The crypto airdrop phenomenon has continued to gain momentum in 2024, distributing a staggering $4 billion in value so far. This remarkable figure is a testament to the growing popularity of crypto airdrops, which have become a sought-after reward for loyal protocol users. The three biggest airdrops of the year, Jupiter, Starknet, and Notcoin, have each handed out approximately $1 billion in value, based on the number of tokens distributed and their average price over the following months.

Behind these leading airdrops are a mix of Solana and Ethereum-based projects, such as Wormhole, (link unavailable), FriendTech, and Wen, which have also made significant contributions to the crypto airdrop landscape. Crypto airdrops occur when a project distributes a number of tokens to previous protocol users, typically as a gesture of appreciation and to hand over control to the community. These tokens often come with voting rights, allowing users to participate in the project's governance.

However, crypto airdrops have also attracted the attention of "airdrop farmers," who attempt to game the system by using multiple wallets to interact with projects in the hopes of receiving a token. To combat this, projects are implementing measures to identify and exclude these wallets from the distribution. LayerZero, for instance, has an open bounty for anyone to submit reports of potential airdrop farming, while ZKsync has rooted out a number of airdrop farmer wallets and implemented a cap on the largest expected distributions.

Despite these challenges, crypto airdrops have a long history of distributing significant value to users. According to a report by CoinGecko, the total value of all airdrops up until December 2023 was $26.6 billion, based on peak prices for each token. Including the airdrops of 2024 valued at their peaks, this figure could reach an upper bound of $34 billion across all airdrops so far.

Looking ahead, several crypto airdrops are slated to take place this year, including the Ethereum Layer 2 network ZKsync's airdrop next week, Solana-based decentralized exchange Zeta Markets' airdrop in June, and Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer's airdrop, which has already started but won't be transferable until later this year. Cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero's airdrop is also highly anticipated, although a clear date has not been announced.

In conclusion, crypto airdrops have continued to distribute significant value to users, with a total of $4 billion handed out so far this year. While airdrop farmers pose a challenge, projects are implementing measures to combat this issue and ensure that genuine users receive their rewards. As the crypto landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how crypto airdrops adapt and continue to play a role in the ecosystem.