GlossaryBeginner
Airdrop
A free distribution of tokens, often to reward early users or promote a project.
An airdrop is a distribution of free tokens to a group of wallet addresses, often used to reward early users of a protocol, build awareness for a new project, or decentralize a token's initial ownership.
Airdrops can carry both opportunity and risk: a legitimate airdrop may have real value, but scammers also use fake airdrops to trick people into approving malicious contracts or revealing sensitive information.
Examples
- A protocol might airdrop its new governance token to wallets that used the platform before its launch.
- Receiving tokens from an unknown airdrop can itself be a taxable event in some jurisdictions.