The Rise of Crypto Airdrops
An analysis from CoinGecko reveals that there has been a significant increase in crypto airdrops from 2020 to 2023. The top 50 airdrops, led by Uniswap, Apecoin, and dYdX, have distributed a total of $26.6 billion in tokens during this period.
Uniswap’s Historic Airdrop
In September 2020, Uniswap made headlines with its historic $6.43 billion airdrop. This event, calculated at its all-time high token price, revitalized the crypto airdrop model and sparked renewed interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
Apecoin and dYdX Airdrops
Apecoin executed the second-largest airdrop, distributing $3.54 billion in tokens in March 2022. Not far behind, dYdX distributed $2.00 billion in tokens in September 2021.
The Evolution of Crypto Airdrops
In 2021, there was a notable increase in the number of airdrops, with 18 out of the top 50 occurring during that year. However, the trend saw a downturn in 2022 and 2023 due to the prevailing crypto winter.
Despite this, the total value of airdrops at their all-time high grew from $7.28 billion in 2020 to $7.46 billion in 2022. New entrants like Bonk also made their way into the top 10.
New Approaches to Airdrops
In 2023, major players like Arbitrum dominated the airdrop scene with significant token distributions. Celestia and Blur took a different approach by focusing on rewarding contributors to their ecosystems rather than broad user bases.
Blur’s two consecutive airdrops in 2023 demonstrated the potential of sustaining platform engagement through continuous user engagement.
Hot Take: The Future of Airdrops
The surge in crypto airdrops from 2020 to 2023 highlights the growing popularity of this distribution model. As platforms continue to innovate and find new ways to engage users, airdrops will likely evolve further to provide targeted rewards and incentives for ecosystem participants. Continuous user engagement will be crucial for the success of future airdrops.
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