Free Cryptocurrency:
when Blockchain Makes it Rain
when Blockchain Makes it Rain
The very notion of "Free Cryptocurrency" sounds too good to be true. However, it is a known fact that the blockchain sector provides plenty of opportunities for individuals to get their hands on Free tokens. How is this possible? Where does the money come from? How to participate in such airdrops?
This short article aims to be a practical guide that will be useful for anyone who wishes to get their hands on free cryptocurrency.
Let's begin!
This short article aims to be a practical guide that will be useful for anyone who wishes to get their hands on free cryptocurrency.
Let's begin!
Airdrops
A good airdrop is perhaps the easiest way to get your hands on free cryptocurrency - much less exhausting than looking for blockchain career opportunities and less risky than engaging in day trading or arbitrage. Cryptocurrency obtained this way can be a great entry point in the world of Crypto, and a great way to add to your existing holdings.
Airdrops happen all the time. New and established crypto platforms, protocols and applications literally put tokens in the hands of their users as an incentive for using their platform.
Decentralized Finance is defined by its interoperability (the ability that platforms have of speaking to each other and understanding one another) and its composability (one can adopt a modular approach and compose new products, services and experiences with existing services - the "Money Lego" approach to building). In concrete terms, this means that vastly different platforms and protocols interact with each other on a daily basis. Certain platforms airdrop tokens to their own users, but also to users of protocols which have interacted with theirs in the past.
Perhaps the most famous airdrop is the one that was performed by the Uniswap protocol. Uniswap airdropped 60% of the total UNI float to its community, including liquidity providers, users, and Unisock holders. Each eligible account received 400 UNI tokens, which is in dollar terms at the time of writing a whopping 7000 USD. Just for using the Uniswap platform, or providing liquidity!
A good airdrop is perhaps the easiest way to get your hands on free cryptocurrency - much less exhausting than looking for blockchain career opportunities and less risky than engaging in day trading or arbitrage. Cryptocurrency obtained this way can be a great entry point in the world of Crypto, and a great way to add to your existing holdings.
Airdrops happen all the time. New and established crypto platforms, protocols and applications literally put tokens in the hands of their users as an incentive for using their platform.
Decentralized Finance is defined by its interoperability (the ability that platforms have of speaking to each other and understanding one another) and its composability (one can adopt a modular approach and compose new products, services and experiences with existing services - the "Money Lego" approach to building). In concrete terms, this means that vastly different platforms and protocols interact with each other on a daily basis. Certain platforms airdrop tokens to their own users, but also to users of protocols which have interacted with theirs in the past.
Perhaps the most famous airdrop is the one that was performed by the Uniswap protocol. Uniswap airdropped 60% of the total UNI float to its community, including liquidity providers, users, and Unisock holders. Each eligible account received 400 UNI tokens, which is in dollar terms at the time of writing a whopping 7000 USD. Just for using the Uniswap platform, or providing liquidity!
In the NFT Sector, the most famous airdrops were without a doubt performed by Rarible and Mur.All. Rarible did a fantastic job by airdropping tokens to users of their own platform AND to any NFT holder - Mur.All did the same. At one point, the value of the airdropped tokens reached thousands of dollars in value.
But where to find such airdrops? What resources are available online?
We recommend Earni.Fi, a fantastic service for tracking aridrops. By using it, we guarantee that you will never miss another airdrop. Earni.Fi allows users to input wallet addresses, and checks those addresses against a directory of active airdrops. This saves users a ton of time and allows them to discover airdrops they may have missed. Earni.Fi has a free plan that allows users to input a single address, however the premium plan increases that number to 10 addresses.
Hard Forks
But where to find such airdrops? What resources are available online?
We recommend Earni.Fi, a fantastic service for tracking aridrops. By using it, we guarantee that you will never miss another airdrop. Earni.Fi allows users to input wallet addresses, and checks those addresses against a directory of active airdrops. This saves users a ton of time and allows them to discover airdrops they may have missed. Earni.Fi has a free plan that allows users to input a single address, however the premium plan increases that number to 10 addresses.
Hard Forks
Hard Forks are a great way of obtaining cryptocurrency.
What is a hard fork? A Hard fork is a radical change to a blockchain network's protocol that results in two distinct branches, one that follows the previous protocol and another one that follows the new protocol. Bitcoin Cash is perhaps the quintessential hard fork example, and one that was very profitable for Bitcoin holders (Bitcoin Cash tokens were airdropped to Bitcoin holders at a ratio of 1:1).
A website such as Coinscalendar.com provides a very handy way to track upcoming hard forks.
