Original Author: X-explore, Wu Shuo

Since Uniswap began adopting the airdrop strategy to reward its early users in 2020, airdrops have caused a huge upsurge in the Web3 field. Under this influence, a large number of people looking for the next job have sprung up on major projects."free lunch"(looking for new airdrop projects) wool party. Now, it has been nearly three years since Uniswaps first airdrop. During this period, many large projects have followed its strategy and used airdrops to reward users or attract attention. According to X-explore estimates, more than 20% of Arbitrum’s airdrops in March this year were obtained by woolists using witch attacks. Therefore, we hope to answer the following two questions through in-depth analysis of users who have successfully received multiple airdrops:

1. Who are these airdrop masters?

2. What is their follow-up goal?

In order to answer the above questions, among the various Ethereum and its second-layer network projects, we have finely selected 5The number of receiving airdrop addresses exceeds 100,000 and the total value of airdrops exceeds 140 million US dollarsprojects, which are Uniswap, ENS, Optimism, Blur, and Arbitrum. In the following articles, we will conduct an in-depth analysis of the users of these five projects, paying special attention to those master users who have received airdrops from these projects multiple times.

Note: The currency price calculation in this article is based on CoinMarketCap data from 2023-06-07. Most of the screenshots in the article are from 2023-06-14, so the prices may be slightly different. Please forgive me for any confusion.

Who are the bear hunters?

We will get at least five itemsthree airdropsthe address of theAirdrop Hunter; which getsThree to four airdropsthe address of theStandard Airdrop Hunter; and getAll five airdropsaddress, namedPremium Airdrop Hunter. In this analysis, we found a total of 34,547 ordinary airdrop hunter addresses, among which the average airdrop return of a single address was 9,384 USD, and the median airdrop return of a single address was 6,497 USD. As for the high-quality airdrop hunter addresses, we found a total of 932, among which the average airdrop profit of a single address was 18,935 USD, and the median airdrop profit of a single address was 14,288 USD. Judging from the average income and median income, high-quality airdrop hunters deserve the word high-quality.

1. X-explore tag analysis

In order to better reveal the characteristics of airdrop hunter addresses, we combined X-explores self-developed on-chain labeling system to conduct an in-depth analysis of the above addresses from dimensions such as behavior, assets, activity level, and transaction profitability. We found that whether they are ordinary airdrop hunters or boutique airdrop hunters, their trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEX) and non-fungible tokens (NFT) far exceeds that of ordinary users.

Airdrop Hunters' Tag on X-explore

• Median Dex Trader: Users in the top 10% of trading volume on DEX

• Median NFT Trader: Top 10% of users in NFT trading volume

• Heavy Dex Trader: Users in the top 1% of trading volume or number of transactions on DEX

• Heavy NFT Trader: Users in the top 2.5% in NFT trading volume or number of transactions

These data show that airdrop hunters are more active in the cryptocurrency market than ordinary users, and they show higher enthusiasm for trading digital assets, especially DEX and NFT transactions.

2. Ethereum’s first active time

The first time airdrop hunters were active in Ethereum (cumulative)

Combining the airdrop time of the project on the chain and the first active time of airdrop hunters in Ethereum, we found thatMost airdrop hunters are actually early users of Ethereum.When Uniswap conducted airdrops (2020-09), more than half of the airdrop hunters were already active in Ethereum. The first active time distribution of premium airdrop hunters is also significantly earlier than that of ordinary airdrop hunters.

3. Ethereum Activity

Activity status on the airdrop hunter Ethereum chain

We conducted a random sample of user accounts created before June 2021, selected over 30,000 addresses, and compared these addresses with the activity of airdrop hunters. as the picture shows,Airdrop hunters are active users on Ethereum,inBoutique Drop HunterOn average each month on EthereumMore than 50 strokestransaction, whilecommon drop hunterAlso on Ethereum every monthMore than 21 strokesthe transaction. In contrast, werandomly sampled addressesThe average monthly transaction on Ethereum is only 0.16. This result once again emphasizes the enthusiasm and activity of airdrop hunters in on-chain activities, and their transaction volume significantly exceeds that of ordinary users.

4. Project performance after short sale

Airdrop Hunter OP activity status

We tracked the performance of airdrop recipients (including ordinary users and airdrop hunters) after the airdrops of five projects. We found that after the project airdrops, the activity of all users showed a downward trend, especially for ordinary users. Airdrop hunters are significantly more active than regular users at any given time period.

