My 6 key takeaways from @Axel_bitblaze69's thread on the current state of airdrops:
1. The Airdrop Meta is Always Changing
Arbitrum-style strategies don't cut it anymore.
Spamming transactions and volume were useless for the zkSync airdrop.
Now, projects like Linea and Scroll prioritize liquidity over transactions and smart contract interactions.
There's no fixed formula to secure an airdrop. Otherwise, it'll be too easy and everyone would qualify for the max allocation.
Which ultimately means that everyone gets a lower piece of the pie.
We don't know the rules of each airdrop until they are announced, so we just have to cover all bases.
2. Rank Checkers are Useless
Every project has the right to choose how they want to allocate their airdrop, and this is the game we are playing.
The rules are never fair, and it's impossible to get every airdrop.
Rank checkers and Dune dashboards are useful for checking wallet participation in an airdrop campaign.
But the metrics used by projects to define a 'real user' could be something that's not detectable on a dashboard.
Stat-padding your wallet may not be the best approach to get a good allocation.
3. Narrow Your Focus if You Have Limited Funds
Airdrops may seem unfair to users with low liquidity, but you just need to play your cards right.
Swapping $0.26 on Jupiter gave me 200 JUP.
Staking $0.30 stETH on Eigenlayer gave me 100 EIGEN.
If you have limited funds, the best approach is to laser-focus on a few strong convictions you have.
Unless you can afford more time to get exposed to testnet airdrops, which 90% of the time has been underwhelming.
Otherwise, you're spreading yourself too thin and the returns you get per project would be disappointing.
4. Do the Tasks That No One Does
There are hidden gems that raised a decent amount of funds, but no one interacts with them.
These projects usually have what I call a high 'perceived friction'.
They have a high barrier to entry with tasks that are more complex, so everyone is lazy to do them.
I'll explain this concept more in detail in a future post.
This means you're competing with fewer wallets for the community allocation, so you should get a much higher allocation.
In contrast, doing tasks with low perceived friction means you're overdiluting yourself.
Anyone can do tasks that have a lower barrier to entry, so the community allocation is spread across a larger number of wallets.
That's why I never do airdrops that are purely social task-based, without any on-chain interactions.
These usually disappoint as the bots will overdilute them and you're ultimately wasting your time.
The goldmine is in projects that:
Raised a decent amount of funds
Have a relatively lower number of wallets interacting with them
This is my current approach to airdrops:
Do the tasks that everyone does to get exposure, but don't expect too much
Focus on finding underrated projects with fewer wallets participating and allocate more capital there
If you do the tasks that everyone does, you will be disappointed.
But if you do the tasks that no one does, you have a greater edge.
For more underrated opportunities, follow me @FIP_Crypto.
5. Take Advantage of the Second Round of Airdrops
Remember how everyone said SEI was a dead chain after a disappointing airdrop?
They gave a lucrative drop if you just staked 42 SEI on the network.
Projects know how mercenary capital can be, especially airdrop farmers who rotate their capital to the next tokenless protocol.
So they're starting to award on-chain behavior that indicates loyalty to a project.
E.g. zkSync awarded a multiplier if you held ≥ 50% of your ARB/OP/ENS airdrop for ≥ 90 days after claiming.
As @Axel_bitblaze69 mentioned, Season 2 airdrops could be an underrated strategy.
I left my funds on Parcl since the competition is so low right now.
I'm still using LayerZero organically to send funds to other chains.
(I'm secretly hoping that Bungee/Jumper would integrate Stargate V2 soon with its crazy cheap fees)
Season 2 airdrops are ones where fewer people will participate since many would have moved on to the next protocol.
Since the competition is much lower, the eligibility criteria could be less strict.
So just by interacting with the project organically, you could score a decent drop.
6. Being Early Always Gives You an Edge
The earlier you interact with a project, the more rewards you will receive.
Claiming early user indicators like Discord roles or OATs has proven to be a lucrative strategy for me.
So far, I've made a decent return with these OATs:
Maverick's MAVA OAT
Lista's snBNB Early Adopter OAT
Discord roles are something that I'm not a big fan of, especially if I have to be active on the project's server.
But if the role is linked to an on-chain task, then I prioritize claiming those.
One such project is @InceptionLRT and I received 3 Discord roles by completing this campaign:
The Key TL;DR
Airdrops are not dead, and we need to be smarter.
We are fighting against bots and whales, so we have to find our edge to win big in this competitive landscape.
Huge credit to @Axel_bitblaze69 for the insights, and you can read his thread here:
I've also shared my thoughts on the current state of airdrops below:
