Airdrop farming still retains user activity on marketing tasks and on-chain transactions, as a source of tokens to potentially break out. Several tokenless protocols are showing farming activity, leading to a potential airdrop in H2.
Airdrop farming has been a contentious issue in 2024, both as a source of earnings for early adopters and as a target for Sybill attacks. Despite this, the users of major protocols still show eagerness to finally receive the airdrop.
Some projects are reluctant to put a strict deadline on their airdrop, to encourage more on-chain activity. For leading tokenless protocols, the target is an airdrop at any moment by the end of 2024.
Airdrops to Watch for in H2 2024
-Linea @LineaBuild
-Berachain🐻⛓️ @berachain
-Scroll @Scroll_ZKP
-Karak🍊 @Karak_Network
-Grass @getgrass_io
-Initia🪢 @initiaFDN
-Fuel @fuel_network
-Eclipse @EclipseFND
-Zora @zora
-Farcaster @farcaster_xyzWhich one are you farming?
— Token Metrics (@tokenmetricsinc) August 9, 2024
Tokenless protocols like Linea expect an asset launch, while others like Ethena (ENA) and EigenLayer (EIGEN) have hinted at a second season of airdrops. Other high-profile products with an airdrop include the Hamster Kombat Telegram game. Karak Network is among the passive airdrop projects, promising tokens for the users currently engaged in staking.
Zora is also among the long-awaited airdrops, which is already confirmed. The airdrop already picked the ZRTK ticker and set out the farming rules. Gaining a ZRTK airdrop in H2 will depend on interaction with the Zora protocol and trading the Limitless NFT collection. Zora has one of the most complex set of tasks and quests, with some requiring significant investment in time and gas fees for bridging.
Airdrop promises are especially important for tokenless protocols that also want to gain a community of users. While some airdrops are promised for off-chain activities, others require interactions with smart contracts, giving more exact data on wallets engaging with the protocol.
The final effect of airdrops varies depending on a project’s utility. Earlier airdrops to the community, such as Uniswap, led to the redistribution of assets. Others, like ZKSync, led to the price crash of the new token after impersonation and wallet clusters were discovered.
Airdrops rely on marketing tasks and on-chain activity
In H2 2024, the hottest airdrops based on promotions feature Karak, Blast, Mantle and Hyperliquid. Base is also among the widely mentioned platforms, raising questions on its dedication to remaining tokenless.
Other types of airdrops show on-chain signs of highly active farming. Recent data shows peak growth for otherwise obscure projects.
Top on-chain airdrop farming protocols include Allo Protocol, Palioal, Masa and Hedgey Finance. But users are also returning to Ethena Labs and Eigen Layer, almost doubling the on-chain activity in the past days.
On-chain activity shows that some of the most active protocols are Layer3 and Cubes, with a total of 10K farmers between them. Airdrop farming on the various active chains is less volatile compared to bonus tokens or marketing farming.
Airdrops face scams and rising fees
Airdrops in 2024 followed several strong seasons, during which users received high-value tokens. Tier 1 airdrops included Arbitrum (ARB) and multiple blue-chip NFTs and tokens. The current competition is for a handful of high-profile projects, setting the expectation for future gains.
One of the first problems with airdrops are malicious links that drain wallets when connected for a token claim. Wallet drainers also evolved to reject new wallets with no history on the blockchain.
The other problem is the rising costs of airdrops, with little guarantee on receiving equal or higher value tokens. After being disappointed, users also abandon some projects, as there are no more incentives. Other users spend significant sums in gas fees or NFT purchases, only to be left with a minimal share of new tokens. In some cases, projects use airdrop mining to boost liquidity. In the case of Eigen Layer, this required a significant investment in staking in order to receive points for the airdrop.
Airdrop mechanisms may also change and require multiple tasks. Most new airdrop projects aim to offer tasks that cannot be gamed or easily done with robots. In some cases, users can face a long list of tasks and be disqualified when not focusing on some of them. Newer projects go beyond simple tasks and offer a point system, which can shed some light on the potential value of the airdrop.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Hristina Vasileva
