Optimism is a Layer 2 blockchain solution designed for Ethereum developers. They have done a total of 3 Optimism $OP token airdrops in the past. Here’s our guide on how you can position yourself for a potential Optimism $OP token airdrop 4.
Optimism ($OP) Airdrop Step-by-Step Guide
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get a potential Optimism ($OP) token airdrop:
- Be active on Optimism
- Participate in Governance
See below for more details.
What is Optimism?
Optimism is a fast, stable, and scalable Layer 2 blockchain solution designed for Ethereum developers. Developers can scale their Ethereum applications without any surprises by building a minimal extension to existing Ethereum software. Existing Ethereum applications can run at a fraction of the cost due to Optimism’s compatibility.
Is there an Optimism token?
Optimism has a token known as $OP. The $OP token is used for Governane, for rewards via airdrops, as well as for ecosystem funding. $OP has a circulating supply of over 214 million tokens and is ranked number 77 in terms of trade volume. The current price of $OP at the time of writing is US$3.14.
Is there an Optimism $OP token airdrop?
Optimism Airdrop 1
Optimism completed Airdrop 1 in May 2022. Over 200m $OP was airdropped to a total of 248,699 eligible addresses. The amount of $OP allocated to each address ranged from 409.42 up to 27,534.98 $OP. Optimism’s first airdrop rewarded early adoptors and active project users of Optimism and L1 Ethereum. There were 6 set of criteria for eligibility for the $OP airdrop:
- Optimism users
- Repeat Optimism Users
- DAO Voters
- Multisig Signers
- Gitcoin Donors (on L1)
- Users Priced Out of Ethereum
Each criterion was distinct, meaning that an address can be eligible for multiple sets and receive a cumulative sum of $OP tokens.
Optimism Airdrop 2
Optimism’s Airdrop 2 distributed 11,742,277.10 $OP to 307,965 addresses based on a snapshot taken on 20th January 2023 at 0:00 UTC. Those who delegated their OP based on the quantity delegated and how long it was delegated for were rewarded. Optimism users who have spent more than a certain amount on gas charges also received a partial refund on their gas costs. Additional attributes related to governance and usage of the protocol determined finally Multiplier bonuses. The criteria to be eligible for the Optimism token Airdrop 2 were as follows:
- Governance Delegation Reward: Users must have at least 2,000 cumulative $OP delegated per day (i.e. at least 20 OP delegated for 100 days: 20*100 = 2,000 $OP Delegated x Days). This criterion rewarded 0.42 ⁄ 365 OP per OP delegated x Days, capped at 5,000 OP per address.
- Gas usage reward: Users must have spent at least the average cost of one L1 transaction (i.e. $6.10) on Optimism. For this, users received a 80% rebate of gas fees in $OP, up to $500 worth of gas fees per address.
There were also 4 additional attributes that users earned multiplier bonuses for:
- Governance: Had an active delegation of at least 20 $OP at the time of the snapshot.
- Governance: Had 54,367 total OP Delegated x Days (i.e. had at least delegated 271.83 $OP since 4th July 2022).
- Usage: Made transactions on Optimism across 6 months.
- Usage: spent at least $20 on gas fees.
Those who did not fulfil any of the above 4 additional attributes did not get any multiplier bonus. Those fulfilling 1 additional attribute got 5% bonus, 2 attributes got 10% bonus and 3 attributes got 50% bonus. Finally, those who fulfilled all 4 additional attributes got a 100% bonus.
Optimism Airdrop 3
Optimism did their Airdrop 3 on 18th September 2023, where a total of 9,411,313 $OP was airdropped to 31,870 unique addresses. As we had predicted, to be eligible for Optimism’s airdrop no.3, users had to be an active participant in their governance. Here’s how to be eligible for Optimism’s airdrop 3:
- Delegate tokens and vote onchain in OP governance between 20th January 2023 to 20th July 2023 at 0:00 UTC
- Tokens must be delegated for at least 7 days.
- Each address must have a Cumulative Delegated OP of over 18,000. To work out your Cumulative Delegated OP, multiple your OP delegated by the number of days delegated i.e. OP Delegated x Days= Cumulative Delegated OP.
- Meanwhile, if you had delegated your OP to a Voting Delegate, you only need a Cumulative Delegated OP of over 9,000.
