Are ‘free’ crypto airdrops a scam or an opportunity?

The promise of free cryptocurrency can come with a substantial hidden cost: time, effort and, in some cases, money spent pursuing a reward that may never arrive. That is the conclusion of new research led by the University of Leicester, which examines the growing role of crypto airdrops in blockchain projects. These distributions of digital tokens are intended to attract users and reward participation, but qualifying for them can involve weeks or months of unpaid activity. Participants, commonly known as airdrop farmers, may be expected to create digital wallets, test new networks, complete repeated transactions, produce tutorials and recruit other users. They invest their labour – and sometimes transaction fees – in the hope that a project will eventually distribute tokens to them.