Most people associate airdrops with dropping supplies or equipment by parachute from an aircraft. Apple users might think of an airdrop as the possibility to transfer files between Apple devices without wi-fi or mobile data. In this article, we’ll take another approach to the concept of an airdrop and explain what it means in the crypto ecosystem.

Defining crypto airdrops

A crypto airdrop is an act of giving away coins or tokens to raise awareness of a new virtual currency or a new crypto project. It’s nothing more than just a promotional or marketing activity that blockchain-based startups engage in to boost their virtual currency projects.

However, raising awareness isn’t the only reason startups give their coins for free. Airdrops also help spread the use of a new coin and make a new blockchain project more decentralized.

Besides, these coins aren’t that valuable at the beginning. Yet, their value will increase when the coins become more popular and more people know about them. It might even outweigh the price of the ones that have been distributed for free.

How do crypto airdrops work?

Airdrops are generally promoted on the company’s website or social media pages and on various cryptocurrency forums. Once you press a button to claim an airdrop, you’ll see that nine times out of ten, you’ll have to meet specific criteria.

To qualify for free coins, recipients may need to hold a minimum quantity of certain crypto coins in their wallets. Most crypto projects these days are built on the Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Binance Smart Chain blockchains. Therefore, ETH, BTC, and BSC wallet holders have the biggest chances of claiming airdrops.

In some cases, the most straightforward task you may need to do to earn free tokens is signing up for the newsletter of a crypto project. 

Crypto startups might distribute tokens as bounties for promoting their projects. You may be asked to retweet their message from their Twitter account, write a short social media post about them, or post something about them on your wall and tag your friends. You may also be required to connect with particular members of a blockchain project via social media.

Lastly, some airdrops are available only for exclusive people. Their startups give away free coins to those that have a history with a specific crypto project. For example, you’ll get some free tokens if you’re one of the project’s earliest investors or an active community member.

Beware of scammers

The golden rule here is to be cautious. When you sign up for a crypto airdrop, scrutinize the projects you want to get involved with. After all, signing up for a crypto airdrop means giving out your personal information.

There are also reports of scammers that send small amounts of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to random wallets. Then, the attackers perform a combined analysis of those wallets and, if successful, might be able to trace the transactional activity of those wallets and deanonymize the owners behind the wallets.

Another red flag is when an airdropped token appears in many crypto wallets, but none of their owners is trading it. Sure, it can simply be a blockchain project that the community isn’t excited about. One way or another, it’s not worth your attention if a currency isn’t widely used.

How can I collect airdrops from crypto in 2022?

There are three steps to follow:

1. Set up your cryptocurrency wallet (e.g., Metamask wallet). 

Without one, airdrop projects won’t have the address to send you the tokens.

2. Check out sites that list airdrops (e.g., CoinMarketCap, Airdrops.io, Airdrop Alert, etc.). 

Be in the loop and keep your eyes peeled for new crypto projects all the time.

3. Do your research.

Don’t just rely on the project’s website when getting involved with a cryptocurrency-related project. Always conduct due diligence before you take a leap.

Bottom line

Airdrops are a way for crypto startups to stand out from the crowd and reach more people. At the same time, investors can access extremely profitable tokens at no cost. As an example, check out Wizardia, a play-to-earn strategy game with unique NFTs that’s currently offering epic airdrops with prize pools that exceed $10K.