By hunting cryptocurrency airdrops, you can earn anywhere from a few dollars on the low end, to four or five figures on the high end. It can be a fun way to earn free crypto however, you have to do it safely and know where to look.
If you want to learn how to find airdrops correctly, this guide will cover a variety of topics including how airdrops work, different airdrop strategies, and most importantly, the best websites to find legitimate cryptocurrency airdrops. Let's dive in.
What Is A Cryptocurrency Airdrop?
Crypto airdrops are free giveaways where projects will distribute tokens to certain users. An airdrop essentially sends free money to user wallets while in return, the project gets lots of marketing and awareness. To be eligible for an airdrop, the user will have to perform certain actions such as using a Dapp early. Others encourage users to perform small promotional tasks such as following their social media.
The largest crypto airdrops have distributed hundreds of millions of dollars for free to their users. Airdrops such as UNI and ENS delivered over $10,000 worth of tokens for users who traded on their platforms in the past. These airdrops were unannounced and caught users by surprise.
Advantages of Crypto Airdrops
Disadvantages of Crypto Airdrops
Types of Crypto Airdrops
- Retroactive Airdrops
- Holder Airdrops
- Bounty Airdrops
1. Retroactive Airdrops
A retroactive airdrop is when a project distributes its native token to early protocol users. To enter, you need to find tokenless projects that are rumored to airdrop in the future. Then, interact with the protocol which could include using DEXs, minting NFTs, or trying other dapps.
For example, anyone who traded at least $1 on dYdX, a decentralized exchange, prior to the launch of their token, qualified for a $4,300 airdrop. Users with more trading volume earned over $100k! Other popular airdrops include Arbitrum ($1k-$20k) and Optimism ($1k-$30k).
Retroactive airdrops are usually speculative, but you can estimate projects that are likely to airdrop. These are the most profitable airdrops however, they are also uncertain since you don’t know what the qualifications will be or when the airdrop will take place.
Past Examples:
2. Holder Airdrops
In a holder airdrop, cryptocurrency or NFTs are distributed to investors based on something they own in their wallet. Since wallet balances are on a public ledger, developers can set up airdrops according to certain criteria. Blockchain projects will use holder airdrops to gain awareness or reward their existing community with new NFTs or tokens.
These airdrops can be worth thousands of dollars as well. However, they are harder to chase and typically require more investment because you have to hold quality projects. Most of them are unannounced and come down to pure luck, but you can find opportunities by studying the project roadmap, team, and other criteria.
Past Examples:
3. Bounty Airdrops
Bounty airdrops (aka exclusive airdrops) are based on completing tasks, usually related to promoting the project, such as following their Twitter account, joining their Discord group, or engaging with their social media accounts in exchange for rewards. Bounty airdrops can be done in a few minutes. To claim it, you typically need to fill out a form and provide your wallet address.
With Bounty airdrops, the project usually partners with a third-party site to offer free tokens to its audience. For example, CoinMarketCap has offered more than 400 bounty airdrops through its partnerships.
While these are very easy to enter, the reward is usually very small like $10. Plus, a lot of them are limited and done as a raffle, so you’re not even guaranteed to win.
12 Best Sites to Find Crypto Airdrops
Now that you know the different types of airdrops, let's see how you can use them to find the latest opportunities.
1. Airdrops.io
Airdrops.io is the largest and most-detailed airdrop website, featuring information about all ongoing, future, and potential airdrops.
On the Airdrops homepage, users can locate the latest verified airdrops, including finding information about historic airdrops that are available for claiming. If the airdrop is ongoing or finished, they will list the USD value of the airdrop.
I recommend using their "Hot Airdrops" and "Potential Airdrops" section, which lists tokenless protcols that might distribute an airdrop. There's no simple way to compare airdrops and see which ones have the most potential, but you can find tons of projects and each one has a short guide to help you qualify.
They also have guides on the most speculated airdrops like MetaMask and zkSync which could potentially be the next 5-figure drop.
2. RankFi's Airdrop List
Farming airdrops takes time, so you want to focus on the ones with the highest potential. That's why I curated a list of the most anticipated retroactive airdrops from the crypto community, to help you compare the best ones.
The list is still growing, but you can view the projects that have raised the most money, as well as links to their websites, Twitter, and more. I'm farming airdrops myself and have created over 10 guides for the biggest potential airdrops this year, which are also linked on the page.
3. EarnDrop
EarnDrop is an airdrop tracker that will notify you when your wallet is eligible for an airdrop. The free plan lets you track up to 8 wallet addresses which is perfect for airdrop farmers.
The paid plans, for serious airdrop farmers, lets you track more wallets, get curated airdrop lists, and access to discord channels.
If you’ve been in the crypto space for a while and interacting with different protocols, you might be eligible for airdrops you don’t even know about. In fact, there are millions of dollars of unclaimed crypto right this second. EarnDrop makes sure you don't miss out on these rewards.
4. Earni.Fi
Earni.fi helps you find unclaimed airdrops, just like EarnDrop. By entering your public wallet address, Earni.Fi will notify you of any unclaimed airdrops that you missed in the past. It has a free and paid plan and the Earni.Fi website also allows you to stay informed about future airdrops.
