The Best Way to Earn $100.000+ in 2024 Starting from 0$ — Airdrop Farming New Crypto Projects
Hello again! Time to make some money ;) In this article, I’ll walk you through step by step on how to make your first $100k in crypto. And the best part? You’ll learn fascinating things, it’s mostly free, and doesn’t require any significant investments… and of course, you can automate it in Python ;)
… i will also introduce you to a very special solution i build which gives you the ultimate edge at the end of this article :)
So, it’s the perfect topic for this little publication. We’ll delve deeper into this topic in the upcoming articles.
Hint: If you’re to lazy to read … just watch this Video here where i show my current research routine and the tool i use.
What is an Airdrop?
Basically it is free money you get for doing some tasks, testing a new project or just being around in crypto at the right spot and time.
Now, why on earth would projects do such a generous thing? You see, in the competitive world of cryptocurrency, standing out from the crowd is no easy feat. Projects use airdrops as a savvy marketing strategy to drum up interest, create a buzz and attract a diverse community of supporters.
Think of it as a symbiotic relationship. Projects benefit from increased visibility, a better product and a growing user base, while participants get to snag some free crypto tokens. It’s a win-win scenario that fosters community engagement and (if done right) cultivates a loyal following.
But Airdrops also serve a deeper purpose beyond mere marketing gimmicks. They play a pivotal role in decentralization, democratization, and inclusivity within the crypto space. By distributing tokens far and wide, projects strive to ensure a more equitable distribution.
In essence, airdrops embody the democratic ethos of cryptocurrency, empowering individuals to claim their stake in the digital economy.
Airdrop are also one of the best ways to incentivize new users to test their products and gather feedback from real users. So basically you trade your time for a share of the project.
There are some other more shady reasons why projects to airdrops like pumping up the numbers of active users to be more attractive for potential investors but i think you got the basic idea.
Airdrops done right are a great win-win situation you certainly do not want to miss out.
How much money can you make?
I know … you want to know … so yeah, it is kind of a very broad range. Depending on your effort, anything between $0 and millions of dollars is possible. There were some airdrops where running a simple node (typing like 30–50 Linux commands) earned you $70k+, other airdrops netted well over $10k+ for just registering an .ens domain name and setting a reverse DNS entry, which takes like 5–10 minutes. In 2023, over 4.5 Billion Dollars were distributed through airdrops.
Some of the biggest to mention were Arbitrum (1.9 Billion). For bridging into the ecosystem and executing transactions, you got rewarded big. Some users earned well over $100k just with this airdrop. Another big one was Blur, which distributed close to a billion dollars’ worth of tokens for using their NFT marketplace. There were some users who made over 1 million with this airdrop alone. All they did was swap some NFTs (which we can of course easily automate with Python ;).
Celestia was another huge one, dropping close to a billion worth of tokens. You got the tokens for just staking some of your tokens. Time effort probably a few minutes again.
And there were many, many more like Jito, dropping over 300 million just for a few simple transactions.
So even without any automation, by just being active with 1–2 wallets, researching the right projects, and being consistent, you could easily have earned 100k+ dollars.
I know, this sounds too good to be true, but bear with me and learn about the challenges and the risks as well and how you can become one of the next big airdrop claimers for yourself.
Why Aidrop farming is one of the best ways to make money in 2024
Low Barrier to Entry: Airdrop farming requires minimal initial investment (or none at all, if you farm testnets), making it accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a willingness to participate. Unlike traditional investing, which often requires significant capital, airdrop farming allows individuals to enter the crypto space without spending a dime.
Potential for High Returns: While the amount earned from individual airdrops can vary, some projects have distributed significant sums of money worth millions of dollars. With diligent research and participation in promising projects, airdrop farmers have the potential to earn substantial returns, sometimes reaching six or even seven figures.
Diversification of Crypto Portfolio: Airdrop farming enables individuals to diversify their crypto portfolios without spending money. By participating in multiple airdrops across different projects, farmers can accumulate a variety of tokens, reducing the risk associated with investing in a single asset.
