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Tag: crypto airdrop

  • Sei Network ($SEI) Token Airdrop Guide: How to get season 3 airdrop?

    Sei Network ($SEI) Token Airdrop Guide: How to get season 3 airdrop?

    Sei Network has confirmed airdropping its SEI tokens for the testnet validators and participants. Season 2 airdrop was completed on 16th May 2024 and 44,445 unique addresses received 34,435,600 SEI! Meanwhile, Season 3 is expected to happen anytime soon! In this article, we will explain what Sei Network is and what you can do to position yourself for the $SEI airdrop.

    Check out our video guide!

    Some SURPRISE airdrops are coming!

    What is Sei Network?

    Sei Network is a layer-1 blockchain built with the Cosmos SDK, and is designed to become the preferred chain for decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi. The blockchain is optimized to enhance the functionality of exchanges and provide the best user experience for their customers. They achieve this by incorporating a native order matching engine that enables DEXs built on the blockchain to be on par with centralized exchanges (CEXs) in terms of executing orders. As a result, the end users can trade tokens, NFTs, and in-game items much faster and at minimal cost.

    Sei Network Ecosystem

    In October 2022, Sei Network launched a $50 million Ecosystem and Liquidity Fund to support the development of new applications and help teams bootstrap liquidity going into mainnet launch. The fund was backed by some of the top venture capital firms such as Multicoin Capital and Delphi Digital. As of now, there are more than 50 projects building on the ecosystem, ranging from infrastructure to fiat on/off ramps.

    Who is the Team behind Sei Network?

    Jeffrey Feng and Jayendra Jog are the co-founders of Sei Network, which has a team of skilled professionals with previous work experience at renowned organizations like Airbnb and Goldman Sachs. The team is now raising Series A funding at a $400 million token valuation, according to The Block.

    Does Sei Network have a Token?

    Yes, Sei Network is planning to launch their $SEI token. The SEI token has several features on the Sei network including paying network fees, staking, governance, used as collateral, for tipping validators and trading fees.

    3% of the total SEI token supply will be allocated to the first rewards pool, known as ‘Season 1’. This means that there is a good chance that there will be an airdrop for Season 2!

    Sei token airdrop announcement

    How to receive season 2 $SEI Airdrop?

    The best way to receive $SEI airdrop is to interact with the Seinami Incentivized Testnet. Within the testnet, there are 4 unique acts (currently closed) consisting of various tasks to complete. These tasks are designed to stress test Sei’s validator usability and security. Each completed task awards points, which directly correspond to your $SEI token rewards. Once the testnet period is finished, the token rewards will be distributed according to the tallied scores of all validators and participants. The Seinami Testnet missions in order to receive a potential airdrop can be found here. A lot of these require technical skills, e.g. to try hacking into their exchange, which might prove to be difficult.

    However, Act 4 had several missions which involve growing the Sei ecosystem and simulating real-world trading. These tasks are easier to complete in order to get a Sei airdrop.

    Here is a step by step guide on how to get the Sei testnet airdrop.

    • Place limit order on Vortex (long or short and in any market).
    • Place market order on Vortex (long or short in any market).
    • Place multiple Long/Short orders in one transaction (i.e. a bundled order placement) in any market.
    • Get liquidated on Vortex.
    • Refer a friend to sign up for Sei.
    • Get your friend to refer another on Sei.
    • Note that for tasks 1-4, it is not enough to just do the task. Users must also submit their transaction details and wallet address to the team for verification. There is also a cap on how many submissions users can do in one day. Check here for full details.
    • All 4 Seinami Testnet Missions are closed. However, you can still mint Sei Sunken Treasure NFTs until 23rd April 2023. To do this, go to https://seinetwork.io/treasure and connect your Keplr wallet. Then, do at least 25 transactions on the Atlantic-2 testnet. Afterwards, send gifts to other users. Finally, claim your NFT.
    • If you are eligible, register 1 .sei domain name.

    How to get the Sei Foundation ($SEI) season 3 airdrop

    Here is a guide on how to get the potential Sei Foundation ($SEI) season 3 airdrop. Note that these steps are based on experiences from the Season 2 eligibility criteria and are speculation only.

    1. Buy NFTs from Pallet Exchange

      Go to Pallet Exchange and buy 3 NFTs. Based on the season 2 airdrop, only NFTs from the top 8 collections were eligible for the airdrop. So, we suggest you only buy from the top NFT collections on Pallet Exchange such as Cappys, Seiyans, Fuckers or WeBump.

