Cryptocurrency Industry News

Photo by Ryan Mac on Unsplash Airdrops in the cryptocurrency space have been an exciting mainstay since the first drop occurred in 2014. The practice has accelerated significantly since 2020, and the handful of truly epic drops that earned the unwitting recipients hundreds or even thousands in equivalent value have become legend. Airdrop hunting has become the modern day treasure/scavenger hunt, with rumors and whispers abounding, occasionally turning into a legitimate drop with real rewards. While it’s true that there is no such thing as a free lunch, what has become clear in many of the airdrops is that the price paid is often in the form of certain activities such as holding the native token, performing certain tasks on the platform, completing certain tasks about the platform on social media, and usually giving at least a few pieces of personal information. For earning some free tokens, this price is typically quite low. The only downside is the risk of a scam that at best has wasted your time, and at worst now has some of your info. For airdrop hunters, the key is performing due diligence to ensure your information is protected, and that your time is spent focused on the greatest chance of return. On that note, there are four airdrops you may want to be on the lookout for: Arbitrum, zkSync, Venom, and LayerZero. As is the nature of airdrops, some of these have not yet been confirmed by the platform as actually happening, though there is evidence to suggest they will drop in 2023. This article will guide you through each, provide the information we have on the drop itself and how to participate, and explain the importance of the token and platform. Arbitrum Airdrop Arbitrum is an L2 platform designed to enhance Ethereum smart contracts, specifically the speed and scalability. It does this by allowing developers to run EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) smart contracts and other transactions on a second layer of Ethereum. This combines to give faster performance while still maintaining Ethereum’s L1 security. The Arbitrum airdrop was recently confirmed and launched, and will allow users who have completed specific criteria six months to collect their share of 1.162 billion ARB, making it one of the biggest airdrops to date. Some of the eligibility requirements include bridging funds into Arbitrum One, conducting a certain number of transactions, interacting with a minimum number of smart contracts, depositing liquidity, and conducting transactions of a certain minimum value, etc. To check if you are eligible, you can visit the Arbitrum Foundation page and connect your wallet. zkSync Airdrop There is a lot of speculation on the potential zkSync airdrop, as the zkSync Era Mainnet Alpha is now live, and there is no official token from zkSync yet. However, there is still evidence to suggest some type of airdrop is coming, either directly with the probably-named $ZKS token or with its larger ecosystem contributing. zkSync is a layer-2 Ethereum solution providing scalability, developed by Matter Labs in 2019 and generating a healthy $59 million in fundraising through 2021. The platform utilizes zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup technology, which increases privacy and security for users. Since nothing is confirmed, there is also speculation on how one might be eligible for an airdrop with zkSync. However, following the pattern of prior airdrops, likely actions include adding the zkSync mainnet on your MetaMask and bridging funds to the platform. Interacting with both zkSync Lite and zkSync Era Alpha Mainnet are also likely required, though how many transactions and how many different contracts where interaction is needed is unknown. However, zkSync has a feature called Crew3 where users can complete quests, which seems like a solid candidate for participation as well. Potential Venom Airdrop The Venom Foundation has made waves recently by becoming the first crypto platform to be licensed by the ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market), which creates a major doorway into a significant region’s financial opportunities. With a whopping $1billion planned for investing into their Web3 ecosystem, and a layer-0 chain to provide architecture. Using a Threaded Virtual Machine (TVM) instead of Ethereum’s EVM structure, the platform claims to be significantly more efficient. Unlike zkSync, Venom has a token ready ($VENOM), and it has announced that a full 22% of the initial token supply will be allocated to the community. This strongly indicates an airdrop in the near future. In their whitepaper, they do state that they will reward early participants. As the testnet grows, it will be important for users to sign up and follow the assigned set of tasks provided by the network. This will, in addition to a potential airdrop qualification, will grant users a special edition NFT. The testnet is well designed and the guidelines for participants are laid out in significant detail. If you’re interested in the potential upcoming airdrop, this is the place to start. Potential LayerZero Airdrop LayerZero was built as a way to securely pass messages between chains, providing authentication guarantees for the data that passes through. This is meant to address the issue of interoperability among blockchains at the programmable level, allowing both data and liquidity to more easily pass between chains which can strengthen the entire ecosystem. Like other platforms, LayerZero does not yet have its own token, but there is consensus among community members that an airdrop may happen in 2023. The platform is extremely well funded, with over $173 million in raised capital from key investors. Some of the activities users suspect will help qualify them for an airdrop include using the DApps on the chain, connecting your wallet and bridging funds into LayerZero, or interacting with the USDC testnet bridge. What’s Next? Tips for Participating in Airdrops Airdrops are exciting events with a lot of unconfirmed speculation swirling around ahead of time. Sometimes platforms announce in advance, and other times they take a snapshot of the community without notice, and what you’ve done up to that point can make you eligible or not. If you are serious about joining in and increasing your chances to participate, it’s important to be both smart and safe. This includes, first and foremost, conducting due diligence on the platform which has hinted at an airdrop. Like any wonderful innovation, there are always bad actors who will try to take advantage of the unsuspecting. Poorly constructed websites, no information on the founding team (this isn’t always a red flag in itself), low reviews of the platform, and key elements like whitepapers that can’t be found can all add up to a scam. Remember, even though you won’t be asked to pay anything to participate in an airdrop (if you are, run away), there is always a cost. Your time, your efforts, and your information are valuable, so perform due diligence and make wise choices. Following a number of different airdrop-related news sources can help as well. Happy hunting!