Opportunity for Early Adoption: Airdrops often target early adopters and supporters of new projects, rewarding them for their involvement and loyalty. By participating in airdrops, individuals have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of promising projects before they gain widespread attention, potentially reaping the benefits of future growth and success. Especially in a bull market this is very interesting as the value of the tokens may even rise significantly.
Community Engagement and Networking: Airdrop farming encourages active participation in the crypto community, fostering connections with like-minded individuals and project teams. Engaging in discussions, providing feedback, and supporting projects can lead to valuable networking opportunities and potential partnerships in the future.
Educational Value: Participating in airdrop farming provides individuals with hands-on experience in the crypto space, allowing them to learn about blockchain technology, token economics, and project development. This is not some boring school shit, it es learning and earning by doing ;) By actively engaging with projects, you can gain valuable insights and knowledge.
Overall, airdrop farming offers a unique and accessible opportunity for individuals to enter the crypto space, diversify their portfolios, and potentially earn significant returns with minimal upfront investment.
Ok, this list was written by chat GPT ;) But i think it is quite good and covers most of my own reasons as well. In the end you need to decide for your self, if and why you want to do it … or not.
The steps to success
So after all this introduction, hopefully, you’re convinced to join me on this journey to incredible wealth :D I will outline the basic steps for you, and then we take a look at a few projects to begin with.
Create Wallets
The first step is to create a few wallets. Nothing complicated here, just make sure you backup the private keys or seed phrases and never share them with anyone! I recommend using multiple wallets for different projects to minimize the risks. Some of these projects are very early, not audited, etc. I also recommend using multiple browser wallets like MetaMask, Rabby Wallet, etc. Some of these wallets like Rabby might have an Airdrop on their own, and again, you’re minimizing a single point of failure.
I would recommend starting with a few EVM wallets for Ethereum and all the L2s, a few Cosmos wallets for staking, and a few Solana wallets. These are currently the most active ecosystems and have had the biggest airdrops so far.
Do your Research
The next step is research. The basic idea is to find interesting new projects that do not have a token yet. You then sort them by different criteria like daily active users, airdrop confirmed, VC investments, amount of money raised, potential of the project, twitter followers, narrative, etc.
As a beginner, I would recommend just following a few Twitter accounts who regularly post about new airdrops or check out the following sites.
Some twitter accounts to begin with in alphabetical order:
Ok the last one is me, i tried to sneak my self in there but rarely post anything ;( But that might change in the future ;) So follow me, it would mean the world to me and i finally can add Influencer to my CV as well :D
There are also some good websites to begin with:
https://airdrops.io/
https://airdropalert.com/
https://www.airdropsmob.com/
https://freeairdrop.io/
It might feel overwhelming from time to time, as there seem to be so many opportunities and so little time. Finding the right projects and what to do is tough. But the linked resources should get you started. Later on, you might want to dive deeper for yourself.
I recommend focusing on 2–3 ecosystems or narratives and just skip the rest. You won’t catch them all anyway, so stop trying. For me, it’s all EVM-based chains, L2, zk tech, scaling, interoperability, perp protocols, DePin, gaming, privacy.
I completely skip all Bitcoin L2, for example. I don’t believe in their technology, and most of them are centralized marketing bullshit trying to profit from Bitcoin’s reputation. Sure, there are a few good opportunities, and I might leave some money on the table, but having your own convictions about the market helps to sort out the noise. I also skip most airdrops that require me to do some weird retweeting, liking, joining Discord, or other stuff. Galxe tasks, Zealy, proof of human… I do not see this as missed opportunities but a good way to filter a way too long to-do list.
I also avoid most airdrops that require me to stake big amounts for a long time. Eigenlayer, for example, is all the hype now and all this restaking narrative, but there are millions staked. So even if I should get an airdrop, my share would be way too small. Also, again, my conviction is that all this restaking is a very risky hype which for sure will blow up sometimes. Generating yield from yield to earn more yield is never a good idea.
I recommend farming apps/projects you understand and which have a real use case and provide real value/earn fees. An NFT marketplace, for example, a Perp protocol, games, bridges, DEXes, etc. Most of these are volume-based, easy to automate with Python, and easy to understand.
