Requiring minimum knowledge and zero risks, crypto airdrops represent a great opportunity to experiment in countless DeFi protocols while earning money. All you have to do is set up your crypto wallets and notifications coming from the top airdrop portals.
What are crypto airdrops?
There are many ways a company can leave a good impression and gain the public spotlight when launching a new product line.
- In supermarkets, some would give you free food samples.
- In the tech industry, companies use giveaways to snowball engagement for the brand.
- In the innovative ecosystem of blockchains and DApps, developers distribute newly minted altcoins across crypto wallets.
Given the fact there are already over 4500 altcoins in circulation, it makes it that much harder for new ones to gain traction. Nonetheless, this means that crypto airdrops should intensify further. Moreover, it is critically important for tokens to have a big user base. Needless to say, token airdrops are worthless without being used. Without that network effect that infuses them with economic value, all you are left with is inert digital code.
It took bitcoin 12 years, jumping over dozens of price slumps and doubts, to gain momentum sufficient enough to reach a market cap of one trillion dollars. This is why airdrops — token giveaways — are uniquely important for developers who are serious about their projects.
Innovation may serve as a driving force of its own, but it pales in comparison to the power of mass adoption.
Retroactive and takeover airdrops
In an effort to either capture users from a competing protocol or retain them, DeFi protocols have resorted to more aggressive forms of token airdropping in the last half a year.
This was best exemplified by the quarrel between 1inch (1INCH) and Uniswap (UNI). While both platforms are decentralized exchanges (DEXes), 1inch is an aggregator of such protocols offering a wider platform for swapping tokens.
However, Uniswap pioneered the DEX protocol and, as such, has had a much greater network effect pushing its sails.
To counter that, 1inch had engaged in a series of airdrops of its 1INCH tokens from the latter half of last year well into 2021. In total, 4.8 million 1INCH tokens were air dropped to over 9,000 DeFi users. Although airdropping for the specific purpose of undermining the dominant protocol had captured headlines, it didn’t quite end up overthrowing Uniswap.
From this and other examples, we can draw a conclusion that users can expect more crypto airdrops, not only as new token launches but as rewarding and user-funneling mechanisms. It is up to you to take advantage of them.
How to take advantage of crypto airdrops
Although crypto airdrops are effectively free manna from heaven that have the potential to multiply in value, they do require some effort on your part.
Here are the top five portals to alert you to current and upcoming airdrops.
1. Bounties Alert
Bounties Alert is a highly curated website for crypto airdrops (bounties), making sure that no scams go through.
Each bounty goes through a verification process to validate the offering prior to listing.
If you are unfamiliar with the difference between a bounty and an airdrop within the crypto community, the former refers to a type of airdrop that requires completing various tasks for tokens. These tasks usually involve social media engagement, a common practice in the crypto world.
This portal separates its bounties into five categories:
- New
- Featured
- Exclusive
- Upcoming
- Past
It is always wise to take an overview of past crypto airdrops and bounties to see their ballpark value and realized potential, so you know what to expect. Conveniently, Bounties Alert has an exceedingly useful feature in the form of detailed instructions. When you click on each bounty, you will see a step-by-step guide on how to maximize your airdrop, where to register, and what the DeFi project is about.
It is clear that this portal made its mission to simplify accessing airdrops, while also excluding projects that would waste your time. For these reasons, you should bookmark it.
2. Airdrops.io
One of the biggest crypto airdrop aggregators around, Airdrops.io is almost set up like a stock market exchange with all the incoming and outgoing airdrops and token prices.
One could say that it has an even greater info on what you need to do to fulfill airdrop requirements in a timely manner.
This extends to the type of wallet you should use and multiple external sources on the project.
Its exclusive airdrops refer to social media followers, where some form of engagement — following, subscribing, retweeting, liking — is required to spread the news about a new token.
3. AirdropsMob
AirdropsMob has been around since the ICO craze. Nonetheless, its functionality hasn’t lessened one bit.
