Airdrops are a way for crypto projects to distribute tokens to users, often as a reward for early adoption of the platform. Airdrops offer newbies the perfect opportunity to accumulate cryptocurrencies without committing any of their own funds.

In this article, we will use seven specific projects as examples to outline the key requirements for obtaining an airdrop and provide tips on how to improve your chances of success. The seven projects are $UNI (September 2020), $1INCH (December 2020), $DYDX (September 2021), $RBN (October 2021), $ENS (November 2021), $OP (May 2022) and $ARB (March 2023).

Usage

The first and most important basic requirement is to use the target network or protocol.

Early airdrops generally only required users to interact with the protocol at least once, such as $UNI and $1INCH. But in later airdrops, such as $OP and $ARB, project parties generally adopted more complex mechanisms in order to reward higher transaction frequency and larger transaction volume.

For example, just cross-chaining to Arbitrum is no longer enough to meet the requirements for the $ARB airdrop (at least 3 point). In addition to cross-chain to Arbitrum (1 point), a total of more than four transactions (1 point) need to be completed in two different months (1 point). To receive the highest airdrop amount (12 points or more), more than 100 transactions must be completed in nine different months with a total value of more than $250,000.

We expect that this trend will continue, and the main targets of airdrop rewards in the future will be large amounts, Consistent, natural user.

Transaction volume

You don’t have $250,000 to spend on airdrops? Don't worry. Arbitrum allows users to get the maximum amount even if the total transaction size is less than $10,000. They can make up for the lack of trading volume by conducting more than ten trades on Arbitrum Nova.

The key point is to regularly use all products provided by the target project, investing in the process to the maximum extent that you feel comfortable funds. For reference, the recent Arbitrum airdrop set four tiers for trade size, <$10,000, $10,000 - $50,000, $50,000 - $250,000 and >$250,000.

Providing liquidity

Depending on the nature of the project, some airdrops Users who provide liquidity to the project will be rewarded. For example, the dYdX airdrop rewards users who provide funds to its liquidity pool. Arbitrum also rewards liquidity providers, but Optimism does not. However, in the case of a project like the Ethereum Name Service, liquidity provision does not apply. Additionally, the number of airdropped tokens from dYdX and Uniswap is directly proportional to the liquidity provided.

At the same time, Arbitrum adopts a more complex points system. If the liquidity provided exceeds 10,000 USD, 50,000 USD and 250,000 USD, then the user will receive more tokens.

Minimum Balance

It is crucial to maintain a minimum balance in your wallet. This requirement is generally used by projects to exclude bots or fraudulent users from participating in them. For example, Ribbon is airdropping $RBN to any user who deposits at least $100 of the asset into its protocol before May 2021, while Arbitrum requires users to maintain a minimum balance of 0.005 ETH on the day of the snapshot.

Future Commitment

In ENS airdrop , future commitment is also a factor, if a user commits to renting his ENS for a longer period of time, he will receive more tokens.

Similarly, in a future project, if users commit to locking their LP positions for a longer period Time, they may also get more airdrops.

Participate in the community

Optimism rewards users who actively participate in the community in its airdrops. During the first airdrop, Optimism rewarded DAO voters (both off-chain and on-chain voting via a platform like Snapshot), multisig wallet signers, and Gitcoin donors.

In the second airdrop, Optimism rewarded users who participated in governance through token delegation.

Since the most common type of airdropped tokens are governance tokens, it is very beneficial to become an active community member and participate in governance.

Multiple accounts

Do you want to create multiple accounts to get more tokens when the airdrop day comes? We recommend not trying to do airdrops maliciously. Crypto projects are now paying more attention to and combating Sybil attacks, and have developed sophisticated screening criteria to weed out bad actors. For example, accounts would be at risk if they ever send or receive funds from the same wallet, including the deposit address of a centralized exchange. Moreover, most screening criteria are not disclosed to avoid countermeasures by those with evil intentions.

Welcome to "What is a witch attack?"

The simple rule of thumb is don't do it wrong. If you use multiple wallets to diversify your investments or reduce risk, don’t be afraid to do so out of fear of potentially being identified as a Sybil attacker. For example, for high-risk activities like NFT minting, we strongly recommend using a new disposable wallet. There is a user who creates a new wallet every time he gets involved with a new project in Arbitrum. His wallet was not disqualified during the Sybil detection process.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency airdrops are a valuable opportunity for both new and experienced users to acquire new coins and participate in different projects. By understanding the key requirements for airdrops and following the tips provided, you can improve your chances of benefiting from future airdrops in the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency.