Airdrops and bounties can be a fun and easy gateway to cryptocurrency, without initial investment, and also a way of finding out about new blockchain projects. While many coins/tokens will never worth anything, some airdrop and bounties can be hugely profitable. Just hold onto those tokens and who knows if they can become valuable in the future, or at least worthy enough to sell for a decent amount of BTC or ETH during a bull market. Or even a means for you to invest in penny cryptos that have huge potential, that are likely to skyrocket in the future.

What is an Airdrop and a Bounty?

Both airdrops and bounties, in the cryptocurrency sphere, are a form of marketing that aims to generate buzz, boost engagement, and involves sending free coins or tokens to wallet addresses in order to promote awareness of a new virtual currency.

Small amounts of the new coin are sent to wallets for free or in return for a certain task such as posting about the currency on social media, following a particular member of the blockchain project, or even writing a blog post.

Sometimes if you HODL one type of coin, like BTC or ETH, or any other with a dedicated blockchain, you are automatically eligible to claim other coins or tokens just because you were holding the parent coin on which the (fork) airdrop is being done.

Why Airdrops and Bounties Deliver Free Coins?

As stated before an airdrop and bounty purpose is to create brand awareness, attract new users, new customers, get more people trading it when it lists on an exchange, and finally to create a community.

A legit airdrop and bounty usually don’t seek capital investment in the currency. Its aim is purely promotional. We might say that they are an attempt to stand out from the crowd. And this fast-moving blockchain world can be quite noisy.

The Key Difference between Airdrops and Bounties

The difference between Airdrops and Bounties is that Airdrops ‘fall out of the sky’ and are easier, while in a bounty you complete tasks that require more work, and they are often paid better. Common bounty campaigns require you to create Blog or Video content, translation campaigns, social media campaigns, Bug bounties (for coders), or signature campaign on forums.

Bad Airdrop & Bounty Warning signs

On the opposite, a bad airdrop might be a pump-and-dump scheme where the creator inflates the coin to get quick profit, a scam to get your personal data, or just a project that lacks purpose, a solid foundation, and real-world case use. It is recommended not to put all your Eggs in One Baskett, so used dummy accounts to both tradings, for airdrops, and bounties to prevent having your info hacked. Also, secure your accounts using a 2FA Authenticator.

The secret to success is a mix of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. There are a few warning signs that might indicate a scheme.

Therefore is essential to dig deeper and try to determine whether:

• The company or promoter has recently been suspended by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• If there’s an increase in coin value simultaneously with the is occurring promotional activity. If so do not buy. If it looks unusual, it likely is.

• Press releases and promotions may announce events that don’t actually happen. This is false advertising and therefore a warning sign.

• Always check if the company or promoter has real business operations, if they don’t, that’s bad news.

• If the company or promoter has a lot of shares without a corresponding increase in assets, avoid them.

• If they frequently change the companies name, management, or type of business, that’s a bad sign.

Arcanu aka Amber Lee for BREAKING DOWN VALUE