A​ ​crypto airdrop​ ​is​ ​when​ ​a​ ​blockchain project distribute​s free​ ​tokens or​ ​coins to​ ​the cryptocurrency community. Airdrops are a brand new format to distribute tokens in the crypto world. And there’s no standard rules yet. Maybe in the future, with the increasing popularity. But right now, each team offers a different set of rules. Despite a few websites displaying the rules, you may have to contact the developer directly to learn more.

To​ ​be​ ​a​ ​recipient​ ​of​ ​a​ crypto ​airdrop often​ ​the​ ​only​ ​requirement​ ​is​ ​that​ ​you​ ​have​ ​coins from the relevant blockchain stored​ ​in​ ​your​ ​wallet. Other (often smaller) airdrops require social media posts or you need to contact a member of the team on the Bitcointalk forum. This form is gaining more popularity since September 2017.

It’s currently a hype to just fill in a google form with your email, telegram, twitter & wallet address to get free tokens. This format is often used for new crypto projects that are using airdrops as a marketing campaign.

The big question is, why would anybody give away free cryptocurrency? To offer coins for free the people are the product. With doing an airdrop the project creates awareness about their ICO or token. It brings people to the project that otherwise would not have owned or heard about it. It could lead to token price appreciation, since people value a token they own higher than a token they don’t own.

A crypto airdrop would create a community/network of people who own the tokens. If you would list the token distribution after an ICO in a pie graph, a large part of the pie is still owned by the Dev’s or project. Another large part is owned by people who joined a pre-sale. And a reasonable part is owned by people who invested in the ICO.

Essentially, an airdrop adds an extra slice to the pie and that slice will have the most people in it. A crypto airdrop also plants a seed. The seed is planted and whenever you check coinmarketcap and scroll down, the name of the free e-Coin will jump out and people will check how it is doing.

If they see an article that the free e-Token is doing well or bad, they are more likely to click it if they own it or previously have owned it — just like advertising!