Foreword

In recent years, an increasing number of cryptocurrency airdrops have brought substantial returns to early participants. Social media platforms are often filled with news about people rushing to complete tasks and farming airdrops. Whenever a project holds an airdrop, there are always accounts proclaiming overnight successes and wealth. But what exactly can we do to get a cryptocurrency airdrop like this group of people? This course will provide you with the practical skills necessary to acquire cryptocurrency airdrops.

Before you continue reading, we would like to declare that all contents provided in this course are for informational purposes only. Our aim is to educate people, introduce knowledge, and share information and experiences, and do not provide any form of investment advice. The cryptocurrency market carries high risks, and the prices may fluctuate significantly influenced by various factors such as the latest news, government policies, market demands, etc. Please be sure to carefully assess the risks before deciding whether to participate.

How to Get Airdrops

• Own a cryptocurrency wallet
  If someone offers to send you a sum of money today, it usually does not mean physical banknotes or coins. Instead, you will need to provide your bank account, allowing the sender to transfer the payment to this account.

Cryptocurrencies exist as ledger records on blockchain and cannot be distributed like traditional money. The process of distributing cryptocurrencies is similar to bank transfers: you will need to have a wallet address to receive the transfer of cryptocurrencies from others.

A cryptocurrency wallet is a device or application software that allows you to store and manage cryptocurrencies. It holds your private and public keys, as well as passwords to use cryptocurrency assets. Your cryptocurrency wallet must support the blockchain network associated with the airdrop tokens you wish to claim. For example, if the airdrop is on the Ethereum or Solana network, your wallet must support those networks to receive the tokens.

• Get airdrop info
  Not all cryptocurrency projects provide airdrops, so you need appropriate sources and information to hunt for upcoming airdrops or potential projects that may conduct airdrops in the near future.

Blockchain projects usually announce information about airdrop events on social media, blogs, email boxes, or other platforms, but it is also possible that by the time you know about the airdrop, it may have already ended. Therefore, discovering potential airdrop events is key to successfully participating.

• Meet the airdrop conditions
  Typically, you must meet specific conditions to be eligible for a cryptocurrency airdrop. These conditions can vary depending on the project, but some common conditions include:

1. Following or joining the project’s community on social media platforms (such as Twitter, Discord, Telegram, Instagram, etc.).

2. Commenting, liking, and sharing the project’s posts with designated tags.

3. Using a particular platform/service or making a transaction.

4. Providing personal email and subscribing to newsletters.

5. Participating in online AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions/quizzes with prizes, or providing personal creations.
   Even for airdrops where the project party requires no tasks to be completed, you still need to provide your wallet address to the project party, ensuring that the tokens are correctly airdropped to you. For other airdrops, users are required to claim the tokens on a designated website within a certain period.

You can view the transaction history of your wallet on the blockchain browser. If the token balance doesn’t appear in your wallet after you have already claimed the airdrop, you may need to manually add the custom token to your wallet using the token’s contract address.

Popular Tools Explained

• Metamask
  Metamask is a decentralized wallet based on Ethereum. Users can download the web browser extension or install the mobile app to access dApp services and wallet tokens on the blockchain.

In addition to the ability to create and import multiple wallet addresses, Metamask also supports various Layer 2 blockchains, allowing you to easily switch between different blockchain networks (such as the mainnet, testnet, or custom networks) by setting up the custom RPC.

Each Metamask wallet has a unique recovery phrase, which is crucial for accessing the private key of the wallet and is therefore very important. Losing the recovery phrase or disclosing it to others can result in the loss of cryptocurrency assets.

Read more: What Is MetaMask?

• The Airdrop Trio (Gmail, Twitter, and Discord)
  Most airdrop projects require users to participate in community activities or verify via email. The most common services used for this purpose are Gmail, Twitter, and Discord, which are widely used for getting airdrops in the crypto space.

Accounts for these three services enable users to interact with and contribute to the community on social media platforms, thereby obtaining the eligibility to get token rewards from the project team or whitelist access to NFTs.

