The total value of crypto airdrops valued at their ATH prices have increased from 2020 to 2022, from $7.28 billion to $7.46 billion. Notably, Bonk (BONK), launched in late 2022, surged to its ATH of $0.000025 in December 2023, swiftly securing a spot in the top 10 of the largest crypto airdrops.
In 2023, the total value of crypto airdrops hit $4.56 billion at their ATH, or only 61.1% of the value of crypto airdrops in 2022. However, it's crucial to consider that many tokens introduced during this period are relatively new to the market. Unlike tokens launched from 2020 to 2022, these newer tokens in 2023 have yet to experience a significant bull market surge in prices, such as the 2021 bull market followed by the 2022 NFT bull market.
Crypto Airdrops in 2023:
13 out of 50 crypto airdrops in 2023 made it to the top 50, distributing $4.56 billion worth of tokens valued at their ATH prices.
Arbitrum (ARB) is the biggest crypto airdrop in 2023, distributing $1.97 billion worth of $ARB on March 23, 2023, valued at its ATH token price of $1.69. Notably, Arbitrum's crypto airdrop is 2.9 times bigger than its closest competitor, Optimism (OP), which distributed $0.67 billion worth of $OP on May 31, 2022. The Arbitrum ecosystem thrived in anticipation of $ARB crypto airdrop, where its total value locked (TVL) increased by 147.2% from $1.49 billion on January 1, 2023, to its peak of $3.68 billion on May 6, 2023.
Celestia (TIA) is the second biggest crypto airdrop in 2023, distributing $0.73 billion worth of $TIA on October 31, 2023, valued at its ATH token price of $13.99. In contrast to other crypto airdrops, the $TIA crypto airdrop did not include ‘farming’ mechanisms. Instead, the $TIA crypto airdrop targeted specific beneficiaries: developers and researchers contributing to public goods and essential protocol infrastructure, the most active users on Ethereum rollups, and stakers and IBC relayers associated with Cosmos Hub and Osmosis.
