Airdrops — free token distributions to early users of a protocol — became one of the most lucrative activities in crypto during 2023-2024. Uniswap’s September 2020 airdrop set the template: every address that had used the protocol received at least 400 UNI tokens, worth over $1,200 at launch. Some active users received thousands of dollars worth. The message was clear: using new protocols early could be extremely profitable.
What followed was the rise of “airdrop farming” — the practice of systematically using protocols with the expectation of receiving future token distributions. The most profitable airdrops of 2023-2024 included Arbitrum (ARB, distributed March 2023, worth $1,000-$10,000+ per wallet), Jito (JTO, December 2023, several thousand dollars per wallet), Jupiter (JUP, January 2024, $500-$5,000+ per wallet), and EigenLayer (EIGEN, 2024, amounts varied widely). Professional airdrop farmers operated hundreds of wallets, each performing the minimum qualifying activity across dozens of protocols.
The practice created an arms race. Protocols implemented “Sybil detection” — algorithms to identify and exclude wallets controlled by the same person farming airdrops across multiple addresses. LayerZero’s 2024 airdrop was particularly aggressive in Sybil filtering, partnering with Nansen and Chaos Labs to identify clusters of farming wallets. Many farmers who operated hundreds of wallets received nothing. The community reaction was split: some praised anti-Sybil efforts as fair; others argued that active users were being punished.
The “points” meta emerged as protocols’ response to airdrop expectations. Instead of surprise airdrops, protocols like EigenLayer, Blast, and dozens of others explicitly awarded “points” for on-chain activity, with the implicit (but legally unconfirmed) promise that points would convert to tokens. This transparency had benefits (users knew what they were working toward) and drawbacks (it attracted mercenary capital that left immediately after claiming tokens). By 2024, airdrop farming had evolved from a casual hobby into a sophisticated, competitive, and increasingly adversarial activity.
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