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Binance, one of the world's most popular crypto exchanges, has announced the launch of HODLer Airdrops, a rewards program for holders of its BNB token that will provide early access to tokens preparing to launch on the platform.
Those early tokens, the exchange said, will be from “small to medium projects with strong fundamentals, a large circulating supply, and strong and organic communities.”
To be eligible for the airdrops, Binance users must hold BNB and be subscribed to its Simple Earn program. In addition, “users must complete account verification (KYC) and also be from an eligible jurisdiction to participate in HODLer Airdrops.”
The company did not provide a list of jurisdictions where the program would be offered, however, and it’s unclear whether the program will be available on Binance.US, the exchange's U.S. arm. Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.
BNB—the native cryptocurrency of Binance—is currently trading for around $600 after hitting an all-time-high of $717.48 on June 6, according to CoinGecko. It is among the top five cryptocurrencies with a market cap of more than $88 billion.
Binance will announce HODLer Airdrops in advance, according to the announcement, giving users time to prepare for potential rewards, which will be allocated based on user balances.
“Snapshots of user balances and total pool balances will be taken multiple times at any point of time each hour to get users' hourly average balances in Simple Earn products,” the company explained, adding that there will be a hard limit set for each HODLer Airdrop.
Binance added that participating in the HODLer Airdrops does not affect users' standard benefits for holding BNB, such as eligibility for its Launchpool and Megadrop events.
The exchange is currently seeking applications from crypto projects interested in participating in its new airdrop program and other events.
“We hope to enhance the development of the blockchain ecosystem through our support to small and medium sized projects with strong fundamentals, an organic community base, a sustainable business model, and a dedicated team acting as responsible industry participants,“ Binance noted.
The launch of HODLer Airdrops comes amid regulatory challenges faced by Binance's U.S. arm, Binance.US. North Dakota is the most recent state to revoke Binance’s money transmitter license. They join Alaska, Florida, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon as states that have revoked or declined to renew the Binance.US money transmitter licenses.
Meanwhile, the company had to pay $4.3 billion in fines and penalties as former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison for violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.