Crypto was awash with free money this year, as projects doled out hefty sums of tokens to intrepid users and devoted communities via airdrops.
With animal spirits returning to the crypto market alongside Bitcoin’s record-setting climb, some handouts dwarfed those that turned heads in 2023. Tallying up just this year’s top five airdrops, users and communities walked away with over $19 billion worth of free internet moolah.
These are some of airdrops that made a sizable splash in 2024, based on their associated token’s peak value. They range from decentralized finance (DeFi) fledglings to established NFT brands, along with everything else that fell in between.
Hyperliquid: $10.84 billion
Cruising into the top spot by a country mile, the Hyper Foundation’s distribution of HYPE handily rewarded users of the Hyperliquid Network in November.
Users of the layer-1 network, which has been optimized for high speed DeFi transactions, received a total of 31 million HYPE that was initially worth $1.6 billion. That placed the airdrop among the most valuable in history. What’s more, the value of those tokens has since swelled above a whopping $10.8 billion in a matter of weeks.
Worth the HYPE: Hyperliquid Gives Out $1.6 Billion in One of the Largest Airdrops Ever
The Hyper Foundation completed the genesis distribution of the HYPE token, the native token of the Hyperliquid Network—a high-speed blockchain built for decentralized finance (DeFi)—airdropping more than $1.6 billion worth of tokens to users based on the peak price of $5.40 since the overnight launch. Hyperliquid users received 31%, or 310 million of the total 1 billion HYPE supply as part of the genesis distribution, with another 38.88% set aside for future emissions and community rewards. Nota...
When it comes to the network, Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange (DEX) is billed as its flagship application, offering perpetual futures trading and up to 50x leverage. Since launch, the DEX has seen over 312,000 users, according to the Hyper Foundation’s website.
Starknet: $3.09 billion
Starknet first launched its mainnet in 2021. But the Ethereum layer-2 scaling network waited three years for its much-anticipated STRK airdrop.
With 700 million STRK tokens initially handed out, including those to Ethereum stakers, the initiative saw crypto users far beyond the scaling solution’s borders rewarded with tokens. And those STRK tokens play a key role in Starknet’s governance.
Starknet Reveals Airdrop Details for 1.3 Million Eligible Ethereum Wallets
Ethereum layer-2 scaling network Starknet has released details about its much-anticipated token airdrop, which is now officially set to launch on February 20. Almost 1.3 million wallets will be eligible to receive free tokens during the airdrop, according to the Starknet Foundation, which is referring to the event as a “provisions program.” Beneficiaries range widely, from Starknet users and developers to users of decentralized apps (dapps) affiliated with the network, all the way to Ethereum s...
In June, the network’s developer, StarkWare, signaled that it would try to bring its scaling tech, utilizing zero-knowledge rollups, to Bitcoin.
Last month, Starknet launched “phase 1” of a staking initiative, saying it had become the first layer-2 to let users earn rewards by participating in the process of validating transactions.
Pudgy Penguins: $3.064 billion
With a market cap of over $500 million, Pudgy Penguins’ flagship NFT collection has solidified its presence on Ethereum. With the project’s toys hitting shelves in Walmart and Target, its commercial efforts have stood out amid a relatively chilly NFT market.
PENGU: Everything You Need to Know About the Pudgy Penguins Solana Token and Airdrop
After amassing more than 50 billion social media views and placing toys on shelves in Walmart and Target stores across the country, Ethereum NFT project Pudgy Penguins has launched a token. News of the planned token launch sent the Pudgy Penguins floor price skyward, breaching $100,000 and becoming the second largest profile picture (PFP) project in all of NFTs. “A founder’s job in crypto is to maximize for optimal excitement,” said Pudgy Penguins IP owner Luca Netz in a video interview with c...
Earlier this month, Pudgy Penguins expanded to Solana with the launch of PENGU, billed as a way for Pudgy Penguins fans to better connect with its brand. A graphic released alongside the token’s announcement indicated that around half of PENGU’s 88.88 billion supply went to members of Pudgy Penguin’s community, other communities, and FTT holders.