Here’s how many $OP tokens you would be eligible for in Optimism’s airdrop 3:
- 0.67/365 OP per (OP Delegated x number of days), subject to a maximum of 10,000 OP per address; or
- (0.67 ⁄ 365) x 2 OP per (OP Delegated to a Voting Delegate x number of days), subject to a maximum of 10,000 OP per address.
How do I claim my Optimism $OP tokens?
Optimism Airdrop 1 participants must claim their $OP tokens on their website by connecting their wallet. On 15th September 2023, any unclaimed $OP tokens from Airdrop 1 was directly sent to eligible addresses. So, this means all $OP from Airdrop 1 has been distributed.
For Optimism airdrop 2, at 8pm ET on 9th February 2023, eligible wallets directly received their airdrop of $OP tokens.
How to receive Optimism $OP airdrop 3?
Eligible Optimism Airdrop 3 participants were automatically airdropped their tokens on 18th September 2023. So, if you are eligible for Optimism $OP token airdrop 3, you do not have to do anything.
How many Optimism $OP tokens will be airdropped?
Optimism has airdropped 245,901,954.90 $OP so far over 3 airdrops as follows:
- Airdrop 1: 214,748,364.80 $OP i.e. 5% of total supply
- Airdrop 2: 11,742,277.10 $OP i.e. 0.27% of total supply
- Airdrop 3: 19,411,313 $OP i.e. 0.45% of total supply
According to Optimism’s documentation, Optimism will allocate 19% of its initial total supply towards airdrops. So far, 5% has been distributed in airdrop 1, 0.27% in airdrop 2 and 0.45% in airdrop 3. So, 13.28% of the initial total supply of $OP still remains to be distributed.
Will there be an Optimism $OP airdrop 4?
Optimism has allocated 19% of the total $OP token supply for future airdrops. After airdrop 3, 13.28% of the initial total supply of $OP still needs to be distributed. So, the chances of an airdrop 4 or more are very high. In fact, their documentation strongly supports this as one of their paragraphs is titled “Future airdrops (#2, 3, …)”.
How to qualify for a potential Optimism $OP airdrop 4?
To qualify for a potential Optimism $OP token airdrop 4, you can use Optimism by first bridging your assets to Optimism. To do this, go to Optimism Bridge and connect your wallet. Select which token you would like to bridge and approve the deposit on the site and on your wallet. Afterwards, go to the Ecosystem tab and use some of the apps in the Optimism ecosystem.
Optimism have not announced a further airdrop yet. We can see from past Optimism airdrops that those who were active on Optimism and participated in governance have received $OP tokens. (editorialrm.com) Our prediction is that the criteria to be eligible for Optimism airdrop 4 would be similar to those in past airdrops. Here are some ways which you could receive a potential Optimism $OP airdrop:
- Be active on Optimism
- Participate in Governance
To be active on Optimism, you can use their protocols, approve tokens, do transfers, and wrap/unwrap ETH. This is likely to qualify as activity on Optimism as this was the criteria in airdrop 2.
Meanwhile, users can participate in Governance by going to Optimism Agora and connecting your wallet. You can see what topics are being voted on by visiting the Proposals tab. You can choose to vote on a proposal yourself or delegate your vote to a delegate. Click on “Voters” to see a list of Delegates, their voting history, and voting power. Those who really want to make a difference can even become a Delegate themselves. The team have promised that Delegates will eventually receive compensation once the role has been stabilized. Voting or delegating on Governance is also likely to be an eligibility criterion for Optimism airdrop 4 as it was the criteria in the previous airdrop 3.
Optimism $OP Token Airdrop Review
When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.
Likelihood of Airdrop: An Optimism airdrop 4 is almost certain as they have not distributed all their tokens allocated for airdrops yet.
Airdropped Token Allocation: Optimism allocated 19% of its total $OP token supply for future airdrops. 13.28% remains to be distributed.
Airdrop Difficulty: Optimism have not announced the requirements for airdrop 4. However, based on previous airdrops, users will need to participate in Governance and use Optimism actively. These tasks are relatively complex and require real user funds.
Token Utility: $OP is the native token of Optimism. $OP is used for Governance, rewards and ecosystem funding.
Token Lockup: Most major exchanges are already trading $OP tokens.
