What are crypto airdrops – Ins and outs by airdrop veterans

Nearly two years have passed since we promoted the first free coins, also known as crypto airdrops. Who ever expected the tokenized freebies to explode in popularity the way it did? Airdrops went from an innocent marketing tactic to a full-blown user acquisition strategy over the course of 12 months. Other then a short intro on our home page, we never dove deeper into the question on everybody’s mind “what are crypto airdrops?”.

Funny enough, this isn’t as easy to explain as it looks.

In this blog, we’ll cover the key points to consider and we’ll combine it with personal stories we’ve experienced in our journey with airdrop tokens.

All you need to know about crypto airdrops & free coins

Airdrop Alert interview

What is a cryptocurrency airdrop?

The first airdrop was Auroracoin, which airdropped to citizens of the country Iceland early 2014.

Even though this happened 5 years ago, it took till mid-2017 for the original Airdrop Alert site to launch.

So when we started, there wasn’t a Wikipedia page yet to explain the crypto airdrop meaning. So we had to define the free cryptocurrencies concept our self. Therefore we also created the first wiki page for crypto airdrops, mostly done by altcoins.

Obviously, we tried to be smart and mention Airdrop Alert in the wiki listing. However, that didn’t fly. Immediately after our submission it was removed.

On a second try we came up with; “A cryptocurrency airdrop is a free coin giveaway in the blockchain industry.”

After that, wiki did its thing and now the official definition is:


An airdrop is a distribution of a cryptocurrency token or coin, usually for free, to a large number of wallet addresses. Airdrops are primarily implemented as a way of gaining attention and new followers, resulting in a larger user-base and a wider disbursement of coins.

Personally, I find the easiest comparison in the real world to be freebies you receive on the street. Imagine for a minute, you’re walking down the central shopping street of Amsterdam on a hot summer day, mid-July. The sun is burning your skin and you’re feeling hot. Luckily you see a young guy with a baseball cap, handing out free samples of the latest energy beverages. You quickly head over and grab a cooled can, which you drink in 30 seconds to satisfy your thirst.

That free sample, that’s an airdrop!

How do airdrops work?

If you’re wondering how to collect these free tokens, we previously created a list of all the things you need to get started with crypto airdrops.

Usually, the free airdrops require you to follow them on their biggest social media accounts. They are building a fresh cryptocurrency community for their ICO, IEO or STO. Consider tasks like join a Telegram as one of the easiest things you can do to receive airdropped coins.

After you completed the task there is usually a waiting period before airdrop distribution. This is possibly a few months until the token gets listed on exchanges. Don’t worry if you have to wait a bit for the coins so arrive, just make sure you did everything right to you don’t end with an empty wallet.

At Airdrop Alert we always have a clear step by step instructions on how to claim your freebies.

NTR
NTR

As displayed above, you can find the simple guide to get your free NTR tokens. It includes joining their socials, like Twitter and Facebook, and leaving your wallet address to receive your free cryptocurrencies.

Don’t forget to create an airdrop dashboard for the ultimate coin hunting experience.

What is an ICO airdrop?

free ICO airdrops
ICO airdrops

As stated before, when we started our airdrop website this was still an underground marketing play. With the rise of popularity for ICO’s in 2017, we decided to contact fundraising projects to airdrop free crypto to our community.

Logically, the first question we got was: “Why should we do an airdrop?”

We played the part as market leaders and explained to them that giving away free crypto actually creates brand awareness, it builds communities and wide distribution of the token would be good for long term sustainability of their platform. Plus our users are considered early adopters of the token, which could lead to investors or ambassadors for their ICO.

This snowballed quicker as expected and soon we were able to offer our users a full spectrum of different airdrops.

So to answer the original question, an ICO airdrop is a project offering free tokens during their fundraising process. They are eager to give away freebies as a form of “cheap” marketing, as they are spending tokens which are only valuable if the project succeeds.

The success of free airdrops even caught the eye of mainstream media. As Bloomberg and Wired covered a story about the phenomenon.

When the biggest Dutch business radio channel found out we are located in The Netherlands we got invited to discuss it on their brand new crypto podcast. This was our very first interview, and to be honest I can still hear the nerves in my voice.

After that first interview, many more followed, including articles, radios, and podcasts. The only thing missing is a tv interview 😉 Above is our latest podcast on that crypto hustle.