FTT served as the native token of collapsed crypto exchange FTX. But when it came to other projects that Pudgy Penguins brought into the fold, the initiative let NFT holders hailing from the Board Ape Yacht Club and Doodles claim tokens, among several other notable projects.
Notcoin: $2.274 billion
The coin-tapping game, Notcoin, poured gasoline on The Open Network (TON) this year, compelling legions of players to tap, tap away within the Telegram-based mini app.
While the widely anticipated airdrop faced some delays, it eventually became the biggest gaming token launch of 2024 in terms of peak value. When Notcoin released its token in May, around 80.2 billion NOT went up for grabs, with exchanges like Binance supporting the token fresh out of the gate.
Biggest Crypto Gaming Tokens Launched in 2024—So Far
Huge tokens have been dropping left and right so far in 2024, and gaming projects are getting in on the excitement. Tokens tied to games and networks have been among this year’s biggest launches as the broader crypto market rebounds and airdrops accelerate. From Portal to Pixels, these are the gaming tokens that have made waves so far this year, ranked by peak market cap to date per pricing data at the time of writing. But there are sure to be more big tokens ahead, so stay tuned—we’ll keep upda...
Players have since been greeted by a deluge of tap-to-earn games, with Hamster Kombat surging over the summer and drawing 300 million players ahead of its own airdrop. While some familiar with TON’s community believe tap-to-earn games serve as a “viral mechanic” for introducing users to new products, other members of crypto’s gaming community believe they need more developed experiences to keep players engaged.
Jupiter: $2 billion
Rounding out the top five airdrops of 2024, the Solana-based DEX aggregator Jupiter rewarded users with 1 billion JUP tokens during an initial wave of allocations early this year.
Jupiter initially committed to releasing 3 billion more JUP tokens, with a second round approved earlier this month and still on the horizon—but the initial distribution’s size was large enough for it to land on this list. While a date has not yet been announced, the proposal passed alluded to “Jupuary.”
Solana DeFi Exchange Jupiter Gets OK for Airdrops After First $1.7 Billion Vote Failed
Solana decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator Jupiter is set to airdrop JUP tokens to its community over the next two Januaries after the Jupiter DAO—the collective of JUP token holders—approved a revised airdrop proposal following a failed first try to hand out $1.7 billion worth of tokens. More than 87% of votes were in favor of the second proposal, which made a few key changes from the first that only received 58% votes in support late last month, below the required 70% to pass the proposal...
In Istanbul, Jupiter’s community will hold its first conference next month dubbed Catstanbul. The “cat” is a shout to its pseudonymous founder, Meow.
As one of the largest DeFi projects on Solana, the DEX aggregator has facilitated over $2 trillion in total trading volume, according to a Dune dashboard created by Jupiter.
Honorable mentions
Beyond the top five largest airdrops of 2024, many other projects and protocols doled out batches of free tokens. And there were at least four handouts that were valued at more than $1 billion at peak token value, including those from Movement, ZKsync, Eigenlayer, and Wormhole.
The Movement Network Foundation launched MOVE, a utility token for the Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Movement. With 1 billion MOVE awarded to communities and early network participants, the airdrop’s value clocked in at $1.5 billion.
Community wallets for ZKsync, another Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, received 3.7 billion ZK tokens in June worth $1.2 billion at their peak price.
The Year in Ethereum: Lawsuits, ETFs, Technical Upgrades and Trump
For Ethereum, 2024 has been the year where both a lot happened and not much at all, it seemed. There was substantial innovation, but those just wanting to make money from investing in Ethereum's native coin ETH are a little disappointed—if the vibes on Crypto Twitter (aka X) are anything to go by. Upgrades like Dencun made it cheaper to get things done on the network, and President-elect Donald Trump even threw his weight behind a project built on Ethereum. But there was also a regulatory crac...
The Eigen Foundation doled out nearly 200 million EIGEN to users of the Ethereum staking platform this year across two airdrops. When combined, the airdrops were valued at $1.1 billion.
The cross-chain protocol Wormhole launched its W governance token in April. And a 617 million W stash earmarked for its initial community and ecosystem was worth $1 billion
Edited by Stacy Elliott
