Which airdrop has been the most profitable in recent years? TIA, JTO, and BONK have all created significant value.
CoinGecko has compiled a ranking of airdrop values since 2020 based on the all-time high (ATH) prices of various tokens, including recent airdropped tokens such as TIA, JTO, and BLUR, all of which have generated relatively high market values.
This article is not investment advice.
Table of Contents
Ranking of Highest-Value Airdrops
The airdrop scale of Uniswap is unprecedented. On September 16, 2020, in response to Sushiswap's vampire attack strategy, Uniswap distributed 150 million UNI tokens. Calculated at the historical peak price of $42.88, the total value reached $6.43 billion.
With Uniswap's airdrop, it ignited market expectations for DeFi, serving as one of the preludes to the previous bull market.
The second place goes to Apecoin APE. Yuga Labs also airdropped 150 million APE tokens on March 17, 2022. At the highest price of $23.63, the total value of the airdrop was approximately $3.54 billion, rewarding ecosystem participants. Each wallet could receive up to 10,950 APE tokens, equivalent to about $250,000.
The third place belongs to the token airdrop of dYdX, a decentralized perpetual contract exchange. The team airdropped 75 million DYDX tokens on September 8, 2021. At the highest price of $26.8, the total value amounted to around $2 billion.
The total value of the top three airdrop projects, Uniswap, Apecoin, and dYdX, amounted to $11.99 billion, accounting for 45.1% of the top 50 high-value airdrop projects in this analysis.
Analysis of High-Value Airdrop Occurrence Years
Among the top 50 airdrop projects in this report, the distribution of high-value airdrops by year is as follows:
- 2020: 5 airdrops
- 2021: 18 airdrops
- 2022: 14 airdrops
- 2023: 13 airdrops
Although there are fewer high-value airdrops in recent years compared to 2021, the overall average remains relatively stable. This indicates that airdrop opportunities have not disappeared but require more careful searching during bear markets.
However, when measuring by total value, the average total airdrop value from 2020 to 2022 is around $7 billion each, while the total airdrop value in 2023 is only about $4.5 billion, representing 61.1% of the 2022 airdrop value. It is essential to consider that many tokens launched during this period are relatively new and have not experienced price increases in a bull market.
Summary of High-Value Airdrops in 2023
In 2023, there were a total of 13 high-value airdrops:
Arbitrum ARB had the highest-value airdrop in 2023. The team airdropped 1.162 billion ARB tokens on March 23, 2023, with a historical total value reaching $1.97 billion, which is 2.9 times that of its competitor, Optimism OP.
Arbitrum's airdrop performance was outstanding, with Arbitrum airdrop hunters earning $3 million from over a thousand addresses.
The second highest-value airdrop in 2023 was Celestia TIA, with a total value of approximately $728 million. The third place goes to Blur BLUR's airdrop project, which distributed tokens totaling $446 million and $372 million in two separate airdrops. After the second airdrop, the token reached a new all-time high price of $0.64.
The growth in airdrop value this year was mainly concentrated in the second half, with tokens like the recently popular BONK token skyrocketing to a new all-time high of $0.000025 in December, quickly entering the top 10 largest cryptocurrency airdrops. Others, including JTO and TIA tokens, are examples of airdrops in the second half of the year that demonstrated market performance.
Top 50 High-Value Airdrop Projects
As of December 21, 2023, the historical ranking of the top 50 cryptocurrency airdrops, calculated at their all-time high token prices, includes well-known projects within the industry:
Participating in Airdrop Projects with Precision
The primary purpose of this report is not to flaunt wealth or incite market emotions but to serve as a benchmark for readers to objectively assess future token market changes. This can empower individuals with more accurate evaluation capabilities, serving as an essential guide for market participation without overly optimistic speculation.
For readers who are newcomers or may have missed out on the majority of the aforementioned airdrop projects, there is no need to be discouraged. Approaching airdrop activities with the right mindset is sufficient. By actively participating in ecosystem development and using on-chain services based on personal needs as genuine users, project teams will naturally come knocking.
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This article is not investment advice.