There are two main groups in the Web3 industry: those who trade tokens and those who chase airdrops.

Although the opportunities to get rich quickly through airdrops are becoming increasingly rare, the token distribution method of airdrops will always exist.

The entire crypto industry is still in its early stages, and we are still among the early players, so there are still opportunities to benefit from airdrops in the next two years.

For newcomers entering the Web3 industry, chasing airdrops is a great way to learn.

By interacting with different projects, not only can you build your own understanding and methodology, but you also have the chance to earn airdrops as positive feedback for your learning.

So how do you get started with airdrops?

In any field, newcomers can start from three dimensions: Dao, Shu, and Qi.

“Dao” refers to understanding, the cognition and mindset about the industry, which requires long-term accumulation to form your own thinking model.

“Shu” refers to methodology, specific practical methods that can be broken down into different modules and capabilities to guide our daily operations.

“Qi” refers to tools, the tools we use daily. To do a good job, one must first sharpen their tools; efficient tools can help us achieve more with less effort.

01 Dao: Establish a Global Cognitive Model

What is an airdrop?

When a project issues tokens, it distributes tokens for free to community members or specific user groups.

Why do projects conduct airdrops?

On one hand, it is to cold start the project. With the incentive of airdropped tokens, many opportunistic users will invest time or a small amount of money to help the product achieve a cold start;

On the other hand, it encourages more people to participate in the development of the product. The more people hold tokens, the more users will engage with the product, leading to a more prosperous ecosystem and higher token value, ultimately forming a positive cycle.

Of course, from a purely trading perspective, it is to create a larger market; after the airdrop, the funding pool becomes larger.

So why should we chase airdrops?

First, we need to have the right mindset. Don’t fantasize about getting rich quickly through airdrops; instead, think of it as a way to accumulate your first pot of gold.

On one hand, it helps maintain market sensitivity, encourages participation in new projects, and allows you to grasp market development trends and build your project analysis skills; on the other hand, you can earn some returns through “smart chasing,” which is a form of Learn to Earn, providing positive feedback for your learning.

Finally, where can we find airdrops?

There are two core dimensions: First, choose the right track. The Web3 industry has many sub-tracks, and you must select tracks with high ceilings. This is why the Layer2 track often has significant airdrops, while pure application projects tend to have smaller ones, as the ceiling of public chains is higher than that of applications.

Second, choose the leading projects. In any track, you must focus on the leading projects, and at most add a secondary leader. Many tracks essentially have a dual-leader structure; for example, in Layer2, Arbitrum and Optimism are the absolute leaders; in the inscription track, SATS and ORDI are the absolute leaders.

Having understood the above, you have basically established a foundational understanding of airdrops.

However, this information is still far from enough; a global understanding and cognitive model require long-term immersion in the industry to build and accumulate experience.

02 Shu: Establish a Systematic Methodology

For chasing airdrops, the two most important abilities are project analysis skills and fund management skills.

(1) Project Analysis Skills

Learn to research and filter projects through a large amount of information.

The core is to target top projects: industry infrastructure and leading tracks.

There are many dimensions to determine top projects: team background, funding background, operational mechanisms, technological innovation, product data, user reputation, etc.

Products that can bring user value and have a decentralized goal (i.e., those with a high certainty of issuing tokens) are worth chasing airdrops.

The most important point is to personally experience the products. When you have experienced enough products, you will have very intuitive feelings and judgments when a new product is presented to you.

Airdrop hunters are deep experiencers in this industry.

(2) Fund Management Skills

There are many tasks to be done here.

Preventing witch attacks: A witch is someone who controls many identities, so project teams implement various measures against witches. For us, different wallet addresses must isolate funds and avoid related transactions. (Higher-level isolation includes device isolation, IP isolation, etc.)

Enriching on-chain data: Engage with multiple chains, experience different products, and remain active.

Efficient use of funds: Interact during periods of low network fees. Make the most of a certain amount of funds to maximize on-chain interactions and reduce wear and tear.

Risk management: Especially for early projects, the probability of running away or being hacked is very high, so fund isolation must be done. For example, avoid keeping large amounts of funds in the project’s smart contracts for long periods and be cautious with signature authorizations.

Cost control: Properly estimate costs, dividing them into smart chasing and light chasing; wallets for smart chasing require more network fees.

From the specific process of chasing airdrops, it can be seen that chasing airdrops is a systematic project that requires not only the establishment of project analysis skills but also a systematic understanding of various scenarios of on-chain interactions.

03 Qi: Build Your Own Arsenal

The core is to find effective tools and information channels.

(1) Recommended Common Tools:

- DeFi analysis tool: Defillama, which shows the top DeFi applications across different public chain ecosystems.

- Project background analysis tool: RootData, which provides insights into various projects' funding situations.

- Asset management tool: Debank, which allows for one-stop management of your assets, covering a wide range.

- On-chain data analysis tool: Dune, which offers many valuable data dashboards.

(2) Task Platforms:

If you don’t know which projects to chase, these task platforms serve as a compass.

The top recommendation is OKX Wallet's Cryptopedia, which selects many well-known projects with airdrops and offers additional prize pools. I participate in every activity, and the actual rewards I receive are surprisingly high.

Wallet platforms:

- OKX Wallet's Cryptopedia

- Binance Wallet's Airdrop Platform

- Bitget Wallet's Earn Token Center

Task platforms: - Galxe: An established task platform

- Layer3: A newly launched task platform

- RabbitHole: An ancient task platform

- QuestN: An emerging task platform

(3) Establish Information Channels:

Here, I will just share a few airdrop bloggers I often follow; there are many airdrop teachers not listed.

- Ice Frog @Ice_Frog666666: Shares insights on thinking methods

- KuiGas @KuiGas: Shares practical experiences

- sanyi @sanyieth: Focuses on technical guidance

- hebi @hebi555: Discovers early projects in advance

- zhaozhao @0xzhaozhao: Provides systematic methodologies

- ZFlab @ZFlab: Shares daily project summaries

- WYmask @WYmask: Shares daily project summaries

- CryptoHe @CryptoHe: Shares daily project summaries

Finally, the simplest step is to take the first step: buy some digital assets and experience some decentralized applications. Only by doing so can you have a personal feel for this industry.

Just standing on the shore and watching without getting in the water will never teach you how to swim.

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