All Posts
Cover image for What are crypto airdrops and how to earn for free

What are crypto airdrops and how to earn for free

Posted by Ebo Victor on September 3, 2022 in Guide

What are crypto airdrops and how to earn for free

Introduction

No matter your experience level in cryptocurrency, making profits is the most important thing to you. It doesn’t matter whether you pay for it or not. Most people believe that getting cryptocurrencies involves some money, but that’s not true. So you might have come across airdrops.

These giveaways are mainly done by the owners or developers of a new cryptocurrency. It’s easy to get coins for free or after collecting small tasks. Sometimes you might need to pay a small fee, but most of them come for free – and who doesn’t like free income? However, not every crypto airdrop is worth your time, even though it’s for free and looks legit.

This is why you need to know correctly about this free method of acquiring some cryptocurrencies.

What is a crypto airdrop?

A cryptocurrency airdrop is simply a free mass distribution of new or exciting cryptocurrencies to the public after completing a minor or no task. This is usually done as a marketing or promotional stunt for a new coin, where a small portion of the coins are sent to a qualified wallet address. These coins are compensation for completing tasks like retweeting, reposting a link, joining a telegram group, or following a social media page.

For instance, promoters of the BitRewards (BIT) cryptocurrency organized airdrops for the public in 2018. People interested in the airdrop were tasked to join the BitRewards Telegram group and follow their official Twitter account to get 640 BIT tokens worth about $10 each. The airdrop was meant for only 15,000 people, and participants had an opportunity to earn more BIT for referring their friends.

Crypto airdrops are mainly carried out to promote a coin or increase its interaction. Existing coins can also organize airdrops only for their existing users or holders. Most airdrops are usually claimed for free, but sometimes you might need to pay a transaction fee to claim the coins you have gotten.

Types of crypto airdrops

The goals of every crypto airdrop are either to promote a new coin, or boost engagement around an existing coin. As a crypto user, your main interest is to gain profits from the airdrop. However, it’s essential to know the types of crypto airdrops available.

1. Standard Airdrops

A standard crypto airdrop involves the transfer of small portions of the crypto to wallet addresses for free. You must sign up with the platform organizing the airdrop and then provide a wallet that will be used to receive the coins during free distribution. This is usually a marketing strategy to promote the brand and create awareness for more people to adopt the cryptocurrency.

2. Bounty Airdrops

This type of crypto airdrop is more like a trade-by-barter system. You can’t benefit from Bounty Airdrops without completing a promotional task for the owners. These tasks could include: joining a telegram or discord group, retweeting a post from their Twitter page, sharing a referral link to your friends, and many more. Unlike standard Airdrops, Bounty airdrops require you to work.

3. Exclusive airdrops

An exclusive airdrop cannot be given to loyal members or users of a crypto platform. These types of airdrops are not meant for everyone, even if you’re already a platform member. Instead, you gain it as a reward for your loyalty and engagement in the project.

4. Holder Airdrops

As the name implies, these cryptocurrency airdrops are distributed only to users with coins or tokens. The promoters or owners of such coins usually release some of their coins for free so holders can claim them.

Pros and Cons

With crypto airdrops, everybody looks like a winner, as the coin or token will get known, and the participants get rewarded. But there is also a downside to this concept which is always disastrous, especially for the participants. Below are some of the pros and cons of crypto airdrops.

Pros

  • Crypto airdrops are good marketing and promotional strategies for crypto projects.
  • Airdrops serve as a way of earning cryptos for free.
  • Participating in airdrops allows you to key into a crypto project at an early stage and earn massively from it.

Cons

  • Participants can fall victim to scam airdrops when paying some money to claim their rewards.
  • Some crypto airdrops use the pump and dump scheme, which means that the high price of the coin will fall after getting enough participants.
  • There’s a risk of releasing your details into the platform of scam airdrops.

How to identify crypto airdrop scams and avoid them

The cryptocurrency world always comes up with intelligent ways to take money from you through crypto scammers. These people are ready to stay up to develop new scam patterns throughout the night. There are many ways to scam you out of your hard-earned money, and crypto airdrops can be used for such. But here’s how you can identify these airdrop scams and avoid them.

How to identify crypto airdrop scams

  1. It’s a Google Form – although some legit crypto airdrops are filled using Google forms, be careful when participating in such airdrops. Engaging in an airdrop from the project's official website is better.

  2. Grammatical and spelling errors – as simple as this sounds, most scam projects try to clone existing airdrops by changing the spelling of their names.

  3. Linked to new or unofficial social media accounts – every legit airdrop will always have a link to their official website on their social media pages. Always look out for such pages in any airdrop.

  4. Asking for a high amount to withdraw – unless you’ve enough money to spare or the airdrop is from a verified project, don’t pay any money to remove your rewards.

How to avoid crypto airdrop scams

  • Do not input your private wallet keys into a form, group, or website.
  • Always check for spelling errors – for instance, Bltcoin is not Bitcoin.
  • Always do your research before participating in any crypto airdrop.

How to identify legitimate crypto airdrops and earn for free

Before you invest your time or money in an airdrop, look out for the following to determine its legitimacy:

  1. Doesn’t ask for private keys – no legitimate crypto airdrop will ever ask for your wallet's private keys. These codes allow you to access your wallet, and misplacing them means you won’t be able to use your crypto wallet again. So giving such private details to someone else is a wrong move.

  2. Easy withdrawal process – if the airdrop is from a legitimate project, then the rewards will be easy to withdraw. Always confirm that the withdrawal process is easy and doesn’t ask you to pay any fee.

  3. The project or coin popularity – although new legit crypto airdrops can be seen, it’s advisable to participate in well-known projects. This will reduce your chances of getting scammed because many people already trust them.

  4. No Phishing emails – legitimate crypto airdrops will never promote their projects through emails but through their social media pages. Always run away from emails telling you to click a link to participate in an airdrop.

How to earn free cryptos airdrops

  • Search for them online Some websites like Icomarks.com, Coinmarketcap.com, and Airdrops.io provide information on the latest crypto airdrops. Checking such sites will be a great way to know about any airdrop and participate in it.

  • Participating in tasks This is usually the only way you can earn some cryptocurrencies through airdrops. Joining an airdrop project won’t be enough unless you complete tasks like inviting friends, retweeting, joining groups, etc.

Conclusion

Signing up for crypto airdrops can be an easy way to earn cryptocurrencies. It can be an easy way to take your hard-earned money. So if you wish to participate in an airdrop, ensure it’s safe using the steps listed above. Know the signs of legitimate and illegitimate crypto airdrops.