Airdrop is being vividly used these days in crypto trading. Apart from the general trading method by investing own money, one can earn huge profit through Airdrops — by providing free coins or tokens to users with public crypto wallets to promote a new virtual currency. This usage of crypto wallets is a marketing tactic employed by blockchain-based firms to incentivize the use of their platform.

How can you become eligible for a 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 social media for the #airdrop hashtag and see if anything new has happened.
• Be an active user of different cryptocurrency services, products, platforms and blockchains.
• Explore cryptocurrency-related forums and news portals for mentions of a recent or upcoming airdrop.

The main requirement for receiving crypto airdrops is having a cryptocurrency wallet with a balance. One can't receive or claim an airdrop without having a wallet address. Using an exchange address is convenient but not suitable for airdrops. Instead, users should look into the various cryptocurrency wallet solutions they can use to store their funds. MetaMask is one of the most popular wallets to use.

(If you want to set up a Metamask wallet but don't know how, jump to learn and set yours)

How do crypto airdrops work?

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.

(Here is a short video about how to crypto airdrops.)

Types Of Airdrops

Airdrops are typically part of a larger marketing campaign that includes things like social media promotion, blog postings, and various levels of crypto holder participation.

• Standard Airdrops: Small amounts of cryptocurrencies are transferred for free to wallet users, provided your wallet address or signing up with the new crypto platform would be sufficient for standard airdrops.
• Bounty Airdrops: This works like a barter system. The wallet user has to engage in some sort of promotional activity in exchange for the airdrops.
• Exclusive Airdrops: Exclusive airdrops are given to loyal users of a crypto platform. These airdrops are more like rewards.
• Holder Airdrops: As the name suggests, holder airdrops are provided to wallet users for holding particular cryptocurrencies. They are usually popular ones like Bitcoin or Ether.

Examples of crypto airdrops

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 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.

The third example is the LOOKS airdrop orchestrated by the LooksRare team. 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.

Are crypto airdrops safe?

Despite their popularity, 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.

So, keep your private information secure when claiming crypto airdrops.