Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2018, and its figures are as of then: 0.25 PRE per search, a maximum of 32 rewarded searches a day and a 1,000 PRE minimum withdrawal. Presearch’s rewards and withdrawals have changed since, and LocalBitcoins shut down in 2023. The wallet and exchange steps describe 2018 interfaces.
Although we have already covered hundreds of ways to earn extra money, it never hurts to get free money for something we all do every day: searching the internet, whether on Google, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, etc. So let’s look at how Presearch works, a search engine based on blockchain technology that pays you for every search.
We will go step by step through how Presearch works, how it pays and, most importantly, how you can cash out the money you generate, that is, how to convert the tokens into fiat money. At first glance it can seem a bit complicated, but it isn’t really. And I insist: it is a way to earn money for free and without working.
How Presearch works, how much you can earn and how to cash out
1. How Presearch works
Go to the Presearch.org website, sign up and that’s it. You can now run your searches on the same sites where you used to run them. You can customise the search engine with the sites where you normally search the most, including search engines such as Google and YouTube.
2. How much money you can earn with Presearch
Bear in mind that, as its terms of use state, you can’t abuse the searches. They warn that if you don’t use the search engine the way you normally would, your account may be banned.
For every search you run, Presearch adds 0.25 PRE to your account. PRE is a cryptocurrency that you can later exchange for fiat money. Below we explain the process for going from PRE to fiat money (dollars, euros…).
See also: These are the 3 ways to make money in your life: which one do you choose?
There is a maximum number of rewarded searches per day: 32, which is equivalent to 8 tokens (8 PRE). Doing the maths, you could earn a maximum of about 240 Presearch tokens a month.
At present, the Presearch price, like that of most cryptocurrencies, is falling. As I write this article, PRE is worth around $0.05. During the crypto bull-market frenzy, PRE traded above $0.70. But anyway, as I said, it’s free money, whether it’s a lot or a little.
The minimum you need to reach before you can convert Presearch into fiat money is 1,000 tokens, so we are talking about a little over four months before you can cash them in. In other words, at the current price, 1,000 tokens would get you about $50, an amount that would be higher or lower depending on the market price. And as we know, anything can happen with cryptocurrencies.
3. How to cash out Presearch, or how to turn the tokens into fiat money
This is where the process can get a little more complicated, although anyone with experience trading crypto shouldn’t have any trouble with it.
Step 1: withdraw your Presearch
Go to the Presearch main screen and click the Redeem Tokens button.
Step 2: move your Presearch to a wallet
On the next screen, you only need to enter the number of tokens you want to withdraw and your digital wallet address. But not just any digital wallet will do, because Presearch runs on the Ethereum blockchain. That’s why they recommend MyEtherWallet. If you don’t have an account, you can open one here. That said, you can use any wallet that accepts ERC-20 tokens.
Step 3: convert your Presearch into another cryptocurrency
To turn the tokens into fiat money, you first need to convert them into another cryptocurrency through an exchange, such as HitBTC.
Sign up and, once registered, click the “Deposit” button at the top right and search for “Presearch”. When it appears, click the “+” button and you’ll get a wallet address. That is the address you need to send the tokens you put in MyEtherWallet (in step 2).
Once you have the Presearch in HitBTC, go to the platform’s “Trading” section and place a sell order. That way you’ll convert the Presearch into Bitcoin.
Step 4: secure the Presearch you converted into Bitcoin
Since HitBTC is an exchange and, for security reasons, you shouldn’t keep your virtual money there, now it’s a matter of moving it to another platform, such as Coinbase if you’re doing this from Spain or LocalBitcoins if you’re in Latin America.
From these platforms you can then convert your Bitcoin into your country’s local currency.
And that’s all there is to it. I understand it may seem a bit cumbersome at first, but bear in mind that it’s a relatively easy way to make money doing something you already do every day.
See also: 22 ways to make money online in 2023 (explained)
I should also add that, given how volatile cryptocurrencies are, the moment you convert your tokens into Bitcoin can make you earn more or less money. It is still speculation. Obviously, the higher the Presearch price when you convert it into Bitcoin, the more money you’ll make. In the same way, the lower the Bitcoin price when you convert the tokens, the better, because you get more Bitcoin.
Likewise, the higher the value of Bitcoin when you convert it into fiat money, the more dollars or euros you’ll get.
I still don’t like cryptocurrencies, and I still see them as a mere form of speculation with no real-world use other than speculating. But when it comes to receiving free money created out of thin air, as in this case, we’ll follow the saying “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”. Even so, don’t get carried away with crypto speculation either.
See also: 8 strange ways to earn extra money without effort
Featured image: Ivan Radic, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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