immediately after receiving them? Users can typically sell or trade their earned tokens immediately after depositing on most platforms, although Bake requires a one-month lock period in its freezer before withdrawal.

References

1. CrowdfundInsider: Coinbase Earn expansion to 100+ countries with $100 million in distributed rewards.
2. IBS Intelligence: Revolut Learn & Earn 1.5 million participants in the first month across 32 countries.
3. Decrypt: TokenPicks' launch of a gamified crypto education rewards system in March 2025.
4. Koinly: Tax treatment guide for learn to earn cryptocurrency rewards across major jurisdictions.