The following matters should be paid particular attention to when using the Airdrop Trio:

1. The Gmail account needs to be sufficiently active and have secure passwords to avoid being classified as unused by Google or becoming the target of malicious actors.

2. The Twitter account is recommended to follow some key opinion leaders (KOLs), make posts, and interact with others on the platform to avoid being flagged as bots or part of a click-farming campaign.

3. The Discord account should actively participate in discussions and community activities. It is important to comply with community guidelines and refrain from spamming or harassing behavior to avoid being blocked or removed from the group.

• VPN service
  A VPN service allows users to hide their real IP addresses and connect to the network through different servers. By connecting to the Internet through a VPN server, users can change the source of their network traffic, making it appear as if they are accessing the Internet with IP addresses from different countries or regions.

Using a VPN server can be useful for circumventing restrictions imposed by websites or projects based in specific countries, allowing users to access content that may otherwise be unavailable to them.

• Crypto airdrop sources
  If you’re unsure about which projects are holding (or will hold) airdrops and don’t want to miss out on them, you may refer to platforms that aggregate information on publicly announced airdrop events.

Airdrops.io is a well-known platform providing information on cryptocurrency airdrops. Users can explore new projects and complete specified tasks to obtain eligibility.

Other similar airdrop aggregation sites include airdropbob, Airdrops.live, Alpha Drops, DropsEarn, airdropking, ICOmarks, EarniFi, Airdrop Alert, and Cosmos Airdrop specifically for the Cosmos mainnet.

• Token search
  If you are new to blockchain projects, there must be many unfamiliar aspects that you want to explore in depth. You may try searching on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko, both of which provide a vast number of cryptocurrencies for users to search and filter.

How to Find Valuable Airdrop Projects

Not all cryptocurrency airdrops are worth participating in, as some may be scams, lack growth potential, enjoy less attention from the public, or offer low returns. When there is limited time and resources, it’s important to adopt appropriate methods to screen airdrop tokens and evaluate their prospects.

• Cryptocurrency community
  Learning to use social media platforms, such as Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, Discord, WeChat, Facebook, Line, etc., is an essential part of participating in crypto projects. Information on high-quality projects’ upcoming airdrops often circulates in cryptocurrency communities, so it can be helpful to follow the information in the community and exchange insights with other members. However, it should be noted that fraudulent gangs and bots may infiltrate these groups. Therefore, be vigilant when looking for airdrop projects to avoid being deceived.

• Market trends
  It will be helpful to discover some innovative and influential airdrops by keeping an eye on indicators such as mainstream sectors, award-winning hackathon projects, Gitcoin-supported projects, and investment research institutions’ reports. Examples of such sectors include NFTs, DeFi, GameFi, Web3, social, privacy, Layer 2, meme, storage, AI, metaverse, and more. Different sectors may gain popularity at different times, so seeking for projects that have gained significant traction but have not yet launched their own tokens can be an effective filtering method.

• Blockchain services and tools
  Blockchain metrics and data often reflect market demand and trends. Therefore, utilizing information aggregation platforms like DefiLlama, Dappradar, and Messari can help you identify projects with strong potential. If you find a project that ranks very high on various on-chain data platforms but has not yet launched its native token, don’t hesitate to check whether there is an airdrop possibility!

• Endorsement by well-known investment institutions
  Determining the value and potential of a project can often be inferred by how many endorsements it receives from investment institutions. Projects that can successfully raise funds without publicly launching their tokens typically possess innovation, feasibility, and market prospects. Therefore, following data on ICOAnalytics and CRYPTO fundraising to see which teams are being supported by investment institutions will help you uncover little-known but promising projects. These investment teams usually have rich experience and can rigorously screen and evaluate projects.

Costs and Risks of Airdrop Farming

While claiming airdrop tokens may appear to be a risk-free opportunity, it actually entails certain costs and risks. Before deciding to participate in an airdrop, it’s important to consider various factors, including:

• Gas fees and dApp service fees
  If the conditions for claiming the airdrop involve interactions with the blockchain mainnet and smart contracts, users who want to get the airdrop tokens need to pay gas fees and dApp service fees. When a large number of users flood the blockchain network, it can become congested, leading to a surge in gas fees and DApp service fees. These expenses accrue over time and could result in a loss if the value of the airdrop tokens is not sufficient to offset the costs.