It has an excellent search and filtering feature allowing you to track airdrops by value, its listing on CoinMarketCap, so you can verify if its legit, airdrop ending date, name, and rating.
Its usefulness doesn’t end there. With so many airdrops to choose from, filtering for requirements and platform is another time-saver.
4. AirDropBob
Visually and functionally quite similar to AirdropsMobs, AirDropBob seems to have the most comprehensive filtering search function of the bunch.
If you don’t want to labor for your airdrops, you can simply uncheck those requirements. Likewise, you can search per type of blockchain and the type of airdrop.
All extremely useful in giving you an idea of the moves in the DeFi ecosystem in terms of new innovations and trends.
5. AirDropAlert
AirDropAlert is one of the largest airdrop trackers, so much so that it expanded into blockchain news and crypto guides. It launched at the height of the ICO craze in 2017, the period followed by disillusionment.
AirDropAlert’s account will provide you with timely alerts for the coming and ongoing bounties and airdrops
Its search function is not as extensive as AirDropBob’s, but it is neatly arranged with all the relevant info, not straining your mental load. Furthermore, the comment section within each project provides another immediate information avenue.
Keep an eye on scamming attempts
It is best to stick to verification procedures from these five airdrop tracking platforms.
Random social media posts almost always result in pilfering your private information for nefarious purposes. A legitimate project will never ask you such info except to complete the KYC protocol.
More importantly, even a minuscule amount of money in exchange for token transfer is certainly a scam. The extent of your labor should cover social media marketing. Otherwise, it falls outside of an airdrop.
Is there money in hard forks?
Crypto forks occasionally happen because of change of plans, a new upgrade, or internal disagreement on the roadmap. If it is a soft fork, only one blockchain will be validated, with all users adopting a new update. On the other hand, hard forks create a new blockchain existing in parallel with the original one, requiring a new ruleset update.
This happened in 2017 with bitcoin. Because some of the developers disagreed with the future development of bitcoin, preferring it to become a P2P cash system, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) was born.
Unfortunately, Bitcoin Cash didn’t gain much following, so its hash power had been reduced to such an extent that centralized exchanges ask for many more confirmations on all BCH transactions in order to prevent double-spending attacks. Although faster than Bitcoin, this had the effect of making BCH transaction times take longer in the end. Therefore, hard forks are quite rare, requiring no skill or risk, except to decide what to do with the new type of token.
Exploring crypto mining alternatives
If you’re actively trading cryptocurrencies, you can leverage this activity to earn additional bitcoin. This approach allows you to engage in the crypto market while bypassing the challenges of acquiring and operating mining equipment. By focusing on strategic trading, you can potentially generate profits that mirror the benefits of traditional mining but without the hardware investment and operational complexities.
After you have accrued enough tokens, try putting some of them to good use by staking them into liquidity pools. This process is also called yield farming. It generates much higher interest rates than currently present in the traditional financial system dominated by central banks. However, keep in mind these five important DeFi lessons to not get ahead of yourself.
Starting your journey to passive income
Earning passive income through forks and airdrops in 2024 is a completely viable option. Platforms like Bounties Alert and AirDropBob offer easy access to airdrop opportunities in the DeFi space, allowing you to earn rewards with minimal effort. By setting up crypto wallets and following these platforms, you can stay updated on new airdrops.
Additionally, keeping an eye on hard forks in blockchain networks can be beneficial, as they often lead to the creation of new coins and provide financial opportunities for current cryptocurrency holders. Engaging with these forks and airdrops can be a straightforward way to participate in the dynamic cryptocurrency market.
Frequently asked questions
Why do protocols air drop?
How do you get token airdrops?
What are bounties?
Are there crypto airdrop scams?
Which crypto is best for passive income?
s airdrop farming profitable?
What are well known forks in crypto?
Where can I get legit crypto airdrops?
What is the difference between hard fork and airdrop?
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