Source: Cointelegraph
Original: “The bear market is temporary, but airdrops are eternal”
Author: Paul Delio, Chief Business Officer of CARV
Market volatility comes and goes, naturally capturing a lot of attention in the crypto market, but in recent cycles, something more significant has been quietly happening. The past few years have generally been very favorable for new tokens, bringing significant wealth creation opportunities with their launch, such as airdrops.
I recently spoke with Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, at the Consensus conference in Hong Kong. He mentioned a number that immediately alleviated market anxiety: between 2021 and 2024, airdrops worth $49 billion were directly distributed to the Web3 community. “I can’t think of a larger private wealth creation event than this,” Siu pointed out.
He is absolutely right. Airdrops not only engage users in the early stages but also reward their early support in ways that traditional markets cannot or are unwilling to provide. Through this unique mechanism, we all get to participate in one of the most significant wealth redistributions in recent years.
Although current market sentiment may cause some to think twice, there is still tremendous user and network value being built behind the scenes. The bear market is temporary, but airdrops—and the ownership and community models they empower in the crypto space—are eternal.
Airdrops change ownership relationships
Airdrops are not just free tokens—they are a restructured relationship between platforms and users. The value they bring to protocols far exceeds the intrinsic price of the tokens.
In traditional tech sectors, users have unfortunately become accustomed to creating value without any return.
This is the business model of many well-known companies today: leveraging information, extracting its value, and selling it to the highest bidder. When users do not own their data, tech companies weaponize it for profit and influence.
Airdrops challenge this status quo. This model respects participants through ownership shares and real-world value. If you use a project, airdrops believe you should share in that value. Passive users become active stakeholders, driving the ecosystem forward and elevating it to new heights.
The underprivileged in data and decision-making finally have a voice. From Layer 2 providing governance tokens to early users, to projects rewarding supporters, airdrops rewrite the rules of ownership and create lasting protocol-user stickiness. This ownership releases engagement that can be maintained even as market conditions change.
Airdrops create ecosystems
In Web3, the community determines the success or failure of a project. As Siu pointed out, network effects are one of the most valuable assets in the digital economy. Airdrops have become a cornerstone in the crypto space precisely because they provide the seed funding for these effects.
Airdrops fund those with “skin in the game” and support thousands of micro-economies. Value flows between participants rather than being extracted by centralized entities, creating a self-reinforcing innovation flywheel. Token holders become evangelists, developers, participants, and builders—driving projects from speculation to sustainability, regardless of whether the market is bullish or bearish.
Some people try to exploit airdrop rules, while others are driven solely by profit. Teams are working hard on both fronts to weed out bad actors and prioritize true supporters. Nevertheless, it is hard to view the virtuous cycle of airdrops as anything other than a transformative force. As we saw with Axie Infinity in the Philippines, they successfully attracted a new cohort of crypto users.
Airdrops bring lasting value
Web3 needs active users who interact with protocols and benefit from them. If we grow, you grow too. This idea is at the core of crypto. It is also reflected in node sales rewarding network decentralization and AI agents tracking data on the blockchain, paying users when used for training.
These features can still release user and network value despite market fluctuations. Of course, financial gains are part of it, but governance rights, community belonging, and genuine participation are equally present. Then, when the market rebounds, users are ready to embrace the process and benefit from their loyalty.
In these recent weeks of volatility, what is the best advice? Forget about market fluctuations and look at what airdrops have brought. $49 billion is no small number, and real, lasting connections and communities are equally valuable.
Author: Paul Delio, Chief Business Officer of CARV
Related: The future of DeFi is not on Ethereum (ETH), but on Bitcoin (BTC)
This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views or opinions of Cointelegraph.
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