Coingecko, a well-known cryptocurrency price analysis platform, has compiled a list of the top ten airdrops with the highest values from 2020-2023, based on the all-time high prices of the tokens. The list includes Uniswap, Apecoin, dYdX, Arbitrum, Ethereum Name Service, Internet Computer, Bonk, Celestia, LooksRare, and 1inch Network.
Airdrops refer to the distribution of tokens to users’ wallets by project teams for various reasons, such as rewarding active participation or expanding token liquidity within the community. Over the past few years, users who participated early in projects and met the interaction criteria set by the project teams had the opportunity to receive significant returns.
Uniswap, a decentralized exchange, takes the top spot on the list with its native token UNI. In September 2020, Uniswap executed one of the largest airdrops in history, distributing approximately $6.43 billion worth of UNI tokens. Every user who had traded on the Uniswap platform, whether on V1 or V2 protocol, was eligible to receive at least 400 UNI tokens. At the time, these tokens were worth around $1,200, but if calculated based on the highest historical price of $42, they would be worth approximately $16,800.
The Uniswap airdrop not only served as a reward for early users but also played a significant role in promoting its decentralized governance structure. It had a profound impact on the entire DeFi sector, making airdrops a common method for promoting and rewarding users in many cryptocurrency projects.
Among the top ten projects, Celestia is a relatively new project. It launched its mainnet on October 31, bringing modular blockchain technology and Data Availability Sampling (DAS) into its network. The mainnet enables Rollups and other modular chains to use Celestia for data availability and consensus. Celestia’s native token, TIA, was airdropped to 580,000 users. Although TIA’s performance was not impressive at the beginning, with an initial price of $2.9, its price has increased by 4.7 times in less than two months. As of now, it is trading at $13.83, resulting in substantial profits for users who held onto their airdropped tokens.
Similarly, Saga, a blockchain phone launched by Solana in May, offered users the opportunity to claim up to 30 million Bonk meme tokens, worth over $700, through the Bonk App. Although BONK was not a newly launched meme coin, it went live on December 25 last year and airdropped 10 trillion tokens (10% of the total supply) to NFT holders on the Solana chain. If the airdropped tokens were not sold and held until now, their value would be worth thousands of dollars.
Looking back at the interaction and evolution between project teams and users over the past three years, while the specific airdrop strategies and technologies may adjust over time and market conditions, the core value of airdrops as an incentive and reward mechanism will continue to play a significant role in the cryptocurrency field.