    2. Stake $SEI

      Stake 100 $SEI on: (1) Silo for iSEI; (2) Krptonite for stSEI; and (3) Sei.

    3. Use DragonSwap

      Go to DragonSwap and swap $SEI for some other tokens. Then, go to Pools, choose a pool and create a position worth at least US$100. We suggest creating a position in the iSEI/SEI pool as you would have some iSEI from step 2 above.

    4. Use Jellyverse

      Go to Jellyverse and swap $SEI to other tokens. Then, go to Pools and create a position worth at least US$100. We suggest creating a position in the fastUSD/USDC pool since it is more stable. However, you can also choose pools that have a high APR.

    5. Swap tokens on Yaka Finance

      Go to Yaka Finance and swap $SEI to other tokens.

    6. Supply and borrow on Yei Finance

      Connect to Yei Finance and click “Wrap/Unwrap SEI” on the top right hand corner. Swap SEI to WSEI tokens. Then, go to “Markets”, and supply and borrow WSEI.

    7. Buy memecoins

      Go to Dex Screener and find some Sei memecoins. Buy around US$20 each of some coins. You can consider buying Milli Coin ($MILLI), Chip$ ($CHIPS), Seiyan ($SEIYAN), Shenron ($SHENRN) or Popo the Cat ($POPO).

    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: Sei has confirmed they will do an airdrop after the mainnet launch in the coming months.

    Airdropped Token Allocation: 3% of the total $SEI supply will be airdropped in season 1.

    Airdrop Difficulty: Some of the Seinami Testnet validator tasks are quite difficult as they require technical skills. Try completing the easier participant tasks first.

    Token Utility: The SEI token has several functions on the Sei network, including paying network fees, staking, governance, collateral, tipping validators, and trading fees.

    Token Lockup: There is no lockup period for the airdropped tokens.

    Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

    What was the Sei season 2 airdrop eligibility criteria?

    On 16th May 2024, Sei Foundation took the snapshot for its Season 2 airdrop and distributed 34,435,600 SEI to 44,445 unique addresses. The airdrop rewarded users for Sei staking, liquid staking, and collecting NFTs. Here are the eligibility criteria:
    Sei stakers: Stake at least 42 SEI.
    Liquid staking token holders: Hold at least 42 iSEI or stSEI at the time of the snapshot.
    NFT collectors: Hold 2 or more NFTs from Seiyans, WeBump, Dob, Colony, Cappys, Alive1111, Outlines, Yaka.

    What were the specific dates for the eligibility criteria?

    To be eligible for the airdrop, participants had to fulfill these criteria at the time the snapshot was taken:
    For Sei stakers and liquid staking token holders: 16th May 2024 at 00:00 UTC.
    For NFT collectors: 5th May 2024 at 00:00 UTC.

    What was the Sei season 2 token airdrop rewards distribution?

    For Sei season 2 token airdrop, Sei stakers and liquid staking token holders were each awarded 1 point, whilst NFT collectors were awarded 2 points. Those who earned 1 point were airdropped 200 SEI, those who earned 2 points were airdropped 3,000 SEI and those that earned 3 or more points were airdropped 6,000 SEI.

    How to claim the Sei season 2 token airdrop

    Here’s how to claim the Sei season 2 airdrop:
    Go to https://airdrop.sei.io/
    Connect your Compass, Fin or Keplr wallet, depending on which wallet you used to stake your SEI tokens or collected NFTs.
    Check your airdrop allocation.

    When does the .sei Name Pre-registration begin?

    The .sei Name Pre-registration will begin on 23rd August 2023 at 8:00am UTC. The public registration will be launched later on 28th August 2023 at 9:00am UTC.

    How can I be eligible for the .sei name pre-registration?

    To be eligible for the .sei name pre-registration, you must:
    Have previously claimed any of these OATs: The Ticket, The Ticket II, The Ticket III, and The Ticket IV.
    Be a winner of any giveaway hosted by Sei together with their partners.

    What does each OAT or giveaway win entitle me to?

    Each OAT or giveaway win entitles you to register 1 .sei name during the pre-registration phase. Additionally, those who collected all 5 OATs will be able to register a domain (5 characters or more) for 1 year for free.