Among them, Optimism is an exception: before the Optimism airdrop, the activity of ordinary users on the OP chain actually exceeded that of elite airdrop hunters. However, after the Optimism airdrop, the activity of ordinary users still showed a downward trend. On the contrary, after the elite airdrop hunters received the airdrop, their activity on the OP chain increased. Even in the next month after the airdrop, their activity exceeded that of ordinary users. Through our in-depth analysis, we found that this is mainly becauseThe OP airdrop rules take into account the activity of an address on Ethereum.The results show that manyPremium airdrop hunters who were originally inactive on the OP chain became interested in OP after receiving the airdrops, and actively interacted with different projects on the OP chain.

5. Summary

After sampling and analyzing the detailed on-chain behavior of many airdrop hunter addresses, we found that the above analysis was further confirmed. The characteristics of airdrop hunters’ activities on the chain can be simply summarized as the following points:

• Most airdrop hunters are keen on DEX or NFT transactions

• Airdrop hunters are mainly composed of early users

• The activity of airdrop hunters is significantly higher than that of ordinary users

• Good airdrop rule design can play a positive role in airdrop hunters

What is the next target for short hunters?

After having a certain understanding of the airdrop hunter group, we are curious about what their next target is? What projects are they looking forward to? To answer this question, we studied the projects they participated in and their behavioral patterns when interacting with the projects through on-chain data. While helping readers understand what other projects on the chain are worth interacting with, it further reveals how airdrop hunters interact with these projects. It is worth mentioning that we have included these airdrop hunters in our monitoring. In the future, X-explore will continue to pay attention to the latest developments of these airdrop hunters and bring you more valuable analysis.

We divided the projects preferred by airdrop hunters into several tracks, sorted each track according to the proportion of participation by premium airdrop hunters, and selected projects with a participation rate greater than or equal to 25%. If a project has multiple contracts, we choose the contract with the highest participation ratio. The following is the classification of tracks and projects:

1. Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Uniswap, SushiSwap, 0x,Metamask Swap、Balancer、1inch、Paraswap、Aave、Rarible、InstaDApp、dydx、Compound

2. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs): Opensea, Blur, LooksRare, X2Y2,Foundation

3. Layer 2 solutions and cross-chain protocols: Arbitrum, Polygon,ZkSync lite、Optimism、HOP、ZkSync Era、Starknet

4. Decentralized applications (DApps):DeBank

Airdrop Hunters' Preference

Among them, projects in bold and red boxes indicate that the project has not yet been airdropped and has not issued coins. We will provide an in-depth analysis of the behavior of airdrop hunters on these projects.

1. DeFi track: Metamask: Swap Router

After our analysis, the total trading volume of airdrop hunters on Metamask is 191, 438, 051 USD, and the median trading volume of airdrop hunters is 1, 255 USD. In addition, we excluded airdrop hunters from the total 1,811,782 users of Metamask Swap, and then selected the same number of other Metamask users as airdrop hunters from these 1,776,303 addresses, and found that their transaction volume in Metamask is 205, 673, 503 USD, and the median trading volume is 474 USD. Although the total trading volume is not very different, the median indicates that the trading volume of airdrop hunters is more average. Most airdrop hunters will have more than 1,000 USD trading volume.

The following are the trading currency pairs and related information of airdrop hunters and other users:

(Common Coin is the top 50 currencies in CoinMarketCap by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins)

We found that airdrop hunters have very similar currency pair preferences on Metamask Swap and Uniswap. Compared with ordinary users, airdrop hunters tend to trade stablecoins and more mainstream currencies: USDC, USDT, WETH, DAI, WBTC, etc. . Because these stablecoins and mainstream currencies have high liquidity and relatively stable prices, they reduce transaction risks. In addition, stable coins and mainstream currencies are also easier to transfer and trade between multiple trading platforms, improving the flexibility of funds. This shows that airdrop hunters also pay attention to risk control and flexible use of funds while pursuing returns.

2. NFT track: Foundation

We randomly sampled three airdrop hunters who participated in Foundation and found that airdrop hunters did not interact frequently on Foundation. Most of the interactions were bidding on NFTs (Place Bid), but two of the airdrop hunters also actually purchased them. NFT.

Airdrop Hunters' behavior on Foundation

The Blur airdrop rules can give us inspiration. Although some people have not purchased NFT, they can get considerable airdrop income just by exchanging coins and bidding. Therefore, when interacting with the project side, we can try more different functions of the project and actively participate. And you might get some unexpected surprises while trying out the project.

3. Layer 2 solution track: zkSync lite, zkSync Era, Starknet zkSync(lite)

We randomly selected 4 airdrop hunters who have cross-chain to zkSync lite. Next, we will use screenshots and descriptions to show you the behavior patterns of these airdrop hunters on zkSync. If you want to understand the complete behavior of airdrop hunters, please refer to the link we attached.