And you don’t need to know all the technical details, read the GitHub commits, or do a deep dive into the tokenomics. Just use a project/chain and see how it feels. This is a very good indicator as well. If you do not enjoy playing some web3 game, why should others? If it is overly complicated to get some tokens, others might feel the same, and the project might have to fix this first. My own user experience is always a very important factor for me in rating airdrops/new projects.
And one last hint to save some time: avoid YouTube most of the time. 99% are scammers or paid influencers. There is nearly no alpha, and watching videos for 10–20 minutes while getting info that would fit in a 140-character tweet is a waste of time.
There is some amazing Youtube content out there but it is usually 1h+ hours and more technical than you need to farm some airdrops. Medium, Substack, Whitepapers, project documentation and on Chain data are usually much better resources.
My current research routine looks like this:
Twice a day, while drinking my coffee, I scroll through Twitter on my phone and copy the most interesting tweets into a private Telegram channel. Later, when I am on my computer, I review all the projects and assess basic stats such as Twitter followers and available information. If the projects pique my interest, I enter them into Orbitrum and devise a strategy for completing tasks.
For example, most L2 chains have an ecosystem site. I explore all available apps, starting with basics like DEXes or NFT marketplaces where transactions are straightforward. I seek out unique apps or value propositions for each L2/project. (Most projects lack these, making them easy to skip).
Execution
Okay, that one is easy. Just click away, but be cautious about what you’re signing up for or engaging with. Never share your private keys, and resist the temptation to get greedy.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of scammers lurking in this space. If a website looks suspicious, steer clear of it. Watch out for scammy tweets or ads. Always use an adblocker; if you’re searching for crypto projects on Google, most of the ads are phishing sites! The same goes for replies to original tweets — many are scams. Double-check all accounts to ensure they’re official, and scrutinize every URL and address. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is…
You get the idea. Just exercise caution out there; this is a risky space and it is better to lose an “opportunity” than all your money because you clicked on a phishing link. That’s one reason why I recommend using multiple wallets and avoiding your main ones for this purpose.
The secret lies in consistency. Dedicate at least 10–30 minutes every day. The more effort you put in, the greater the potential reward.
If you don’t know what to do, just check out which kind of actions were rewarded in previous Airdrops.
Scaling it up
Okay, until now you’ve covered the basic steps that everyone should follow to become a successful airdrop farmer. This information is mostly publicly available, and if you follow these steps with 2–3 wallets, you’ll be fine.
But there are some people who want more. So let’s take a look at scaling it to hundreds of wallets. I do not encourage you to do so. Do not harm anyone and do not be greedy. But I love technical challenges, and scaling this is one. So I will outline the basic steps, but feel free to skip this until you’ve finished the basics and really want to go all-in.
First, this is called a Sybil attack.
Take this Wikipedia definition of a Sybil attack as a start:
‘A Sybil attack is a type of attack on a computer network service in which an attacker subverts the service’s reputation system by creating a large number of pseudonymous identities and uses them to gain a disproportionately large influence. It is named after the subject of the book Sybil, a case study of a woman diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder.’
So the basic idea is to create a lot of wallets and automate tasks like swapping, bridging, and trading to generate as much volume as possible. If you have followed my previous articles on how to swap on Uniswap or how to create a Perp Trading bot with just 100 lines of Python code, you might take them as inspiration. Automating these tasks is quite easy because of the open nature of most dApps and blockchains in general, and adding a proxy to hide your IP is also easy.
There are a few things to watch out for though. Most projects try to filter out Sybils. The most common way to do so is by checking the source of funds or using algorithms to detect connected wallets.
If you cash out your airdrop from 10 wallets to the same CEX accounts, it’s obvious that your accounts are connected. To prevent this, people use different CEX accounts, various bridges, on-chain mixers, etc.
So if you would want to farm big, make sure that your wallets are not connected.
The next thing most people probably don’t even know about is the IP address. When you send a transaction to an RPC or interact with any website, they might store your IP address, which is a worldwide unique identifier of your computer. Use the same address with multiple wallets, and you might get caught.
