#### What is a Crypto Airdrop?
A crypto airdrop is a marketing strategy used by blockchain projects to distribute free tokens to the community. The primary goal is to promote the project, increase awareness, and expand the user base. Recipients typically receive these tokens in their wallets for free, often in exchange for simple tasks or as rewards for holding certain other cryptocurrencies.
Types of Airdrops
1. Standard Airdrops: Tokens are distributed freely to wallet addresses that hold specific cryptocurrencies. For example, holders of Ethereum might receive tokens from a new project building on the Ethereum blockchain.
2. **Bounty Airdrops**: Users perform specific tasks like joining a Telegram group, tweeting about the project, or writing a blog post. After completing these tasks, they receive tokens as rewards.
3. **Holder Airdrops**: Tokens are distributed to users who hold a certain amount of a specific cryptocurrency at a snapshot date. For instance, Ripple (XRP) holders received Spark (FLR) tokens based on their XRP balance.
4. **Exclusive Airdrops**: Reserved for users who are part of specific communities or have been early supporters of a project.
5. **Fork Airdrops**: Occur when a blockchain forks, and the holders of the original coin receive an equivalent amount in the new forked coin. A notable example is the Bitcoin CashBitcoin CashBitcoin Cash (BCH) fork from Bitcoin (BTC).
#### Examples of Successful Airdrops
1. **Uniswap (UNI)**: In September 2020, Uniswap airdropped 400 UNI tokens to every user who had used the platform. This airdrop was worth several thousand dollars at its peak.
2. **Stellar (XLM)**: Stellar conducted a large airdrop, distributing 2 billion XLM to users, significantly boosting its adoption and community engagement.
3. **dYdX (DYDX)**: The decentralized exchange airdropped DYDX tokens to its users, rewarding them based on their historical trading volume on the platform.