Airdrop Hunter 1:

Hunter 1s first transaction occurred on 2021-11-01, and he transferred a sum of money from another address. It is worth noting that the interval between his two subsequent Swap transactions was only 15 seconds. He first exchanged ETH for USDT and then exchanged USDT back for ETH. This kind of rapid and continuous trading behavior seems to be increasing the activity.

Airdrop Hunter 1 ( 1)

I have omitted several cross-chain and address transfer operations. Hunter 1 conducted a similar transaction 8 months ago, that is, 2022-10-20 (the protagonist changed from USDT to USDC). The time interval About 30 seconds.

Airdrop Hunter 1 ( 2)

Two months ago, this address conducted a series of similar transactions (39 transactions in total), with an interval of approximately 20 seconds between each transaction:

Airdrop Hunter 1 ( 3)

Airdrop Hunter 2:

The behavior of Hunter 2 is relatively simple. It cross-chained from the main network on 2021-11-10, and made its first transaction (converting ETH to USDC) three months ago. Then there was another transaction at this address from the main network across the chain, and there has been no other transaction so far.

Airdrop Hunter 2 

Airdrop Hunter 3:

The behavior of Hunter 3 and Hunter 1 on zkSync lite is very similar. They both crossed the chain from the main network to zkSync at the end of 2021, and then used the transaction function of zkSync to convert ETH to stable currency, and then exchange the stable currency back to ETH. (ETH<->USDT), and they all made multiple transactions with intervals of around 20 seconds. This may indicate that they are trying to increase activity through frequent trading behavior:

Airdrop Hunter 3 ( 1)

Let’s ignore the sporadic transactions in the middle. Hunter 3 conducted another wave of similar operations on 2022-05-25, and the transaction time interval was also about 20 seconds.

Airdrop Hunter 3 ( 2)

Airdrop Hunter 4:

Hunter 4 made several transactions after cross-chain operations, and then cross-chain operations after a while. This pattern of behavior may mean that they are trying to maintain a certain level of activity on the zkSync chain and transfer and deploy funds when needed.

Airdrop Hunter 4 

zkSync Era: In addition to zkSync lite, many airdrop hunters also choose to cross-chain to zkSync Era’s mainnet for interaction. It is worth noting that in the first two days when the zkSync Era mainnet was launched, a considerable number of airdrop hunters began to interact here, which reflects the high level of attention and active participation of airdrop hunters in the zkSync Era project.

Airdrop Hunter 1:

Airdrop Hunter 1 exhibits almost the same behavior pattern on zkSync lite and zkSync Era. After zkSync Era went online on 2023-03-24, Airdrop Hunter 1 immediately carried out cross-chain operations the next day, showing a high level of attention and quick response to this new project. Then use the SyncSwap contract to perform currency swap operations.

Airdrop Hunter 1 ( 1)

Seven days after the first interaction (2023-04-02), Airdrop Hunter 1 took a similar trading behavior to increase activity. The timing is so clever that it raises questions about whether hes trying to increase his activity levels from week to week.

Airdrop Hunter 1 ( 2)

The last operation of Airdrop Hunter 1 on zkSync Era occurred a month ago (2023-05-19). This operation still used SyncSwap to complete the currency exchange operation between ETH and USDC.

Airdrop Hunter 1 ( 3)

Airdrop Hunter 2:

Airdrop Hunter 2 cross-chained to zkSync Era on the day the zkSync Era mainnet was launched. Like Airdrop Hunter 1, it showed its high level of attention and activity to the project. His many transactions on zkSync Era were all conducted through the Mute project. Unlike Airdrop Hunter 1, which exchanges currencies, Airdrop Hunter 2 exchanges ETH to ETH through contracts. This method can both pay The lower handling fees can avoid the risk of currency price fluctuations and leave traces of activity on zkSync.

Airdrop Hunter 2 

Airdrop Hunter 3:

Airdrop Hunter 3 and Airdrop Hunter 1 crossed the chain to zkSync Era on the same day (2023-03-25), and the operations on the chain are also very similar to Airdrop Hunter 1. The only difference is that AirDrop Hunter 4 uses the SpaceFi project to exchange between ETH and USDC.

Airdrop Hunter 3 ( 1)

Airdrop Hunter 3 returns to the zkSync Era a week after the first interaction (2023-04-03). This time, Airdrop Hunter 3 uses SyncSwap instead of SpaceFi. While boosting his activity, he also participated in multiple projects in the zkSync Era ecosystem.

