Strive for Excellence: A Guide for Airdrop Catchers
The criteria for the project party to conduct airdrop level screening must be based on rarity, and the purpose of the screening is to perform "level classification" for users.Author: Tiga, Evelyn, W3.Hitchhiker
The Logic of Airdrops
Before issuing tokens, airdrops are a tool for project teams to attract users. When tokens are issued, it is a "free" marketing campaign created by the project team. Based on a small sample size from current data, generous project teams often have strong backgrounds, and the token prices tend to perform well after the airdrop. In contrast, stingy project teams usually see unsatisfactory token prices post-airdrop.
The rules for airdrops have gradually shifted from being equal for all to a tiered distribution method. For project teams, all user activities can be seen as a label; however, among the many labels, only users with rare labels can receive substantial airdrops.
The issuance price of the token at launch and the total proportion of tokens to be distributed are predetermined by the project team. The team sets various rules to filter potential airdrop users and categorizes them into corresponding airdrop "levels" to fill the total airdrop quota. All user behaviors serve merely as tags for classifying user levels, with higher levels yielding larger airdrop amounts.
For users, choice is more important than effort. Generally speaking, the greater the potential of the project's sector, the more funding it receives, and the better the prospects, the easier it is for them to make money, leading to greater cash flow. Consequently, the likelihood of the project issuing large airdrops increases. If users engage in rarer interactions on this basis, they are more likely to receive higher token airdrop allocations.
Insights from Several Typical Airdrops
ENS Airdrop
First, ENS domain names are themselves NFTs with an expiration date. Domain NFTs have three attributes: registration duration, remaining expiration duration, and whether reverse resolution is enabled. The ENS airdrop is calculated based on these three attributes, with the formula being the number of airdrops received by the user = (ENS domain holding days × 0.27 + remaining expiration days × 0.067) × reverse resolution coefficient (if reverse resolution is not enabled, the weight is 1; if enabled, the weight is 2). According to Dune data, a summary of users who have received the ENS airdrop shows that the cumulative user proportion and cumulative token proportion present an exponential function graph.
dYdX Airdrop
As a contract DEX, dYdX's airdrop method is primarily based on the number of trades by users. The total number of users receiving the airdrop: 64,540. dYdX categorizes users into 6 tiers based on trading volume. The lower the user level, the larger the proportion of users at that level, and the smaller the share of airdrops received.
OP Airdrop
As an L2 (public chain), OP's airdrop method is set with 6 conditions; the more conditions met, the larger the airdrop amount. The conditions include:
OP Users: At least two uses of OP with an interval of more than 24 hours between trades.
Repeat Users: Used OP in 4 different weeks [TOP 20%].
DAO Voter: Participated in DAO governance voting.
Multi-sig signers: Multi-signature users.
Gitcoin Donors (L1): Users who donated on the mainnet.
Users Priced out of Ethereum.
According to OP's data, only 2,707 users met 4 conditions, 627 users met 5 conditions, and only 45 users met all 6 conditions. In terms of token airdrop distribution, OP officially provided most users with a basic guarantee while also rewarding deeply engaged users significantly. The gap in airdrop amounts between users with different levels of participation is substantial, showing an overall exponential difference.
Insights Gained from ENS, dYdX, and OP Airdrops
In these three typical large airdrops, each project has distinct highlights:
ENS is easy to profit from, with almost no cost and no competitors.
OP and dYdX have substantial funding, a leading industry position, and broad market prospects.
It is these highlights that provide the confidence to issue large airdrops to a wide user base.
From the perspective of airdrop distribution, a potential pattern can be observed: the number of token airdrops among user groups shows exponential differences (as illustrated by the three graphs above).
Starting rewards: rank 0% --- 80% of users receive about 50% of the total tokens.
Intermediate rewards: rank 80% --- 90% of users receive about 10% of the total tokens.
Highest rewards: TOP 10% of users receive about 40% of the total tokens.
The author also investigated several other projects, which also exhibited this pattern. For project teams:
Distributing starting rewards to the broadest user base is the most direct feedback to these users and serves as the marketing fee paid by the project to the community.
Distributing intermediate rewards to a small portion of users in the middle is a response from the project team to support these core contributors.
Distributing the highest rewards to the TOP 10% of users is the project team's gratitude and respect for these deeply engaged users.
From the perspective of maximizing airdrop benefits, each level increase in one's account can yield several times the airdrop rewards. For ordinary users, creating a high-quality account will yield far greater airdrop returns than managing many accounts with average participation.
Thoughts on Future Airdrops
Future airdrops will certainly become increasingly competitive; the number of users participating in starting rewards will grow, leading to a situation where there are more wolves than meat, and each user's share will be diluted. To obtain higher-level airdrop rewards, users will need to have more scarce "on-chain footprints," striving to have what others do not and to excel in what others have, aiming to make their address a TOP 10% or TOP 20%. The criteria for project teams to conduct airdrop level filtering will certainly be based on rarity, and the purpose of filtering is also to classify users into "levels."
These rare conditions can include a sufficient number of transactions, transaction amounts, or time intervals between transactions (this sufficiency is a relative concept, such as being in the TOP 10% of the crowd); they can also include certain NFTs (including OAT or POAP). In the future, the frequency and weight of airdrops based on NFTs, OATs, and POAPs will certainly increase. Currently, roles in Discord do not seem to have much impact on airdrops.
In summary, participate more in projects to ensure you can receive starting rewards. For good projects, at least have one significant highlight and engage deeply. For projects with multiple highlights, grow alongside the project. Users who engage in multiple accounts for airdrops should weigh the time, effort, and returns between obtaining multiple starting rewards and cultivating one high-quality account. A good project's token issuance cycle will be relatively long, and users need to maintain patience and rationality, with the most important thing being to continuously experience Dapps.
Conclusion
- Assess whether a project has, or will have the opportunity to have (including but not limited to):
Significant funding amounts.
Broad sector prospects.
The ability to make money effortlessly.
A very leading market position.
- Determine which behaviors exhibit clear differentiation and rarity (including but not limited to):
Limited edition NFTs from the project team (OAT, POAP).
Gitcoin donations.
Sufficiently large interaction amounts.
Sufficiently large interaction counts.
Characteristics brought by the project's product features.
Fully experiencing all functions of the project.
- Most importantly:
Continuously explore and experience Dapps, stay curious and persistent.
Do not feel anxious because others become wealthy from airdrops, the flow does not rush ahead, but flows continuously.
Become an address in the TOP 20% or above to receive more airdrops.
