Those familiar with cryptocurrency are likely no strangers to ICO airdrops but lately a new challenger has appeared in the form of EOS airdrops. EOS air drops have inarguably become one of the most discussed topics among members of the crypto community during the past couple of months. The discussions are heating up even more, as the highly anticipated launch of EOS's mainnet has just taken place on June 14th. Following this date, the EOS Ethereum based ERC20 tokens, which were mainly used for fundraising, are being replaced by tokens on EOS's mainnet. Inifinito Wallet has officially become the first ever wallet one can use to manage their assets on EOS's mainnet. As the mainnet has just gone live, a large number of EOS air drops are anticipated to take place during the next few months. So, if you own EOS, you might be entitled to receive tens of other tokens that will be air dropped, i.e. freely distributed among EOS holders, during the next few months.
Throughout this article, we will introduce you to EOS air drops and explain how they can represent a business model that can gradually evolve to outgrow Ethereum's ICO model.
What are EOS Air drops?
In the world of cryptocurrencies, an air drop is the distribution of tokens/coins among users of the platform or investors, provided that they complete a few simple steps required by the founders of the platform. In the early days, air drops were usually referred to as giveaways, and users were awarded free coins for just sharing info about the project on their social media accounts, writing articles, or participating in any other online activities that helped market the coin and introduce it to new users.
EOS is a decentralized application platform that can be used to create cryptograpghic tokens, similar to Ethereum. There are already tens of projects that have chosen to issue their tokens on EOS's blockchain including Atidium, Cetos, Edna, Everpedia, EOX, HoursPay, and many more. Via EOS air drops, these tokens are distributed among holders of EOS. Some air drops are automatically added to EOS's wallets, some require registration at the project's website, while others require a minimum balance of EOS to be present in the wallet to receive the air dropped tokens.
EOS drops represent a great opportunity to take some free chips off the table, if you own some EOS. This can turn out to be a fortune, if some of the tokens air dropped on you gain popularity and their value skyrockets. Let me give you an interesting example: those who registered for ONT's newsletter last February were entitled to receive 1,000 ONT tokens. As the price of ONT is around $5 today, this means that those 1,000 tokens are now worth $5,000. Can you believe it? $5,000 for just signing up for a newsletter? It all comes down to the magic of air drops.
How can EOS air drops help project founders raise money?
Many crypto experts believe that EOS will outgrow Ethereum as a platform for decentralized applications (Dapps) and issuance for tokens for multiple reasons including:
- EOS has an innovative governance model that puts full blockchain control into the hands of the token holders.
- EOS's transactions require zero fees.
- EOS's blockchain promotes an infinite level of scalability.
- EOS supports free blockchain storage, which will set the stage for website hosting on the blockchain.
- EOS's platform boasts simple tools for creation of the best Internet 3.0 and DAO Dapps.
With Ethereum's ICO crowdfunding model, anyone can create a smart contract, issue millions of ERC20 tokens, set an arbitrary price for these tokens, and then sell them to the public. During the ICO, when the tokens have no use, token buyers are just buying worthless computer code, so they are actually spending their money on nothing. Investors spend their money on tokens, with the hope that the project's team will use the raised money to complete development of the project. That's when the bought tokens will have real use, and hence have real value. As such, if at any point, the ICO's team decide to halt their development plan and disappear with the raised funds via an exit scam, there is nothing the investors can do, as they will be left with nothing but useless tokens, whose price will plummet to zero in no time. This explains the large number of scams associated with the ICO model during the past year.
EOS air drops seem more safe for investors, as they will receive the air dropped tokens for free, but how can it help the project owners, doing airdrops, raise money for the project?
To answer this question, I will present you with a hypothetical situation. Let's say that a project owner uses EOS's blockchain to issue 100 million tokens, that he named TAJD tokens. After launching of the project, the TAJD tokens are valued at $0.10, so his 100 million tokens would be worth $10 million. He decides to giveaway 20 million TAJD tokens via EOS drops. Practically, this means that after giving away those 20 million tokens, his capital would come down to $8 million. However, the usual scenario with air drops is that the internet becomes flooded with posts and social media statuses about the air drops, which means that more people will be introduced to the token, wallets will be opened, transactions will be executed, and the features of the token will be appreciated by the public. A couple of months later, the price of TAJD tokens rises from $0.10 to $0.14. So, the project owner's remaining 80 million TAJD tokens are now worth $11.2 million. So, air dropping 20% of his owned tokens helped him raise $1.2 million, without selling his tokens. That's how the air dropping fundraising model works.
Upcoming EOS air drops to look forward to:
There around 30 EOS air drops planned to take place during the upcoming couple of months. The following are the most promising:
- Lab Ledger is a blockchain based ecosystem for researchers that will include a database for scientific papers. The air drop is planned to take place on June 21st.
- HoursPay is a payroll portal that utilizes the blockchain technology to securely exchange data with global payroll vendors. The air drop is planned to take place on June 30th.
- Trybe is a blockchain based platform that hosts educational content about crypto in the form of lectures, courses, training videos, etc. The air drop is planned to take place in August.
- Atidium is a decentralized application for payments and budget managements. It is planned to take place on June 28th.
- CETOS is a blockchain based platform for the healthcare industry. It is planned to take place some time between next June and July.
- EDNA is a blockchain based database for the DNA structure and genes of individuals. Its launch date is yet to be determined.
- EOSBet is a blockchain based online gambling platform. Its launch date is yet to be determined.
- HireVibes is a crowdsourcing decentralized application based on the blockchain technology. It is planned to take place in Q3 2018.
- ONO Social Network is a decentralized blockchain based social network. It is planned to take place on June 30th.
- EOX is a decentralized blockchain based e-commerce platform. It is planned to take place in June 30th.
Do your homework and take part in some of those upcoming EOS air drops. Who knows? Maybe one or a few of the next air drops you receive will be your ticket to a wealthy future!