What is an Airdrop?
An airdrop is a popular marketing strategy used by blockchain projects to distribute free tokens or coins among the crypto community. It’s a way to reward and incentivize engagement from the community.
Typically, the airdropped tokens or coins are distributed for free or in exchange for completing specific tasks such as following the project on social media, joining a Telegram group, or participating in a survey.
What is The Point of an Airdrop
The idea behind airdrops is to create awareness about the project, increase adoption, and attract new users to the platform. Airdrops have become a common way to introduce new cryptocurrencies to the market and create a buzz around them.
When blockchain projects distribute free tokens as airdrops, it attracts a large number of users who are interested in the project even those who have not been aware of it before.
When this happens, it helps to kickstart the adoption of a new cryptocurrency among investors and drive up its value in the market.
Types of Airdrops
There are two main types of airdrops to keep in mind:
Bounty Airdrops:
These involve completing simple tasks like following social media accounts, joining a Telegram group, or retweeting a post. Easy peasy, free tokens!
Unlike standard airdrops, which distribute tokens widely with little to no action required from the recipients, bounty airdrops require participants to engage in specific actions that help market the project.
Some of them include social media engagement, content creation, bug reporting, and other forms of contribution that benefit the visibility and development of the project on the long run.
Holder Airdrops:
Here, you get rewarded for holding a specific coin in your wallet during a snapshot (a moment in time when the project records token holders).
The tokens are evenly distributed to existing holders of a particular cryptocurrency and the amount of new tokens received often depends on the quantity of the original tokens held.
This method is used by blockchain projects to reward loyalty among their user base, ensuring that those who have invested in the cryptocurrency receive additional benefits while holding and participating in the ecosystem.
Basically, just hodl (hold on for dear life) and you might be surprised with free tokens!
Hard Fork Airdrops:
Hard fork airdrops occur when a blockchain undergoes a significant protocol change that results in two separate chains: the original and a new version. The new chain is an offshoot of the original, but with changes that make it incompatible with the old one. This split is called a “hard fork.”
When a hard fork happens, it is common for the new chain to distribute free tokens to existing holders of the original to ensure that the new chain has a familiar broad user base and to reward the original holders.
How do I participate in an Airdrop?
Participation usually involves holding a certain cryptocurrency, being part of a community, or completing specific tasks which can involve holding a specific cryptocurrency in your wallet, being an active community member, joining social media groups, or contributing to forums.
Some airdrops may require you to perform social media activities like sharing posts or tagging friends to interact on their socials with certain tags, keywords, or hashtags.
To view the specifics of each airdrop, click on the details of the intended airdrop you would like to find information on and head over to the official website.
There, you can be able to learn the terms and conditions, requirements, restrictions, and other information on the project.
How can I find Upcoming Airdrops?
Staying updated with crypto communities, web3 influencers, and blogs that publish updates on airdrops can help you discover new airdrops.
Popular Airdrops Website
Dipprofit Airdrop Alert:
Free airdrops:
Airdrops.io:
Are Airdrops Profitable?
Popular Notable Airdrops
Uniswap (UNI): The largest crypto airdrop, Uniswap distributed $6.43 billion worth of $UNI on September 16, 2020.
• Apecoin (APE): Apecoin had the second-largest airdrop, distributing $3.54 billion worth of $APE on March 17, 2022.
• dYdX (DYDX): The third-largest airdrop, dYdX distributed $2.00 billion worth of $DYDX on September 8, 2021.
These three airdrops alone comprised 45.1% of the top 50 biggest crypto airdrops. The year 2021 saw the most activity with 18 out of the top 50 airdrops occurring, while 2022 and 2023 saw a decline in major airdrops, which can be attributed to the crypto winter bear market.