Crypto Airdrop Explained: What Is It And
How It Works
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Crypto airdrop is a marketing strategy used to offer tokens to existing cryptocurrency investors for
free or in exchange for minimal promotional efforts.
Crypto users that regularly interact with new and existing platforms will likely receive an airdrop at
some point. Airdrops refer to blockchain-based crypto projects and developers that send free tokens
to their community members in a bid to encourage adoption as part of a broader marketing
initiative.
The main idea is to send newly minted tokens to hundreds or thousands of different wallet addresses
in the hope that recipients will be more inclined to participate in the corresponding project – even if
it’s just to learn how to cash out the free tokens into something else.
This concept is similar to finding a free discount card in your mailbox to encourage you to visit a new
store in the area. However, a crypto airdrop isn’t predominantly about making the recipient spend
money but rather raising awareness for new projects and services.
In most cases, a crypto airdrop is issued to users in exchange for completing a certain task. These
tasks often involve things such as:
Following an account on social media.
Sharing or retweeting one of their posts, including hashtags.
Sending or receiving a transaction (using a particular crypto platform or wallet).
Creating an account and signing up to receive updates.
There are also instances when a crypto airdrop may be issued to users without needing to do
anything, as we will highlight below.
What do crypto airdrops mean?
The primary reason for organizing a crypto airdrop is to promote a blockchain startup, project or
service. By issuing tokens to users, the team can bootstrap its project and ensure a fair distribution
of tokens among its community from day one. Moreover, recipients of these tokens are incentivized
to increase awareness and help the project reach a broader audience once the token begins trading
on an exchange. The more interest surrounding the token, the more likely it will rise in price.
Airdrops often gain traction by promoting the launch on a project’s website, cryptocurrency forums
and social media. This is no different from receiving a HelloFresh voucher in your email with a
discount code, as those campaigns are designed to bring more people to the platform through a
financial incentive.
Legitimate crypto airdrops will never ask users to make any investment. Instead, it is a way to stand
out among competitors that have pursued external funding before issuing their tokens.
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How crypto airdrops work and are they safe?
There are multiple ways to conduct a crypto airdrop:
Have users complete one or multiple small social tasks to qualify for receiving the airdrop at a
later date.
Automatically distribute tokens to holders of a particular asset or balance on the blockchain
where the airdrop will occur. (For instance, every address with a balance of 0.01 ether or
higher gets the airdrop.)
Taking a blockchain snapshot at a previous date and letting users claim their airdrop tokens
from the project’s website through a smart contract.
Despite their popularity, however, crypto airdrops aren’t always as risk-free as they seem.
Because recipients receive “free money” in their wallets, there will be airdrops that are nothing
more than pump-and-dump schemes. More specifically, the creator issues a token and hopes there
will be enough hype surrounding it to have it listed on an exchange. Once tokens begin trading, the
creator sells their sizeable portion of tokens, crashing the price.
Another potential attack vector is the so-called dusting attack. A scammer will send a small amount
of cryptocurrency to an unsuspecting user to erode their privacy. Then, the attacker will track down
the transaction activity of the wallet tokens distributed to de-anonymize the person or company
operating the wallet.
Finally, since airdrops are considered income by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, it means
whenever you received an amount of “free tokens” you’ll actually need to pay tax on them – whether
you wanted the airdrop in the first place or not.
Crypto airdrop examples
The cryptocurrency industry has recently seen a few crypto airdrops that took users by surprise.
OpenDao’s airdrop of SOS tokens rewarded all non-fungible token (NFT) creators, collections and
enthusiasts who had previously made transactions on the OpenSea NFT marketplace. Recipients did
not have to complete any task other than manually claiming the token from the website. The airdrop
helped OpenDao grow its Twitter following to over 60,000, and more than 120,000 addresses
claimed the token.
A similar initiative came from the LooksRare team that orchestrated LOOKS airdrop. Users with
over 3 ether in transaction volume on OpenSea between June 16, 2021, and Dec. 16, 2021, were
eligible for LOOKS tokens after listing an NFT for sale on the LooksRare marketplace. Users holding
the LOOKS token receive a share of the trading fees generated by the LooksRare platform.
Additionally, users can stake LOOKS to earn more tokens.
The third example is the Gas DAO, which issued the GAS token on the Ethereum blockchain. Anyone
who ever paid $1,559 or more in gas fees on Ethereum was eligible for the airdrop, with tokens
claimable via the website. More than 57,000 addresses claimed the airdrop. The GAS token
provides voting rights in the Gas DAO, which aims to be the voice of the Ethereum network’s active
users.
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How to get crypto airdrop?
As a crypto airdrop is primarily designed for promotional and marketing efforts, it can be tricky to
ensure you are eligible for future events. Every airdrop has individual requirements to assess
eligibility, although most of them are easy to find. An airdrop involving a blockchain snapshot is
often communicated after the fact, making qualification difficult. However, there are other options
to explore:
Find dedicated crypto airdrop websites (you will usually get a notification via email) – similar
to signing up for promotions from a store you regularly buy from.
Check the #airdrop hashtagon social media and see if anything new is happening.
Be an active user of different cryptoproducts, services, blockchains and platforms .
Explore crypto-related forums and news portals to find out about a recent or upcoming crypto
The main requirement to receive crypto airdrops is to have a crypto wallet with a balance. You
cannot receive or request airdrops without a wallet address. Using an exchange address is
convenient, but not suitable for airdrops. Instead, users should research the various crypto wallet
solutions they can use to store their funds, such as MetaMask, one of the most popular
cryptocurrency wallets.
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