We’ve analyzed multiple Ethereum mining apps for Android to help you understand why using them probably isn’t the best idea and why any app claiming to offer “Ethereum mining” is misleading.
However, we don’t want to leave you empty handed, so we’ll also be featuring 5 Ethereum apps for Android that will enable you to earn ETH passively through staking.
Are Ethereum mining apps for Android legit?
The short answer is no. The Ethereum cryptocurrency is secured through staking, and not mining. This has been the case since September of 2022, when an upgrade called The Merge removed the network’s old Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism and introduced a new Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.
Even if Ethereum still used mining, no mobile phone on the market today would be powerful enough to mine it profitably.
Therefore, any app that claims to provide Ethereum mining services is misleading at best and an outright scam at worst.
We were able to find 5 apps on the Google Play store that claim to be providing Ethereum mining or Ethereum cloud mining services.While the majority of these apps have a solid rating of 4 stars or more on the surface, a closer look at the reviews makes it obvious that the majority of 5-star reviews are not genuine. Meanwhile, there are a lot of genuine reviews with a 1-star rating that suggest the apps are not actually mining Ethereum. In some cases, the apps are even trying to convince users to buy another product.
For example, there are a lot of complaints from users saying that the app requires them to purchase a particular cryptocurrency wallet app before they can withdraw the ETH rewards they have supposedly earned.
If someone is asking you to pay to use a cryptocurrency wallet, that is a major red flag — legitimate cryptocurrency wallets, even those offering the most advanced features, can be downloaded for free. In fact, we haven’t been able to find a single legitimate cryptocurrency wallet that is not completely free to use (apart from the fees blockchain networks charge for transactions).
Best Android apps for earning Ethereum rewards
The bottom line is that you should avoid all apps that claim to be offering Ethereum mining. However, there areapps that will allow you to earn ETH passively, by giving you access to Ethereum staking. Please keep in mind that you’ll need to already own some ETH if you want to earn additional ETH through staking.
- Binance - The world's top crypto exchange has an Ethereum staking feature
- Kraken - A rock-solid crypto exchange that allows users to earn ETH staking rewards
- Coinbase - Beginner-friendly crypto exchange with Ethereum staking feature
- MetaMask - The best Ethereum wallet overall
- Trust Wallet - A versatile crypto wallet that you can use to stake ETH and earn rewards
1. Binance- The world's top crypto exchange has an Ethereum staking feature
Binance is a leading cryptocurrency exchange that lists hundreds of different crypto assets and provides a diverse suite of services for crypto investors. This also includes Ethereum staking — if you have ETH, you can stake it on Binance to passively earn rewards.
If you stake ETH through Binance, you will receive WBETH tokens, which represent your staked ETH. The conversion rate between WBETH and ETH gradually increases in favor of WBETH through the time to reflect the rewards earned by the ETH Binance is staking on behalf of its users.
If you wish to get your ETH back, you can simply redeem your WBETH tokens and receive ETH in return. The amount of ETH you can earn this way is determined by the size of your stake (bigger is better) and the duration of your stake (longer is better).
2. Kraken Pro- A rock-solid crypto exchange that allows users to earn ETH staking rewards
Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange that has been operating for more than a decade and has built a strong reputation for keeping its users’ fund safe even though many other exchanges have lost their customers’ fund to hacks.
If you have ETH, you can stake it via the Kraken Pro app to benefit from staking rewards. Unlike Binance, which uses a token to represent staked ETH, the process on Kraken is more straightforward as there is no such token involved. However, the downside of Kraken’s approach is that users can’t get any liquidity from their staked ETH unless they unstake their coins.
3. Coinbase- Beginner-friendly crypto exchange with Ethereum staking feature
Coinbase is a reputable crypto exchange that’s known as one of the best crypto platforms for beginners. Coinbase provides an Ethereum staking service which allows ETH holders to earn additional rewards on their coins passively.
Users on Coinbase have the option to wrap their staked ETH coins and receive cbETH tokens. These tokens can be redeemed (or “unwrapped”) for ETH, but can be useful to still access the liquidity associated with your staked ETH.
If you’re a long-term ETH holder that wants to put your idle coins to work, staking through Coinbase is certainly an option worth considering.
4. MetaMask- The best Ethereum wallet overall
The previous ETH staking options we’ve covered in this article are all facilitated through centralized cryptocurrency exchanges which stake users’ ETH on their behalf. Now, let’s take a look at some options to stake Ethereum in a more decentralized manner using on-chain liquid staking protocols.
Let’s begin with MetaMask, an extremely popular Ethereum wallet that also offers an Android app version. MetaMask offers a convenient staking option within the MetaMask portfolio feature that allows users to easily stake their ETH through liquid staking protocols such as Lido and Rocket Pool.
The added benefit of using MetaMask instead of a cryptocurrency exchange is that you remain in control of your private keys and don’t have to trust anyone but yourself to keep them safe.
5. Trust Wallet- A versatile crypto wallet that you can use to stake ETH and earn rewards
Trust Wallet is a very popular all-purpose crypto wallet that is available both as a browser extension or as a standalone desktop application.
One of Trust Wallet’s biggest strengths is that it supports a truly impressive selection of cryptocurrencies, as it’s not just limited to EVM-compatible blockchains. You can also use Trust Wallet to store Bitcoin, XRP, Solana and many other popular cryptocurrencies.
Trust Wallet has a user-friendly interface designed to cater to both beginners and experienced users. Navigating the wallet is easy, allowing users to seamlessly view their portfolio value in their preferred currency, monitor their transaction history, and effectively manage multiple wallets.
You can use Trust Wallet to securely hold your ETH and use it in liquid staking protocols to earn staking rewards. Just like MetaMask, Trust Wallet is also a non-custodial wallet, which means that you control your own private keys.
The bottom line
Hopefully, this article helped explain why there are no legitimate Ethereum mining apps available on the market. However, there are still ways to earn ETH using an Android app. For example, you can stake your ETH coins through a cryptocurrency exchange app or use an Ethereum wallet app to stake your coins via protocols such as Lido and Rocket Pool.
If you want to learn more on the topic of earning crypto with your phone, make sure to take a look at our list of the best crypto mining apps for Android.