    What are the dates for the pre-registration and public registration?

    The pre-registration for .sei domain names will be from 23rd to 28th August 2023 at 8:00am UTC. This period is for eligible addresses only on a first-come-first-served basis. Public registration for .sei domain names will begin on 28th August 2023 at 9:00am UTC.

    Can I trade my .sei domain?

    Yes, you will be able to trade your .sei domain on Sei NFT marketplaces such as BlueMove.

    Are there any reserved domains?

    Yes, not every .sei name is up for grabs. The Sei team has reserved certain domains for their partners.

    How much does a .sei domain name cost?

    Here’s the cost breakdown for a .sei domain name:
    3 characters: US$200 worth of $SEI per year. Or US$150 (25% off) during pre-registration.
    4 characters: US$50 worth of $SEI per year. Or US$40 (20% off) during pre-registration.
    5 characters: US$5 worth of $SEI per year. Or 1 year free for those that collected all 5 OATs.

  • Quai Network ($QUAI) Token Airdrop LIVE: Earn $2000 for Free

    Quai Network ($QUAI) Token Airdrop LIVE: Earn $2000 for Free

    Hunting for crypto airdrops is a great way to make free money. Some people have made as high as $10,000 from the Aptos token airdrop. If you missed it, Quai Network is another upcoming project with airdrop qualifications happening right now. Let’s take a look at what Quai Network is and what you can do to receive their token airdrop before it’s too late!

    Quai Network ($QUAI) Airdrop Step-by-step Guide

    Here’s how to receive a potential Quai Network ($QUAI) token airdrop:

    1. Engage with Quai Network’s Twitter
    2. Engage with Quai Network’s Reddit

    See below for more details

    What is Quai Network?

    Quai Network is a decentralized network of multiple proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains running in unison. These blockchains have native interoperability, allowing for cross-chain transactions and messages. It is also fully EVM compatible, allowing any Solidity contract to be ported and deployed.

    Quai Network provides a novel approach to blockchain scaling, different from parallel processing chains such as Aptos and Sui. It aims to maximize the energy efficiency of PoW by introducing the concept of modularity.

    Proof-of-Work 2.0 (PoW2)

    Quai Network sought to improve upon the PoW consensus mechanism by addressing its environmental concerns. For the longest time, Bitcoin’s PoW algorithm has been infallible, but it also consumes massive amounts of energy. And it will continue to rise as mining difficulty increases after every Bitcoin Halving event. This is why Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake (PoS).

    But Quai Network believes that PoS is inherently centralized due to the amount of money it requires to be a validator, creating a gap between the validator “class” and everyday users. Therefore, Quai Network has introduced an upgraded version of PoW called Proof-of-Work 2.0 (PoW2) where hash power can be reused to secure multiple chains. This is achieved by utilizing a novel combination of merged mining and sharding, reducing computational cost while allowing the network to scale more efficiently.

    Merged Mining

    Merged mining is the process of securing multiple blockchains with one miner, allowing miners to earn rewards in multi cryptos without having to switch between networks or use additional hardware. It was first conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin white paper, in which a completely seperate blockchain could share CPU power with Bitcoin, inheriting the same security and decentralization of Bitcoin without requiring dedicated miners.

    Quai Network uses this concept, but instead of having Bitcoin as a parent chain, it has its own parent chain (the Prime Chain) which secures the many other chains beneath it by sharing hashrate. This improves throughput over monolithic chains such as Solana without the need for layer-2 solutions. Moreover, Quai Network is horizontally scalable, which means additional chains can be added to meet network demands. This is possible because of their multi-chain architecture.

    Multi-Chain Architecture

    Quai Network’s architecture makes use of sharding by dividing a single blockchain into multiple smaller and faster blockchains to improve network performance, similar to Ethereum and Polkadot. Its network is divided into a hierarchical structure of three different types of chains. At mainnet launch, Quai Network will begin with the single Prime Chain, three Region Chains, and nine Zone Chains.

    Source: Quai Network
    • Prime Chain

    The Prime Chain is at the core of the entire network, utilizing a hashing algorithm that is shared across all subordinate chains (Region and Zone). It aggregates and settles state transitions across the network, which means miners are required to mine the Prime Chain to keep the blockchains functional.