How do I find crypto airdrops?

Well, you’re already at the right address. At Airdrop Alert you can find all past, active and upcoming airdrops. Most importantly, we differentiate between verified and unverified airdrops. What makes a cryptocurrency airdrop verified? Find the detailed information here.

We’ve already created a list of airdrop sources in our previous piece. Have a look there if you want to find more places to claim airdrops & bounties.

In addition, you can already join our airdrop telegram channel to get daily alerts on tokenized freebies. Make sure you’re in the correct one, as there are many scam channels out there.

What are the common airdrop platforms?

The majority, nearly 85%, of crypto airdrops are on the Ethereum network. As most airdrops are tokens, this means they have a mother chain on which they rely. ERC20 tokens, the most common airdropped coins, are build on top of the ETH network.

Subsequently, NEP5 tokens are built on top of NEO. Additionally Tron, EOS, Waves and Stellar all have projects creating tokens on their native code.

The last one actually is running the most valuable airdrop ever, worth over 125 Million USD. You can get between 25-50$ in XLM coins today, so don’t wait.

Can I actually earn money with free crypto?

Looking for crypto airdrops
Looking for airdrops

Are you already dreaming about working from home or on a remote beach earning cryptocurrency? Good, that’s exactly what our goal is.

Yes, you can earn bitcoin or money by collecting free crypto airdrops. Surprised? Don’t be. Before we monetized our platform, we were actually airdrop and bounty hunters our self. We participated in all the early giveaways, and we were making a decent living from it.

In cryptocurrency, we’ve experienced some insane bull markets. As a result, the prices of tokens went through the roof, which also meant the same for the freebies. We’ve seen the best airdrops of 2018 and 2017 reach heights of over $400,000.

However, 2018 was also a year of a long bear market. With bitcoin hitting its bottom around $3000, which was nearly 85% lower than its previous height of $20,000.

This downswing also reflected on airdrops, which we like to call the airdrop winter. But with the recent sentiment surrounding crypto changing, positive signals which now reflect in a price of $5500 for 1 bitcoin, at the time of writing (April 2019). We might carefully suggest that airdrop spring is around the corner.

Subsequently, we reported on news of the world’s biggest companies implementing blockchain in their plans. Including companies like Airbnb & Facebook. The market could turn around faster than we currently believe.

Therefore we’re curious to see what will happen to the thousands of airdrops of the past 12 months. We’ve seen some exciting projects pass by on our platform and we’re eager to see what will happen to the crypto freebies. Some examples are Vidy, Bandz, Rento, Tokendata, POP network & MPAY. What will happen to them in 2019?

More then just free coins

Learn & earn with airdrops

Even though we enjoy making some extra cash. Crypto airdrops are not just some free tokens.

One of the biggest advantages of crypto freebies is actually that you get to educate yourself in blockchain, online security and the projects.

Who here heard about private key, hardware wallets or security tokens before you joined your first airdrop? We sure didn’t.

After a few airdrop scams, most of our users learned not to share your private keys the hard way. Nowadays we have a good listing policy so you can have a safe experience.

Where can I sell my crypto airdrops?

Exchange crypto airdrops
Exchange airdrops

Understandably you’re eager to sell your first earned crypto. However, try to keep a few tokens once in a while. You never know how valuable they can get. We have been shocked a few times before. Like when bitcoin cash, the biggest bitcoin hard fork, raised to $4300 in value for just one coin.

But as long as your selling, have a look at our lists of biggest crypto exchanges from USA, Europe and Asia. Or even more easy, you can sell them in your dashboard at AirdropAlert.com

Subsequently, creating accounts on most exchanges is a wise airdrop strategy. As several exchanges, like P2PB2B and Binance, enjoy to do airdrops themselves when new coins get introduced for trading.

Last thoughts by Airdrop Alert

Airdrop Alert
Airdrop Alert story of the day

Hopefully, we answered your question on what is an airdrop in cryptocurrency.

It’s been a long road since the first airdrop and we’re happy you’re here to enjoy the ride with us. Hopefully, you get to earn cash along the way.

After the hype of ICO airdrops, we now see more exchanges and dApps giving away freebies to introduce new crypto curious people to their product.

We’re particularly happy about that. As that means our users can actually start using the tokens immediately, instead of waiting weeks for their free coins.

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