Airdrop Hunters: Which Projects Are They Targeting?

The inspiration struck the analysts after they developed a profile of an average airdrop recipient. X-explore has picked out projects that currently don't have their own tokens but have succeeded in drawing the attention of over 25% of premium wallet holders. In other words, these are individuals who've already had the fortune of receiving the five most lucrative airdrops. As a result, the final lineup includes the following projects: Metamask Swap, Foundation, zkSync, Starknet, and DeBank. Additionally, X-explore undertook an analysis of the patterns of engagement displayed by hunters across each of these projects.

MetaMask Swap

This built-in token swap feature within the popular cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask has certainly caught the eye of airdrop hunters. The trading volume as of June 7 tallies up to $191.5 million, with a median value per wallet standing at $1,255, as compared to the $474 average seen amongst regular users. In addition to gathering statistical data, these hunters are also proactively managing risks, focusing their trading on highly liquid stablecoins like USDT, USDC, and DAI, as well as reputable tokens from CoinMarketCap's top 50.

Trading distribution across various crypto categories in MetaMask Swap (%). Source: X-explore's official Mirror account

Foundation

When analyzing data from this NFT platform, the team used a different tactic: instead of looking at average trading volumes, they took a random selection of three airdrop hunters. Out of these, only two had made purchases of non-fungible tokens. X-explore suggests that it's not necessary to place heavy emphasis on trading, like premium wallets do, given that some NFT platforms require only placing bids or opening lots for distributions. Hunters are investing more time into evaluating the prospective value of the project and its capacity to provide a worthwhile airdrop.

zkSync Era

Despite there being two iterations of this L2 solution protocol (Lite, Era), they can be evaluated collectively. This is due to the high likelihood that the developers while defining the airdrop rules, will focus on the activity performed on the main network (Era). Participation in the testing phase of the previous version could be a bonus.

For a more nuanced analysis, the X-explore team once again examined the wallets of three random hunters. They all displayed high transaction volumes ($1,000 and above) but varied in the apps they used (SyncSwap, Mute, SpaceFi), their approach to risk evaluation, and the frequency of their transactions. Consequently, not only are they boosting their chances of getting free tokens in the future, but they're also taking part in the theoretical distribution of other platforms' internal tokens.

StarkNet

Unlike zkSync, airdrop enthusiasts seem less interested in this Layer-2 solution. However, the pattern of engagement closely mirrors the previous project, a likely outcome since both promote Ethereum scaling. For StarkNet's analysis, the team singled out one address: it conducted several ETH/USDT swaps totaling around $1,000 and minted a couple of NFTs. Occasionally, the wallet rekindles its activity with routine transactions, hinting at the gradual build-up of trading volumes over an extended period.

DeBank

In the crypto sphere, there's been widespread chatter over the past year about a forthcoming token from this platform. DeBank offers tools to scrutinize data, manage assets, and assess real-time risks. But unlike other users, airdrop seekers don't interact much with the swapping feature but merely complete the registration process (sign the transaction). They're likely uncertain about the platform's potential airdrop and simply leverage its features for personal ends.

Final Words

Airdrop hunters mainly target well-regarded, trending projects with the sole exception being DeBank. They show a keen interest in Ethereum scaling protocols such as zkSync and StarkNet. This is possibly due to previous successful airdrop experiences from similar projects and the potential to quickly amass trading volumes at minimal costs. But their aim isn't solely to meet the developer's criteria for token distribution. They actively engage with internal apps and adopt measures for risk management.