    However, it has the highest mining difficulty, which means it has the slowest throughput (one block every 15 minutes). Therefore, it is not ideal for simple transactions and DApp activities. It is mostly for use in situations where the whole network is being addressed and securing the network.

    • Region Chains

    There are three Region Chains at mainnet launch: Cyprus, Paxos, and Hydra. These chains have lower mining difficulty, thus a higher throughput than the Prime Chain (one block every 5 minutes). These chains handle lesser network interactions that are not necessary to address the entire network. They can also interact natively on the network, but each require unique mining power. Therefore, a miner can only mine a single Region Chain at a time, in addition to the Prime Chain.

    • Zone Chains

    At mainnet launch, each Region Chain will have three Zone Chains under it. These Zone Chains have the highest throughput (one block per 10 seconds) and TPS capacity, making them ideal for regular transactions and contract interactions. As such, most activity on Quai Network will occur on Zone Chains. They are also able to interact with other Zone chains, even those under different Region Chains. But similar to Region Chains, miners can only select one Zone Chain to mine.

    • Coincident Blocks

    Coincident Blocks tie the whole hierarchal structure together, linking all chains which enables cross-chain state transfers and periodic pegging of all chains to the Prime Chain’s total work. These blocks allow the entire network to inherit the same security of the Prime Chain, governed by three rules:

    1. All Prime blocks must contain a Region and Zone block.
    2. All Region blocks must contain a Zone block.
    3. Zone blocks can be mined asynchronously without being included in a Prime or Region coincident block.
    Source: Quai Network

    Basically, a Coincident block occurs when (1) a Prime, Region, and Zone block are confirmed at the same time OR (2) when just a Region and Zone block. Each time a Coincident block is mined, all blocks since the last coincident block are then confirmed by the Region Chain, continuing upwards until the Prime Chain — think of it as a roll call. Therefore, chains lower in the hierarchy can inherit the security of the Prime Chain while still conducting independent activities.

    Who is the Team behind Quai Network?

    Quai Network is developed by Dominant Strategies, a technology development company based in Austin. The company was co-founded in 2019 by Alan Orwick, Jonathan Downing, Karl Kreder, Yanni Georghiades, and Sriram Vishwanath, all of whom worked together in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Texas. They co-wrote and published the white paper for Quai Network in December 2021.

    Dominant Strategies has raised $10 million over two funding rounds — $8 million from Polychain Capital in March 2022 and $2 million from Alumni Ventures in May 2022.

    Does Quai Network have a Token?

    Yes. $QUAI will be used to ensure network security and as an exchange of value in the ecosystem. Their token supply is hard-capped but its total number is not yet determined. According to their tokenomics, 25% is distributed as “adoption incentives”, 3% for “community” and 0.5% for “testnet incentives.” This means token airdrop opportunities for early users of Quai Network!

    Source: Quai Network

    How to Receive Quai Network ($QUAI) Token Airdrop?

    Quai Network has a Social Media Rewards Program that will airdrop $QUAI tokens for engaging with their Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. Compared to other projects, this is one of the easiest ways to earn free tokens.

    To begin, join their Discord server and follow their Twitter account. Afterwards, you can check your rewards on the Quai Dashboard. If you have a Citizen role in their Discord server, you will have a 1.5x multiplier for your $QUAI rewards. You can obtain it by completing their survey here. It is easy to do if you have some degree of understanding of the project.

    From here on out, Quai Network will reward you $QUAI tokens for your engagement with their social media platforms. As of now, only Twitter and Reddit rewards are available. YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram rewards will be available soon.

    • Twitter
    1. Follow Quai Network.
    2. Follow additional team accounts.
    3. Liking and retweeting Quai Network’s Tweets that are less than seven days old (limited to twice a day).
    4. Make a Tweet mentioning Quai Network. Original and insightful Tweets that are liked or replied by Quai Network will grant you additional rewards.
    • Reddit
    1. Make a unique post in their channel (limited to twice a day).
    2. Make a post about Quai Network in another approved crypto-related Subreddit (limited to twice a day).

    It is worth noting that your account must have more than 50 post/comment karma, and the post must be approved by their team. Therefore, it will some time for your rewards to show if you make a post on Reddit.

    Quai 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: Quai Network’s token airdrop is now live!

    Airdropped Token Allocation: According to Quai’s tokenomics, 25% will be distributed as “adoption incentives”, 3% for “community” and 0.5% for “testnet incentives.” This could mean token airdrop opportunities for early users of Quai Network!

