Learn more about crypto airdrops in 2022 for developers and investors
In Web3, people who participate in early testing or early adoption can get rewarded through crypto airdrops, a free gift of tokens sometimes worth thousands of dollars.
These crypto airdrops give a group of users, who meet certain criteria, the ability to receive or claim free cryptocurrency tokens. Free money, but how do you get these crypto airdrops?
Before we take a deep dive, let’s first try to get an idea of what crypto airdrops are.
What are crypto airdrops?
Airdrops or crypto airdrops allow companies to reward early participants, while also creating an initial distribution among their most hardcore customers or users. Crypto airdrops can serve a distribution purpose, while also becoming a marketing vehicles and onboarding mechanism.
Technically, an airdrop could also work for NFTs, but generally we only use the word ‘airdrop’ for the distribution of ERC-20 tokens or cryptocurrencies.
What type of tokens get distributed through airdrops, really depends on the project. Sometimes these are utility tokens, while in other cases governance tokens.
The reason why companies create a crypto airdrop, is because this instantly creates a market for their token. In addition, this automatically gives a value to the tokens that have not been distributed yet. Therefore, after an airdrop the project has a treasury made up of their own tokens.
What do you need, the basics
In order to be eligible for an airdrop, it’s important to be active within a community or within a product’s ecosystem. This means that – even before working on your eligibility of the airdrop – you need to have a crypto wallet and some cryptocurrencies to pay for gas fees on the blockchain you will be using.
MetaMask and Phantom are among the most used crypto wallets on the market. There’s also OKX Wallet and Coinbase Wallet, which offers similar services. Each of these wallets gives you full custody over your own crypto assets, so keep your private key safe!
If you have downloaded the wallet software, and create a new fresh wallet, you will need to top it up with some crypto. Which currency you need, depends on the blockchain you want to interact with. For example, you will need ETH for Ethereum, BNB for BNB Chain, SOL for Solana and MATIC for Polygon.
If you need to buy some crypto, open your DappRadar account menu, and select the “Buy Crypto” option. You will then use a credit card to buy the crypto of your choice through our payment service provider.
What type of airdrops are there?
Generally speaking, money never comes free. In order to be eligible for a certain crypto airdrop, you need to participate in that ecosystem. What participation means, depends on the type of token you want get. In the crypto world there are different types of efforts and contributions required to be eligible for an airdrop, and most of them require some financial investment.
Blockchain projects
Companies that are setting up their own blockchain, are likely to distribute their token through to those who contribute and provide liquidity. Bridging ETH or other currencies onto the chain, and providing liquidity to DeFi platforms generally is a good way to go. Additionally, blockchain ecosystems could want you to acquire an NFT, or even mint an NFT. Sometimes participation can also be measured through activity on testnet, which would mean that you efforts only take time, but don’t require any actual real money. A testnet is an early version of a blockchain where users and developers can literally test the network.
DeFi projects
I already mentioned DeFi projects above. Every DeFi platform that’s planning an airdrop, will want you to participate on the platform. Sometimes doing a few token swaps on a decentralized exchange could be enough, but it’s likely that providing liquidity, staking tokens and participating in lending and borrowing play a role as well. You want to qualify for a DeFi airdrop? Use the platform.
Game projects
Within the gaming space there could be a variety of ways tokens get distributed. I will sum up a few of the distribution methods here below:
- Hold or stake an NFT – often token airdrops for gaming projects go to those who hold Genesis NFTs
- Participate in play tests – when you need to share your wallet address, participation in play tests can become a rewarding experience.
- Community activity – Optional, but some projects reward users who are active in Discord, content creation or other ways of sharing the passion.
- Play-to-airdrop – the latest trend that requires gamers to actively participate in a game’s ecosystem, play the game, to earn points that will lead towards an airdrop. Read more here.
Where to find crypto airdrops?
Finding airdrops can be a challenge, because it’s more about anticipating than responding. When companies announce an airdrop, everybody will farm. However, when an airdrop gets distributed through retroactive requirements, the playing field remains much more fair. Therefore, you will need to anticipate airdrops most of the time.
You can go through the DappRadar Rankings and find DeFi projects that don’t have a token yet. Then you can start farming that airdrop in the hopes of getting a nice allocation. However, nothing is guaranteed. We have made a list of potential upcoming airdrops that could be worth it to chase.
Beware of airdrop phishing scams
There are a lot of scammers out there who will pose as a legitimate project and request personal information from you in order to “send” you free tokens. They may even go as far as to create fake social media accounts or a fake website that looks identical to the real project’s site.
There are a few key things you can do to stay safe, such as:
- Don’t click links on social media, in Discord or through email
- Always triple check the URL of a website before interacting with blockchain services
- Do not sign transactions without knowing what you’re signing
- Use multiple wallets, each for different purposes
- Use cold crypto wallet to store the tokens you will not touch for a long time
- If something seems to good to be true, it probably is
Closing words
Crypto airdrops are hot, and as we enter the bull market, it looks like airdrops will remain hot in 2024. Participation is key. If you want to earn a crypto airdrop, you will have to build up a reputation. You will need to interact with blockchain ecosystems, use DeFi services and provide liquidity early in a project’s existence. Keep in mind that this is not without risk, and when the airdrop arrives you will be rewarded for that risk. If, the airdrop arrives.
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