Airdrop Hunter 3 ( 2)

Airdrop Hunter 3 also continued transfers and other activities in the follow-up. It also participated in the iZUMi project and conducted transactions between ETH and ETH. It is worth noting that this address has multiple transfer records on 2023-05-15.

Airdrop Hunter 3 ( 3)

StarkNet:Since the number of cross-chain airdrop hunters to Starknet is small, and the transaction behavior pattern of airdrop hunters is quite similar to that of zkSync, we will choose a representative address for analysis and examples.

Airdrop Hunter:

1. About two months ago (2023-04-12), airdrop hunters cross-chained to Starknet and used the myswap project on Starknet to conduct transactions between ETH and USDC on the same day.

2. On Starknet, he also minted some NFTs.

3. 15 days ago (2023-06-01), he conducted a transaction between ETH and USDT through myswap.

Airdrop Hunter on Starknet

4.Dapp track: DeBank

DeBank is a decentralized finance (DeFi) data analysis and asset management platform that provides users with a panoramic view of their investments and debts in different DeFi projects. It also provides real-time project data, transaction records and risk assessment to help users make informed investment decisions. DeBank has also recently been expanding its DeFi business, including swap and other functions, and the community is also eagerly awaiting DeBanks airdrop. However, boutique airdrop hunters are different from community Debank tutorials. Most of the boutique airdrop hunters only registered DeBank and did not use DeBank’s Swap function like the Lu Airdrop tutorial. The following shows how boutique airdrop hunters interact with Debank:

Airdrop Hunter's operation on Debank ( 1)

Airdrop Hunter's operation on Debank ( 2)

Judging from the behavior of high-quality airdrop hunters, it is more like they have registered DeBank and turned on the analysis function for the purpose of on-chain analysis, unlike other users who have obvious intentions of harvesting wool and use DeBank’s Swap function to increase their potential chances of receiving airdrops. .

5. Summary

After in-depth analysis of airdrop hunters’ project selection on the chain, we discovered the key driving factors for airdrop hunters to choose projects:

1. Industry influence:Most hunters tend to choose projects that have widespread influence and popularity in their field. With the exception of DeBank, the number of contract interactions on Ethereum for these projects has exceeded an astonishing 700,000 times.

2. Preferred choice for Layer 2 solutions:Airdrop hunters obviously prefer Layer 2 projects, such as Arbitrum, zkSync lite and zkSync Era. Layer 2 solutions provide faster transaction confirmation speeds and lower transaction fees, which is obviously very important for hunters who frequently participate in DeFi and NFT projects.

Through in-depth analysis of X-explore, it can be concluded that although airdrop hunters on Arbitrum and Optimism show high-quality behavior patterns, on zkSync and Starknet, they show a phenomenon of increasing activity. This is closely related to the integrity of the ecology on the chain. Optimism and Arbitrum have been developing and settling for a period of time before the airdrop was announced, while zkSync’s airdrop calls continued before the Era mainnet was launched. This discovery forces us to rethink: What is the true meaning of airdrops? How can we find truly valuable users in formulating the rules for airdrops, instead of those who just engage in a lot of meaningless interactions just to take advantage of airdrops? These are issues that project parties need to explore in depth.

Lessons from Short Hunters

1. Airdrop hunters are mainly real and high-quality users:They actively participate in various blockchain projects, conduct cross-chain transactions, and maintain stable activity on multiple platforms. Although the discussion of Witch Address is quite heated, we have not found any obvious wool gang behavior among airdrop hunters. On the contrary, their behavior patterns reflect deep participation in the project and love for the blockchain world, not just for short-term airdrop benefits.

2. When formulating airdrop rules, you can learn from successful examples:When analyzing the traces of airdrop hunters on Optimism, we found that many high-quality airdrop hunters received a large number of OP airdrops due to their activity on Ethereum, and finally became loyal users on the OP chain. Therefore, when formulating airdrop rules, project parties can take the behavior of airdrop hunters into account to ensure that airdrops can be more effectively distributed to such high-quality users. This also helps project parties use airdrops as an incentive mechanism to increase project participation and user loyalty.

3. A good airdrop needs to meet two core conditions:Reasonable airdrop rule design and complete ecological chain. With proper airdrop rules and a sound ecological chain, we have witnessed how high-quality users on Arbitrum/Optimism can maintain continued activity. However, rushing to release airdrop information before the ecological chain is complete may lead to superficial prosperity. Even high-quality airdrop hunters may increase activity on zkSync/Starknet. In the next X-explore article, we will delve into the behavior of low-quality users and Witch Attacks on ZkSync/Starknet, and reveal the true situation under the surface prosperity.

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