    Airdrop Difficulty: Quai Network has a Social Media Rewards Program that will airdrop $QUAI tokens for engaging with their social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. This is one of the easiest ways to earn free tokens compared to other projects!

    Token Utility:  The $QUAI token will be used to ensure network security and as an exchange of value in the ecosystem.

    Token Lockup: Participants of Quai Network’s Social Media Rewards Program will receive their $QUAI tokens upon Quai Network’s Mainnet Launch

  • Crypto Airdrops: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

    Crypto Airdrops: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

    Whether a blockchain project lives or dies depends on its capability to attract and grow its user base, and projects that are unable to gather or maintain their clientele eventually fold. To kickstart or encourage engagement within the community, these projects often find themselves doing token airdrops, using them to raise awareness and value for their products while also incentivizing new and existing customers. 

    Table of contents

    What is a crypto airdrop?

    A crypto airdrop is a method used to distribute cryptocurrencies to a project’s community of users for free, usually in exchange for participating in a campaign or owning other related assets. Airdrops are typically used as a marketing and awareness strategy to draw attention to a product or event. These projects may share tokens to existing users’ crypto wallets or encourage prospective users to register accounts to receive assets.

    Types of Airdrops

    Over the years, the airdrop marketing strategy has taken many different forms. Several projects have used airdrops to create awareness, promote features, and attract users. For instance, gaming metaverse ArcadeLand launched an airdrop in March where 850 participants shared a 2,000 USDT prize pool. Eligibility required simple tasks, including social media activity such as following ArcadeLand’s Twitter and participating in the project’s announcement channel on Telegram.

    There also was a MetaGods airdrop in November for 800 winners, including bonuses for the top 50 referrers. Participants also qualified for a $2,000 prize pool by completing tasks on Twitter and Telegram.

    The Sukhavati Network also launched an airdrop of 10,000 $SKT worth 6000 USDT to celebrate achievements, including an official startup sale on Gate.io and a MEXC listing. The prize pool was for a total of 1050 winners, with 1000 $SKT reserved for the top 50 referrers. Although projects use different types of airdrops depending on their aim for each one, the most common types include:

    Standard Airdrops

    During a standard airdrop, wallet holders receive small amounts of the new cryptocurrency in return for completing tasks, such as signing up for a newsletter or creating an account with the crypto project. Some projects require participants to complete a KYC (Know Your Customer) verification or provide their email and wallet addresses before receiving the tokens.

    Standard airdrops often serve as a good preface for projects to introduce themselves to the public. New projects, such as this recent airdrop hosted by Questian, attempts to pull in more attention by asking their community to complete tasks for USDT.

    Bounty Airdrops

    Projects that use bounty airdrops distribute their tokens among users who help to create awareness – usually across social media platforms. To be eligible for these airdrops, participants must perform simple tasks such as retweeting an official tweet, sharing a Facebook post, or creating Instagram media. Participants may also earn by referring new users. Although this type is similar to standard airdrops, the main difference is that crypto projects usually reserve bounty airdrops for people who help create public awareness. Standard airdrops are simply open to anyone who joins the project’s community via accounts, newsletters, or other similar channels.

    Exclusive Airdrops

    Blockchain projects usually reserve exclusive airdrops for loyal followers. In many cases, these airdrops automatically go to early adopters or users who are frequently active on the platform. Eligible members of the community receive these exclusive airdrops with no strings attached.

    Examples include a recent sudden airdrop hosted by MetaGods, which asks their community to simply drop their wallet address for an exclusive prize. The method was also utilized by AkiralGal, whose tweet asked their followers to screenshot their brand new AkiraGal wallpaper for more rewards.

    Exclusive Airdrop hosted by MetaGods
    Exclusive Airdrop hosted by AkiraGal

    Holder Airdrops

    These are airdrops for users who already hold specific cryptocurrencies or tokens. So, to be eligible for these holder airdrops, users need to be holding a specified type and/or amount of a particular token by a specified date.  For instance, a new Ethereum-based project may offer free tokens to the Ethereum blockchain community, or a new exchange may offer its tokens to holders who own the native cryptocurrency of a competing exchange. 

