What is a crypto airdrop? Free tokens, eligibility, and tax traps

On November 29, 2024, a perpetual futures exchange called Hyperliquid distributed 31% of its total token supply to users who had traded on the platform. There was no venture capital allocation to dilute the drop. There was no points program with opaque conversion ratios. The protocol simply looked at who had used the product, calculated their allocation based on trading activity, and sent the tokens. Some active traders received allocations worth six figures. A few exceeded a million dollars. The HYPE token launched at $2 and traded above $30 within weeks, making it the most valuable airdrop in crypto’s history and, briefly, a larger market-cap asset than some of the tokens it traded. The event was exceptional, but the mechanism behind it, distributing tokens to reward early users and bootstrap a decentralized community, has become one of the defining patterns of the crypto economy. This guide explains how airdrops work, the models that have evolved, the strategies that position wallets for eligibility, the scams that exploit the format, and the US tax obligations that most recipients discover too late. Summary A crypto airdrop distributes free tokens to wallet addresses, typically...