5. YouTube Channels
Go to YouTube and use different searches and search filters to find potential airdrop opportunities. Search filters you can use include "Best crypto airdrops" and "crypto airdrop" > filter by published in last 30 days. Here are some good airdrop channels and playlists that I've subscribed to:
- @RankFi (my airdrop playlist)
- @CoinGeckoTV
- @DeDotFi
- @VirtualBacon
- @BoxMining
6. Crypto Twitter
Just like YouTube, Twitter has fantastic crypto airdrop guides and detailed threads. Just keep in mind, Twitter also has tons of airdrop scams so make sure to follow reputable creators and be careful when clicking links from people you don't know. Here are some Twitter creators with great airdrop content:
7. DappRadar
DappRadar is an aggregator that lists the most important dapps. Users can locate the top Play-to-Earn games, NFTs, Metaverse platforms, and other trending crypto projects across blockchains.
Additionally, users can participate in airdrops in just 1 or 2 clicks after connecting their wallet. Their airdrop section has had many top-tier projects such as The Sandbox, Gods Unchained, Matic and many others. However, similar to CoinMarketCap, users are not guaranteed to win. Typically, it's limited to 100 participants per award.
You can check it weekly or monthly for new listings.
8. CoinMarketCap
Since it started, CoinMarketCap has had over 425 airdrops that anyone with a free CoinMarketCap account and crypto walllet could have entered. It takes seconds to enter and the coins are vetted and reviewed by their team.
The majority of airdrops on CMC are task-based and take seconds to enter. You will need to add the project to your watchlist, follow their CMC account, and do similar tasks. However, I’ve found you can just click the boxes and still participate without doing all the work (don’t tell anyone).
On the downside, the airdrops are raffle-based so you are not guaranteed to win. For most of them, hundreds of thousands of people participate. You can check CMC every month for new drops, but recently there hasn't been any activity.
9. Airdrop Alert
AirdropsAlert is an airdrop aggregator that covers different categories of airdrops including NFT airdrops, DeFi airdrops, Metaverse airdrops, and more.
The service has 400,000 investors on their newsletter that sends weekly information about the most promising airdrops.
The homepage gives access to hundreds of airdrops which can be accessed immediately. The downside is that anyone can submit their airdrop to the website which means users have to be very careful when connecting their wallet to coins listed here.
10. AltcoinTrading
AltcoinTrading aggregates the most promising and long-awaited airdrops in the industry. The teams managing the platform vet thousands of potential airdrops and filter them down to only a few dozen that users should pay attention to.
The main advantage of the website is daily social media alerts using apps like Telegram. Users can join their channels and receive daily updates about new airdrops, closing airdrops, and more.
The platform has designated safety guidelines that explain how users can stay away from airdrop scams and protect their wallets.
11. ICO Marks
ICOMarks is a dual Initial Coin Offer and Airdrop aggregator that promotes valuable projects in the crypto sphere and allows investors to get in at the early stages.
In the airdrop section, they list airdrops with a drop schedule and include task requirements – allowing airdrop hunters to get the job done in half the time.
ICOMarks is also the only airdrop aggregator that estimates the approximate value of the airdrop before it occurs, with most airdrops ranging between $50-100 in value.
Users can also navigate based on the category and choose airdrops from categories they have experience in.
12. AirdropBob
AirdropBob is a small airdrop aggregator that specializes in airdrop calendars and provides key information about the most important airdrops in the industry.
The main advantage of AirdropBob is that they include exchange airdrops on their list by analyzing all exchanges and current campaigns.
The airdrop calendar tells people exactly when an airdrop starts and ends and the homepage lists the hottest trending airdrops in the industry.
Tips To Stay Safe With Airdrops
Crypto airdrops carry risks and a user has to apply due diligence to avoid falling for a scam. Use the following precautions to stay safe with airdrops:
FAQ
Are Crypto Airdrops Profitable?
If you do it right, you can earn four or five figures, especially with retroactive airdrops. However, there are many bounty airdrops and raffles where you might not earn anything at all.
What Was The Biggest Crypto Airdrop?
The biggest crypto airdrop was the UNI airdrop which distributed over $350 million to users. Other airdrops that distributed $100M or more include ApeCoin, Ethereum Name Service, Optimism, and 1Inch.
How Do You Claim An Airdrop?
Users must have a crypto wallet such as MetaMask and meet the project's eligibility criteria. After the criteria is met, some airdrops are sent to wallets automatically while others need to be claimed manually by the user.
Does Claiming Airdrops Cost Money?
Claiming an airdrop should be free, but there can be gas fees in some instances. For example, users who claimed the UNI token had to pay a few dollars in gas fees to swap their UNI for ETH on the Ethereum network.
How Do You Find Profitable Airdrops?
Pay attention to crypto twitter and regularly check websites like Airdrops.io, DappRadar, and the other sites mentioned above to find the most promising airdrops. These websites index the most talked-about potential airdrops that everyone should pay attention to.
How Do You Maximize Airdrop Value?
Some users set up multiple wallets and trade to increase these rewards. You can also do more actions when it comes. For example, platforms like 1Inch multiplied the token reward based on the amount traded on their platform.
What Are Airdrop Hunters?
Airdrop hunters are people who perform tasks on major Web 3 platforms that don't have a token yet. These hunters create multiple wallets and perform tasks on DAPPs to hopefully be eligible for an airdrop in the future.
Are Crypto Airdrops Scams?
Crypto airdrops are real but there are many scams to watch out for. Make sure you're always on the official website, don't connect your wallet to untrusted websites, and never share your seed phrase.
What Are Airdrops Scams?
An airdrop scam, also known as a 'dusting scam', is a scam in which victims get airdropped with a coin that supposedly has value. Once they connect their wallet to a website to claim the coin, they indirectly give permission and lose control of their wallet. Never touch tokens you don’t recognize.
