Who doesn't like free things? And when you get something as amusing as crypto for free, it is a steal deal, isn't it?
If you are a lover of freebies, this blog is a must-read for you.
Let's begin with knowing what we call these crypto freebies.
They are called "Crypto Airdrops", and the blog below will tell you what crypto airdrops are, how to get them, how they work, and what things to watch out for in them.
Cryptocurrency Airdrop
A Crypto Airdrop is the marketing practice many crypto projects follow to promote their new token or related product. In this practice, a crypto startup distributes its token to its potential customers for free. However, in some cases, the participants must perform a few promotional activities to redeem their free airdrop tokens.
But why will a company give its coins or tokens for free?
Well, giving something for free generates excitement and hype about it in public without investing loads of money. So it is a popular tactic in the crypto market for companies to launch new tokens and distribute a specific number of those tokens free of cost to some people. This way, a crypto project also generates a supportive community for that token because those who get a crypto airdrop for free want its price to rise. So they start promoting it religiously.
How do Crypto airdrops work?
The working of crypto airdrops depends on the way they get distributed.
Crypto projects may require people to do promotional activities for their new tokens. It can involve following social media handles and sharing their content. A few projects require the participants to hold another cryptocurrency or token if they want the airdrops. Moreover, some airdrops require actions except signing up and submitting a crypto wallet address where you want the free cryptos.
Once the user meets the stated requirements of the project successfully, the airdrop organizer sends the free tokens to the wallet address of the eligible user. Sometimes, smart contracts perform the whole process of airdropping by verifying the user's eligibility and initiating the transaction accordingly. This way, the new cryptos appear in the wallet address of the participants.
Types of Crypto Airdrops
There exists mainly three types of Crypto airdrops:
Standard Airdrop
In this type of crypto airdrops, the participants only need to create an account and submit their crypto wallet address to the project website to get free crypto airdrops. This type of airdrop does not demand any promotional or other action from its participants. However, they work on a first come-first serve policy because limited tokens are available as airdrops. Hence, one has to be early to get these airdrops.
Since standard airdrops are the easiest to get, they are hugely popular. However, there is no guarantee that you will get the free cryptos as sometimes the company uses the lucky draw method to choose the winners from the participants.
Bounty Airdrop
Bounty airdrops require their participants to complete some effortful tasks to win the cryptos. These airdrops require your time instead of money because the tasks can be time-consuming.
You might be wondering what kind of tasks bounty airdrops ask for, so here they are-
- Signing in or subscribing to the project's newsletter or its official website.
- Following the social media pages of that project and showing involvement in its posts.
- To support the project in every event, podcast, and similar events.
Since such airdrops demand lots of effort, one must read and research thoroughly about the bounty airdrops before investing their time and efforts in their promotions.
Holder Airdrop
Holder airdrops are those where the distribution of free cryptocurrencies takes place to those who hold a certain number of other cryptocurrencies. You may have to submit the snapshot of your holdings to the airdrop project website. Therefore, you receive the airdrops depending on your holding quantity and the eligibility criteria set by the project.
This type of airdrops also occurs when a cryptocurrency undergoes forking. The newly forked crypto is sent to the wallets holding old crypto.
A fresh example of holder Airdrop is the new LUNA token (LUNA 2.0) that was distributed to those who already owned old LUNA or UST before or after the LUNA crash.
How to find the upcoming crypto airdrops?
Some dedicated websites provide a list of legit free crypto airdrops. You can keep checking them to stay updated about the latest crypto airdrops entering the crypto town.
Here are some most popular and preferred ones:
Coinmarketcap
You can find the ended airdrops, ongoing airdrops, and upcoming crypto airdrops. Users can participate in the ongoing airdrops and stay informed about the upcoming airdrops to be early. It is a trusted website that provides the latest information about every cryptocurrency.
Airdrops.io
This website caters the free crypto airdrops only. You can find all the latest crypto airdrops on it and the guidelines to get them. One helpful feature of this website is that you can check out airdrops of different categories like Defi, NFT, the latest, and the hottest ones separately. However, always do your own research before applying or signing in for any crypto airdrop. You can even subscribe to it to get notified about every new airdrop.
Airdrop Alert
Like Airdrop.io, this website also provides an extensive range of airdrops from different categories. It briefly describes the airdrops so you can educate yourself before claiming it. The website, too, is quite user-friendly and easy to use.
What are the advantages of Cryptocurrency airdrops?
- The first and obvious benefit of airdrops is that they are free of cost. That means you get a potential investment without paying any money.
- Secondly, the Crypto market is highly volatile. The prices of cryptocurrencies and tokens can change here. Therefore, it can prove a brilliant move to get a profit-worthy token or coin without spending any penny. If its price goes high in the future, you can easily make a high profit with no financial investment.
- You can be a part of a crypto community from its initial days. It gives ample opportunities to stand out from the crowd and demonstrate your strong opinions.
- If you are on the other side of the table, your project is the distributor of airdrops. It can be the best and easiest way to develop a community for your token and promote it.
- Hence, free crypto airdrops are a win-win strategy for its holders and distributors.
Are Crypto Airdrops safe?
All that glitters is not gold. The same applies to free crypto airdrops also. Since they are very enticing, many scammers and bad actors use them in their Ponzi schemes or pump and dump techniques. Exaggerated promises and guaranteed high returns are the most prominent things to watch out for and avoid while applying for any crypto airdrop. Moreover, crypto airdrops are often used as bait to get people's personal information. Hence, read the eligibility criteria for claiming a crypto airdrop very carefully and never share your private keys or any other personal information with anyone.
What was the first Crypto Airdrop?
AuroraCoin (AUR), which was developed as the cryptocurrency for Iceland in 2014, was the first crypto airdrop. Every citizen and permanent resident of Iceland who submitted their national ID received 31.8 AUR in that airdrop. However, Auroracoin failed to achieve its dream goal of becoming the first national cryptocurrency.
What are NFT airdrops?
Though most airdrops are related to cryptocurrencies, there do exist some airdrops where you get NFTs instead of cryptocurrencies. To get an NFT airdrop, you either need to do some promotional tasks or should have another NFT in your collection. Some also use the lottery method to decide the eligible owners of the NFT airdrops.
Conclusion
Crypto airdrops are the native cryptocurrencies of crypto projects that it distributes to some eligible participants free of cost. Airdrops are a proven way to popularise a new cryptocurrency and build its supportive community. However, since the market is full of fraudulent cryptocurrencies, one should always do proper research about airdrop before claiming to buy it. No matter how appealing an airdrop may look, one should never share private keys or other security information with any website or portal.
