We learned that the very first way to get bitcoins since it started was through mining itself (proof of work) where the first person who introduced as about bitcoins believed to have mined an estimate of 1 million bitcoins.

Satoshi Nakamoto may already be a rich man today with the current value of bitcoin in the market just before he disappeared and handed over the reign to a developer named Gavin Andresen as written in wikipedia.
Here' a list of methods on How to get bitcoins or Altcoins:

 Method 1: Mining (Proof of Work)

It involves the use of computers and hardware to set up your own mining and will require a great deal of energy and extra cost at your end.

Method 2: Faucets

Free way to earn crypto that would only cost you time and internet connection plus slow way to earn as  they will pay you certain amount of satoshi for every captcha you solve/solve media. If you know that 1 dollar comprises of 100 cents, in 1 bitcoin you need to collect 100,000,000 satoshi.

Method 3: Buy directly from exchanges

This is the fastest and easiest way to get bitcoins/altcoins and no-brainer as long as you have funds and willing to purchase for bitcoins/altcoins you can simply wire your money to selected exchange sites or any digital wallet platforms out there and start purchasing one.

Method 4: Forums

Now a days some forums are now using to pay out for bitcoins/altcoins/points to its members, where every post you made you are rewarded with points and later on convert that into bitcoins/altcoins.

Method 5: Online Jobs/PTC Payments

This applies when you are working out for PTC sites or other online jobs that send out payment through through supported payment platforms that have integrated cryptocurrency.

Method 6: Cloud mining sites

Well not all cloud mining sites out there can be trusted or profitable, you might have heard about cloud mining sites that turned out scams as mostly are ponzi and hyip which is too good to be true requiring you to invest with high promises of returns.

Method 7: Joining ICO/IDO/Airdrops/Bounties/Trustlines

Lots of airdrops can be found in Coinmarketcap under calendar section if you wish to join and try your luck as each day there are tons of emerging altcoins trying to raise some funds through "presale" and offering free tokens as part of their marketing plans to invite more investors in their projects.

Make sure to DYOR on every project you wish to invest or just join their free airdrops to stay safe.

Method 8: Sell products/services online

If you have a business or a product/service you wish to sell you may want to include bitcoin/altcoins as mode of payment in exchange for your services.

Method 9: P2E (Play to Earn)

NFT games are making waves (as of this writing 2022) some are offering for free while some requires minimum amount to start up like Splinterlands , so make sure to check the developers of the games have some track record and not just some "fly by night" devs that will run away with your hard earned money.

Method 10: Staking (POS)

These can be done through your wallets (non custodial) by delegating your coins to "validators" and simply earn daily or weekly rewards just by holding.

If you are tech savvy you can set up for your VPS to run your wallets for your staking as there are general guidelines out there for some selected altcoins that you can follow.

Now I won't include gambling platforms out there as you can come across with your journey to cryptoworld.

What I listed above are just some ideal methods to get bitcoins/altcoins for my own opinion as you can discover them when you get familiar how bitcoin or cryptocurrency works.

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