In order to take advantage of the free cryptocurrency distributed to holders during these events, the best strategy would be to purchase the native currency of the network that will fork ahead of the hard fork event, and ahead of the network snapshot. After the hard fork, users can hold their new tokens or simply sell them for a quick profit.
Staking
What is a hard fork? A Hard fork is a radical change to a blockchain network's protocol that results in two distinct branches, one that follows the previous protocol and another one that follows the new protocol. Bitcoin Cash is perhaps the quintessential hard fork example, and one that was very profitable for Bitcoin holders (Bitcoin Cash tokens were airdropped to Bitcoin holders at a ratio of 1:1).
A website such as Coinscalendar.com provides a very handy way to track upcoming hard forks.
In order to take advantage of the free cryptocurrency distributed to holders during these events, the best strategy would be to purchase the native currency of the network that will fork ahead of the hard fork event, and ahead of the network snapshot. After the hard fork, users can hold their new tokens or simply sell them for a quick profit.
Staking
Staking can be defined as a process during which a user's tokens are locked for a specific amount of time. These tokens are typically tokens native to Proof of Work Blockchain Networks. Staking tokens contributes to the security of a Network, and this is why an incentive is paid out to Stakers. Staking is generally very safe and it is a practice that has spread rapidly in the blockchain industry. Staking is available to retail users and to institutions, who can put to work assets who would otherwise remain idle.
The environment in which staking is conducted is extremely important. Non-custodial, permissionless environments are preferred. The Exodus Desktop Wallet does a great job of providing a fantastic staking environment. Within the confines of the Exodus wallet, it is possible to Stake, at the click of a button, tokens such as ATOM (8.93 APY), Algorand (5.59% APY) and Ontology (16% APY).
Trading Platform bonuses
Incentives are powerful, and are usually an excellent method of drawing users to a new or established platform. Centralized or Decentralized trading platforms, such as Bittrex and OKEx, often give deposit bonuses to new users, to lure them and encourage them to place trades. The only thing users need to keep their eyes on are the exchange policies, allowing or restricting the immediate withdrawal of those bonuses. Certain users might find themselves the recipients of juicy bonuses, only to find out that they cannot be withdrawn immediately, or that they have to go through a lengthy KYC process.
Learn and Earn
Platforms such as Coinbase give their users the opportunity to earn free cryptocurrency, by watching educational videos about projects and platforms and answering questions to test their knowledge. We believe this is a great way to spread the knowledge about blockchain projects in a sustainable manner. The cryptocurrency rewards are, very often, the native tokens of the projects in question. Right now, Coinbase Earn features Learn to Earn programs for projects such as Clover Finance, Balancer, Stellar Lumens, and many more. While such Learning programs are no replacements for a day job, they provide income that is far from being negligible.
This is a brilliant idea and we do hope this practice of providing incentives to learn about Blockchain technology will spread. Blockchain technology is evolving quickly and is notoriously difficult to understand. Rewarding the act of learning about blockchain provides an entry point into crypto for those who need it and sets the foundation for the next generation of users and developers.
The environment in which staking is conducted is extremely important. Non-custodial, permissionless environments are preferred. The Exodus Desktop Wallet does a great job of providing a fantastic staking environment. Within the confines of the Exodus wallet, it is possible to Stake, at the click of a button, tokens such as ATOM (8.93 APY), Algorand (5.59% APY) and Ontology (16% APY).
Trading Platform bonuses
Incentives are powerful, and are usually an excellent method of drawing users to a new or established platform. Centralized or Decentralized trading platforms, such as Bittrex and OKEx, often give deposit bonuses to new users, to lure them and encourage them to place trades. The only thing users need to keep their eyes on are the exchange policies, allowing or restricting the immediate withdrawal of those bonuses. Certain users might find themselves the recipients of juicy bonuses, only to find out that they cannot be withdrawn immediately, or that they have to go through a lengthy KYC process.
Learn and Earn
Platforms such as Coinbase give their users the opportunity to earn free cryptocurrency, by watching educational videos about projects and platforms and answering questions to test their knowledge. We believe this is a great way to spread the knowledge about blockchain projects in a sustainable manner. The cryptocurrency rewards are, very often, the native tokens of the projects in question. Right now, Coinbase Earn features Learn to Earn programs for projects such as Clover Finance, Balancer, Stellar Lumens, and many more. While such Learning programs are no replacements for a day job, they provide income that is far from being negligible.
This is a brilliant idea and we do hope this practice of providing incentives to learn about Blockchain technology will spread. Blockchain technology is evolving quickly and is notoriously difficult to understand. Rewarding the act of learning about blockchain provides an entry point into crypto for those who need it and sets the foundation for the next generation of users and developers.