• Consumption of time and energy
  To obtain airdrop tokens, you will need to spend time finding and analyzing various projects while completing specified tasks. Even simple tasks such as retweeting, inviting friends, or signing up for an account will consume a lot of your time and energy. It’s important to avoid your work or personal life being negatively impacted by farming airdrops.

• Smart contract vulnerabilities and fraud
  Airdrop farming often involves interactions with different smart contracts, which may have vulnerabilities, errors, or malicious codes, resulting in the loss of users’ funds. In addition, there are also fraudulent projects that masquerade as airdrops to collect user privacy information or start a Ponzi scheme.

• Counterattacks by project teams
  The project team has absolute control over the distribution of airdrop tokens. Users participating in airdrops must bear the risk of trust. In the worst-case scenario, they may not only fail to get the tokens but also become victims of counterattacks by the project team. For example, the project team can raise the threshold, set the whitelist, require participants to purchase other goods and services in exchange for their tokens, or impose lock-up periods to reduce circulation. Then the project team can short the futures on exchanges and dump a large number of tokens, causing a price crash. They may also modify smart contracts to prohibit or delay the withdrawal and redemption of airdrop tokens.

Batch Automation

If you already have a good understanding of cryptocurrency airdrops and clearly understand the relevant risks, you may want to step further to become a professional airdrop hunter to earn a significant amount of tokens. To make this come true, you will need to automate the airdrop process and handle it in batches.

• Batch generation tools
  Necessary airdrop farming tools include wallet addresses of different blockchain projects, the airdrop trio (Gmail, Twitter, and Discord), and account batch generation tools for specific communities or services. For example, those who want to obtain a large number of Metamask wallet addresses may use tools like Profanity. There are also platforms that sell the airdrop trio, and the cost of one set of accounts is about $1. If you have a large number of accounts (for example, over 1,000 sets) ready for airdrop farming, it is not suitable to register and manage them one by one. But on the other hand, you should be aware that batch-generation tools and accounts bought online may have security issues.

• Scripting tools
  It is impractical to manually perform a large number of repetitive operations. Participating in airdrops in batch requires the use of scripting tools to perform a series of tasks such as registration, clicking on the screen, entering information, submitting forms, etc. Typically, pre-existing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software is used to execute these tasks. The service provider will charge a fee based on the number of operations performed by the robot and install the AI captcha plug-in. For certain operations, users may need to write frontend scripts in JavaScript or Python to achieve automation. However, please note that the use of scripting tools may violate the terms of service of the project. Therefore, be sure to check relevant information and comply with local laws and regulations before participating in airdrop farming.

• Gas fee monitoring tools
  Transferring tokens and interacting with smart contracts on the blockchain requires paying gas fees. The rising gas fees will increase the cost of airdrop farming, but gas fee monitoring tools will help you to avoid incurring additional expenses during operations.

What Is a Sybil Attack?

A sybil attack refers to the behavior of individuals trying to control the network by creating multiple accounts and nodes or utilizing multiple computers.

When hunting for airdrops, users can use multiple different wallet addresses (creating multiple fake identities) on the same blockchain network to get more airdrop rewards from a single project.

Airdrop hunter and zombie accounts will reduce the fairness and effectiveness of airdrops, resulting in that users who are really interested and contributed will not be rewarded as they should be.

Furthermore, users who engage in airdrop hunting often sell their tokens immediately after the tokens are listed, which creates significant selling pressure for market makers and hinders the long-term development of the project. Therefore, project teams typically employ detection tools to filter out airdrop hunters and cancel their rewards.

