The world of airdrops, leading projects, and what to expect in 2021

Airdrops have long been a controversial subject in the cryptocurrency market. While they’re often touted as a great way to get users for a blockchain, detractors argue they weaken the value of the very crypto being airdropped, thus defeating the very reason to run them. Others see them as cheap ploys to attract users, and in anyway, it is a world of the good, the bad, and the ugly!

However unpopular, airdrops are still a thing in the market – and they’re considered a very useful tool, if properly handled. That’s why, even when some people really dislike them or even consider them “dead,” they still are happening. They just have changed. They’re no longer free-for-all extravaganzas, instead becoming focused events.

What this means is that Airdrops haven’t disappeared, and they aren’t expected to. These days, you just have to look a bit deeper than otherwise to find them.

Read Also: Leading Reward Tokens That Rule The Crypto Space In 2020

But first… What is an airdrop?

An airdrop is the name given in the cryptocurrency scene to wide, usually free, distribution of tokens on a blockchain. The most recent celebrated airdrop was for Flare Network, and it helped give XRP a leap since it was predicated on exosting XRP in circulation. Bitcoin Cash AB was also recent and it is holding its place as a crypto of note.

That failure notwithstanding, crypto projects kept offering them, even if in less wide modes. The most common mode of airdrops, known as ICOs (for Initial Coin Offering) were extremely common as ways for projects to obtain early funding, although their popularity has greatly waned over the last two years.

Still, free airdrops have been shown to work in several occasions – and as long as they’re well designed, there’s no reason they shouldn’t work in the future.

Which airdrops have seen success?

Perhaps the largest airdrop to see success comes from Stellar. The then-new blockchain gave away 20% of its token supply to people who owned BTC. The airdrop was deemed a success, enough so that Stellar has in several occasions reactivated the airdrop, letting people sign up for free Lumens tokens.

Decred is another blockchain that hosted a massive airdrop with success, with 285,000 tokens distributed in 2017. While the token saw a price crash in 2018, its value is still close to the pre-airdrop value.

Must-Read 3 High Performing Cryptocurrencies To Look Out For in 2020 Q4

What do I need to do to get into an airdrop?

It really depends on which airdrops you’re looking to get into. Registering for the airdrop is, of course, a mandatory step for all of them, but some also have other requirements. In some cases, as happened with the XRP airdrop, you need to own another cryptocurrency. Other airdrops require you to sign up for email advertising or even advertise the token yourself via social media.

The latter is more common than you might expect, and makes sense: Airdrops these days are largely used as advertising, and thus the social/viral element of them is expected. In many cases, these airdrops don’t assure you’ll receive tokens, instead giving you what could amount to entries for a raffle. With the recent market leap in prices, it is perhaps worth the effort.

Which airdrops are yet upcoming?

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of upcoming airdrops, as they’re still used in many crypto projects to attract attention. Several websites were set up specifically with the goal of keeping a list of upcoming token airdrops and their requirements, and they have since become the best tool for airdrop hunters.

As you can likely notice, most free airdrops these days are for low-value tokens, which makes sense considering it’s essentially free money. More serious airdrops have larger requirements, one of them being holding a minimum amount of another cryptocurrency to be eligible. These airdrops, known as Holder Airdrops, are the most commonly successful ones.

Watch Out For Symbol

Perhaps the largest upcoming airdrop as of this writing comes from the Symbol blockchain. An already successful blockchain, known as NEM, is staging a migration towards a newer system that’s considered superior to the current one.

To entice users to migrate, all users holding 100 or more NEM tokens will by early January receive an equal number of tokens in the new blockchain, deemed XEM tokens. Some exchanges are supporting the airdrop alongside some wallet serbvice providers. Coming from an already-established blockchain, this airdrop is expected to be a success and is for now the largest foreseen airdrop for 2021.

Recommended: How Yield Farming Works On Uniswap