1⃣ Projects become “tighter” due to lack of funding in downtrends
During bear markets:
• VC funding dries up
• Tokens lack strong liquidity
→ Projects are forced to:
• Cut airdrop budgets
• Allocate the bare minimum to users
2⃣ Airdrops shift from real rewards → vanity metrics (user farming)
Back then:
• Uniswap airdrop = thousands of dollars per wallet
• Arbitrum = hundreds to thousands per wallet
Now:
Airdrops are mainly used to:
• Inflate user numbers
• Boost fake volume
• Make metrics look good for fundraising
3⃣ Too many bots → stricter requirements
Current reality:
• Massive bot farms / multi-wallet abuse
→ Projects respond by:
• Increasing requirements (volume, duration, deeper engagement)
• Applying Sybil detection
• Randomizing eligibility
4⃣ Projects farming themselves
Some projects don’t actually want to reward real users:
• They create clusters of internal wallets
• Farm their own campaigns
• Airdrop to themselves
→ Result: real users grind for months and still don’t qualify
Bottom line:
Airdrop hunting is no longer just about effort it’s about strategy, timing, and choosing the right project, not just grinding blindly.