    Hard Fork Airdrops

    This type of airdrop occurs when a permanent blockchain split creates the need for a new token to go with the new chain. While the previous blockchain still exists along with old tokens, users may receive tokens from the new blockchain via an airdrop. However, this does not happen with every fork, only with hard forks. A hard fork occurs when the community cannot decide how to move forward, and a new chain must be created via a split.

    Growth and Popularity of Airdrops

    Since the inception of cryptocurrencies, people have used digital assets to move finance to decentralized platforms. Several decentralized cryptocurrency projects have also emerged to satisfy the global need for decentralized finance, with many of them using airdrops to attract users. These projects usually airdrop a percentage of their total token supply shortly before or after an official launch. A recent example is the Looks Rare airdrop, distributing 12% of the total $LOOKS token supply to anyone in the OpenSea community that spent more than 3 ETH on the NFT exchange. 

    Another example of the popularity of airdrops was the recent MetaWars Alliance Gleam Campaign which features an extensive collaboration between multiple projects. Running from April 17 to April 22, the campaign had a prize pool of more than $20,000 open to 100 winners. The MetaWars Alliance Campaign had 9 partners, including Souls of Meta, MetaLand, Battle Saga, The Three Kingdoms (TTK), Bit Hotel, Age of Tanks, Mouse Hunt, MechaChain, and FitEvo. The initiative was yet another prime example of how multiple projects can use airdrops for cross-promotion that can help all involved projects gain much-needed traction. MetaWars successfully achieved this aim as the campaign saw nearly 232,000 different entries.

    The Dark Side of Crypto Airdrops: Scams and Controversies

    The need for blockchain projects to launch airdrops spurred the creation of several platforms that aggregate airdrops from promising projects. These platforms made airdrops a lot more popular, increasing the number of people who consider the method a channel for passive income and an opportunity to earn new crypto assets.

    Beware of SCAMS!

    (Beware of scams! This recent ApeCoin attack stole $1 million through hacked verified accounts)

    Unfortunately, the airdrop method has suffered its fair share of scams and controversies. As with anything tagged “free,” illicit players exploit community members’ innocence and use deceptive means to obtain funds from unsuspecting people. In March, a Twitter phishing scam pretending to airdrop ApeCoin tokens successfully stole $1 million from unsuspecting users. The Ape Coin scam promised users a rare NFT airdrop which can only be received after paying an ETH gas fee. The scammers then not only made off with the ETH fee, but because users had to approve and sign the transaction with their cryptocurrency wallets, the scammers were able to take the rare and often valuable NFTs contained in those wallets. Some notable NFTs stolen in this scam included Jay Chou’s Phantabears, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Doodles. 

    There was also a fake Azuki NFT airdrop where self-proclaimed Azuki affiliates hijacked verified user handles, got users to connect their Ethereum wallets, and made away with their highly valuable NFTs.

    How to Protect Yourself Against Airdrop Scams

    In light of these scams, members of the crypto community should adhere to certain precautions when participating in airdrops. The most important is the DYOR (Do Your Own Research) rule, which requires people to do extensive research on projects advertising airdrops before buying in. 

    However, scammers are keeping ahead of the game. For example in the ApeCoin airdrop scam, the scammers hacked into and hijacked the Discord servers for Doodle and BAYC, posting the faked website on the server to make it look like a legitimate announcement. The scammers also used faked Twitter accounts (including some from verified Twitter handles) to spread the fake links. 

    The following are other steps that help avoid airdrop scams:

    • Never pay for airdrops;
    • Check multiple sources and social media accounts belonging to the project to see if the airdrop is legitimate. For example, if a projects’ Discord server is being compromised they may make an announcement on their official Twitter or Telegram;
    • Never participate in an airdrop that requires user private keys or mnemonic phrases;
    • Protect personal identity and data as much as possible;
    • Avoid KYC airdrops if possible (although not always the case); and
    • Most airdrops require an email address. Users should create a new ‘burner’ email address to use only for airdrops.

    It might be impossible to create an exhaustive list of steps required to avoid scams because fraudsters get more creative with their illicit activities, but participants should always be on the lookout for airdrops that do not tick security boxes or have little to no information obtainable from research.

    Airdrops have many benefits in the blockchain space, such as marketing, building communities, and providing additional value to loyal users of crypto assets. Authentic airdrops help people earn extra income and provide additional utility with little to no effort. However, airdrops may be harmful to people who do inadequate due diligence or personal research. If an airdrop seems too good to be true, there’s a good chance it is.