What is Airdrop?
An airdrop is a distribution of tokens to wallet addresses, typically free, used to bootstrap a network or reward early adopters. Airdrops can be retroactive (rewarding past activity) or forward-looking (incentivizing future engagement).
Famous examples: Uniswap (UNI, 2020 — 400 UNI per past user, ~$1,200 at launch); Arbitrum (ARB, 2023); Hyperliquid (HYPE, 2024); Jito (JTO, 2023).
How it works
An airdrop is a distribution of tokens to wallet addresses, typically free, used to bootstrap a network or reward early adopters. Airdrops can be retroactive (rewarding past activity) or forward-looking (incentivizing future engagement).
Famous examples: Uniswap (UNI, 2020 — 400 UNI per past user, ~$1,200 at launch); Arbitrum (ARB, 2023); Hyperliquid (HYPE, 2024); Jito (JTO, 2023).
For deeper protocol-level mechanics, see the related glossary terms below or the linked DeFi Intel topic deep-dive.
Why it matters
Airdrops align early users with project upside, transfer billions in value to retroactive contributors, and have become the dominant launch model for new tokens.
Real-world examples
Uniswap UNI (2020, 400 per user), Arbitrum ARB (2023), Hyperliquid HYPE (Nov 2024), Jito JTO (2023), Wormhole W (2024), Ethena ENA (2024).
Related terms
Go deeper
Read the full DeFi Intel topic deep-dive or browse the complete crypto glossary.
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