• Avoid correlation between wallets and ensure authenticity
  The Arbitrum Foundation cooperated with Nansen, an on-chain data platform, to filter out more than 70% of addresses from a snapshot of 2.3 million wallets and disqualify them from receiving airdrops. This move came as a terrible blow to those who value quantity over quality. The most critical factor for their disqualification lies in the correlation between different wallets and the non-authenticity of their operations. For example, if 400 wallets were found to ultimately deposit funds into the same FTX wallet address, then whether the 400 wallets belong to 400 different individuals or to the same person. Additionally, dozens of wallets have been identified engaging in regular stablecoin swap transactions with each trade amounting to 1 USD, and the balances of these wallets are nearly identical. The question arises whether these wallets are controlled by real people or automated bots.

From this, we can see that the core of airdrop farming lies not in managing a large number of accounts automatically but in preventing correlation between wallets and ensuring authenticity, making it difficult for the project party to determine whether the wallet addresses belong to real users or cheating studios. Airdrop hunters typically employ techniques such as fingerprint browsers, independent proxy IPs, building a VPS environment, randomizing scheduling for on-chain interactions, and using exchanges that support multiple sub-account addresses to deposit and withdraw funds. These tactics make the record of airdrop wallets appear genuine, allowing them to evade detection by sybil attacks.

Standardized Management and Process Optimization

If you already understand the process of getting an airdrop and how to automate it in batches, you can already establish your own airdrop studio. However, engaging in airdrop farming does not guarantee profitability. The principle of running a studio is similar to that of running an enterprise. In order to survive in the highly competitive market, you must reduce costs and increase profits. Therefore, standardized management and strategy optimization are essential for becoming a professional airdrop hunter.

The operational process of airdrop farming can be divided into three stages:

1. Market research
   You need to look for potential airdrop projects and evaluate whether there will be airdrops by studying project information, whitepapers, community updates, investment institutions, and products and services. You will also need to estimate the costs and potential returns on investment.

1. Environmental setup
   This includes setting up wallets, depositing gas fees, configuring the airdrop trio (Gmail, Twitter, and Discord), writing scripts, managing the system, implementing risk control measures, and employing other suitable automation tools. After deciding on the airdrop project to participate in, you need to make sufficient preparations to ensure the smooth completion of various airdrop tasks.

1. Scheduling
   When everything is ready, the wallets can start executing various on-chain operations. The time required to schedule the airdrop may vary depending on when the project party may become popular or announce token issuance. It could take a few weeks to several months, or even more than a year.

After understanding the resources and manpower required in each stage, you can develop standard operating procedures (SOP) and optimize the workflow to improve the operational efficiency of your airdrop studio. For example, you can prepare a management spreadsheet to manage the cost of each wallet when performing different interactions:

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Conclusion

This lesson introduces best practices for participating in cryptocurrency airdrops. Now you have gained a deep understanding of how to get airdrops, including information sources, popular tools, project discovery techniques, risk and cost analysis, as well as some automation and management expertise. Although everyone wants their wallet to get high-value token airdrops, they still need to pay attention to the risks involved in cryptocurrency airdrops, as well as the legal issues that may arise from airdrop farming.

Finally, it is important to note that all the content provided in this course is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. The security of any operations cannot be guaranteed, and we do not encourage users to actively participate in airdrops. All actions taken to participate in airdrops are the sole responsibility of the individual user, and the platform does not assume any financial or legal responsibility.

Highlights
Users must have a cryptocurrency wallet and meet the airdrop conditions to be eligible for an airdrop.
The airdrop trio refers to Gmail, Twitter, and Discord accounts. Metamask is a commonly-used, decentralized wallet in the Ethereum ecosystem.
There are many cryptocurrency information platforms that can be used to find blockchain projects that may hold airdrops in the near future.
Analyzing cryptocurrency communities’ updates, market trends, investment amounts of institutions, and on-chain indicators will help identify high-value airdrop opportunities.
Completing airdrop tasks through on-chain wallets comes with costs and risks, including gas fees, time costs, smart contract vulnerabilities, and potential scams.
If you want to farm airdrops in large quantities, you will need to use automated scripts and other auxiliary tools, as well as implement standardized management and process optimization to improve efficiency. However, it may also be perceived as a sybil attack by project teams and deprived of participation eligibility.

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