To prevent this, you might want to use so-called static residential elite proxies. They look like a real IP from a home user, and the websites will not be able to tell that you are using a proxy. Some VPNs might also be a solution for smaller scales.
But even without an IP, it is quite easy to identify the same users by so-called browser fingerprinting and other more advanced techniques. Basically, each browser has a User Agent string, telling the operating system and various other details. Besides that, each browser might have a unique list of plugins, extensions, timezone, fonts installed, cookies set, etc. With all this information combined, it is quite easy to track and identify users.
But again, there are solutions like Anti-Detect Browsers to avoid this. You might want to check out Dolphin Anty, for example.
Social logins are also very easy to fool, as you can just buy Google or Twitter accounts in bulk for a few dollars. But I think that’s enough to give you an idea.
And I think you get the idea why this is interesting for me as a technical challenge, but probably not for you. Do the basics, and you’re fine.
10 Airdrops to farm in 2024
Ok i won’t go into details here, but here is a List of Airdrops you might consider as beginner:
zkSync
Layer Zero
Aleo
Hyperlane
Aevo
Scroll network
Shardeum
Fuel network
Taiko
LogX
Orderly
Mind network
Metis
Parcl
Hyperliquid
… you find hundreds of interesting projects on orbitrum.net or the other mentioned resources.
How to keep track of your tasks
To farm a lot of airdrops with more than one wallet and keep track of everything you’ve done already, along with all the repeating tasks, is quite a challenge. Many people resort to using spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets for this purpose, but as a Python developer, I kind of hate spreadsheets ;) They tend to get messy really fast, and not in the good way.
So, I basically built my own tool to track my wallets and all the airdrop tasks, of course, in Python. You can check it out here: orbitrum.net . Just create an account and check it out. The good thing is, while farming airdrops with Orbitrum, you also farm the Orbitrum airdrop as well ;) Double farming all the way.
You’ll also find some of my current strategies and all the projects I research there. It’s a work in progress and i have limited time and resources, but if you have any feedback, just let me know and i will implement them. You can find a feedback form within the app or just DM me on twitter.
The risks involved
Ok i can’t let you go out into this dangerous world without mentioning the risks of this.
First and foremost, remember that these are testnets and very early-stage projects. They may not function as intended and could contain various security vulnerabilities. Therefore, refrain from risking any substantial amount of money on these projects.
Another risk to consider is the possibility of wasting time on the wrong projects, tasks, or missing crucial steps. It’s common to encounter users on Twitter expressing frustration about not being eligible for certain airdrops. Focus on the learning experience and enjoy the journey; this mindset will also enhance the outcome.
Be vigilant against scams and phishing attempts prevalent across the internet. Exercise caution and skepticism when engaging with unfamiliar projects or platforms.
Check whether certain countries are excluded from participating in airdrops. Stay informed and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
Guard against emotional impulses such as fear of missing out (FOMO), impatience, and greed. Consistency and focus are key to long-term success in this space.
Understand that airdrops may not always yield immediate results. Sometimes, it can take several years for airdrops to materialize, if at all.
It’s essential to recognize that most of these risks, aside from security concerns, revolve around the potential for time wastage. However, if you’re already spending time on social networks or watching Netflix, airdrop farming can serve as a productive side hustle.
The Ultimate Airdrop Farming Solution
In the spirit of Python and DeFi innovation, I present orbitrum.net. Over the past few months, I’ve developed Orbitrum as a passion project, aiming to create the ultimate Bullrun tool for me and some friends. It assists with research, wallet management, task automation, and more.
You can also watch how to use it for airdrop farming here:
Ready to give it a try? Sign up and explore it here.
https://app.orbitrum.net/accounts/signup?invite_code=db4e440654b831f1fa82da85
Happy farming
To all my fellow farmers, both friends and anons alike, I hope some of you will implement this solution. While most people may not take action, I believe it’s an opportunity worth seizing.
Many are complacent in their comfort zones and unwilling to invest the time and effort to change their lives for the better. But this might be your chance.
Until next time, I wish you all happy farming.
In the next article, we’ll dive into fully automating one of these airdrops and finally get to write some code again.