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How to earn crypto passive income with forks and airdrops?
Hard forks and airdrops are forms of passive income strategies, which are essentially free giveaways of particular tokens to users.
When cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) go through bear phases like the one we currently find ourselves in, the idea of earning passive income from one’s holdings becomes all the more attractive for long-term investors.
Related: Decentralized finance: A beginner’s guide to earning passive income with DeFi
Different methods such as staking, lending, cloud mining, and yield farming have become popular in the past few years and involve rewarding investors with money or tokens for the crypto tokens invested in the mechanism.
However, with hard forks or airdrops, users who are active in the crypto ecosystem can forage for tokens or projects that offer additional tokens in proportion to their vested holdings as a reward for a variety of reasons.
Since both are intended at increasing the popularity of the project or as part of a promotional campaign, hard forks and airdrops work differently and come into existence through completely unique mechanisms.
Let us look at what differentiates crypto airdrops from hard forks and how one can benefit from them when invested in the crypto market for the long term.
What is a crypto airdrop and how does it work?
Considered to be like manna from heaven for crypto fans willing to experiment with different projects, crypto airdrops require minimum technical knowledge and potentially lower risks.
A crypto airdrop is a gratuitous distribution of a cryptocurrency coin or token to existing token holders, also known as token giveaways colloquially. Usually associated with the launch of a new project or cryptocurrency, the intent of an airdrop is to gain more user traction in a market that is flooded with thousands of crypto tokens and coins.
Purely promotional in nature, users do not have control over when an airdrop might occur, and it is usually done by developers or crypto entrepreneurs to reward existing token holders with additional tokens or coins for free.
The quantum of tokens awarded is based on the invested amount or contributions made toward a project and is similar to how traditional brands offer freebies to popularize a new product offering.
There are two types of crypto airdrops: retroactive airdrops and takeover airdrops, with key differences between the two being at which stage they are being offered and their specific purpose.
A retroactive airdrop is generally announced when an existing blockchain protocol is planning to unveil its native crypto token and rewards early users or those who have contributed to the project prior to a particular date.
It is a very popular tool for creating hype around the soon-to-be-launched token. Meanwhile, it also serves as a liquidity creation mechanism and helps with audience engagement by awarding tokens in exchange for retweets, feedback or even increasing followers on social media.
Takeover airdrops are employed when decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols want to snatch users away from the competition or increase their chances of retaining them by offering greater rewards.
While it is a comparatively more aggressive form of an airdrop, takeover airdrops are targeted at liquidity providers and users who have displayed higher engagement in activities such as staking so as to attract them away from a competing DeFi protocol.
DeFi aggregator 1INCH conducted a number of airdrops with the specific intention of enticing rival Uniswap users to shift to its platform, rewarding specific user sets in a series of airdrops and acting as a classic example of how free crypto airdrops are utilized.
Advantages and disadvantages of crypto airdrops
They have long been considered an unorthodox form of radical marketing in the crypto space, but crypto airdrops have become increasingly popular. Innumerable projects use this method to spur the adoption of their new crypto tokens.
Airdrops offer superlative benefits for crypto entrepreneurs and investors alike, making them the most preferred marketing tool to create initial hype and catalyze user traction — two elements that are critical for a new coin’s success.
For crypto firms aiming to launch a native token for their blockchain or DeFi protocol, crypto airdrops are possibly the simplest and most cost-effective mode of advertising in the crypto world today. Even though it involves expending a lot of tokens, and that, too, for free, these form a rather small portion of the overall tokens to be brought into circulation and are a sure-shot way of generating excitement among other crypto token holders as they see users earn crypto from the free airdrops.
On the flip side, airdrops can have a negative implication if too many tokens are given as part of the airdrop, diluting the market value of the token and impacting the token’s price in the process. Moreover, most of the addresses that receive the airdrop could sell the received tokens immediately once it is listed, which will again exert downward pressure on the token’s price. For users, it is also important to conduct due research to weed out dump airdrops or crypto scams that are getting more sophisticated with time.
If the token increases in popularity and demand, these airdropped tokens can potentially generate even more returns as the value of the token increases in tune. By simply following a project on its various social media handles or by sharing news about it with friends, crypto airdrops reward crypto users with free tokens that can be worth hundreds of dollars, with absolutely no strings attached.
In fact, for crypto wallet holders or those holding specific crypto tokens, airdrops are a great way of making good profits on what is basically a zero investment and can be a great way of generating passive income in the crypto markets. All one needs to do is to stay tuned to projects or companies that are slated to offer airdrops and take advantage of them.
Thus, not only can you make money from crypto airdrops by immediately selling the received tokens on a crypto exchange, you can opt to hold them for a longer duration and potentially increase the chances of generating even more returns.
What are hard forks and how do they work?
More often than not, blockchain protocols undergo alterations to produce a new blockchain that runs in parallel with the original but may differ in terms of the end utility that it offers to users and token holders.
One of the most prominent examples of such a parallel blockchain is the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) fork, creating a P2P cash system in the process from what is essentially a Bitcoin hard fork.
Related: Soft fork vs. hard fork: Differences explained
There are other Bitcoin forks such as Bitcoin Gold, and they demonstrate how hard forks are created by changing the base protocol’s code to create a parallel version of it that is intended for a different purpose.
Moreover, since the newly created blockchain requires a native token for its users to transact with, a hard fork results in the creation of a new crypto token and creates value for those who were invested in the original coin.
A notable example of this was when each BTC holder received an equivalent amount of BCH tokens in August 2017, generating sizable returns considering a listing price of $900 for Bitcoin Cash on cryptocurrency exchanges.
With an increasing number of new blockchain protocols being created and many more branching out through hard forks, it is easy to see how investors can benefit from hard forks without assuming high risks.
However, not all hard forks originate from an intention to create a new system, with some being the product of a crypto debacle. Take the example of the Ethereum hard fork, Ethereum Classic (ETC), which even supports a different consensus mechanism and has the native ETC token that can be exchanged on cryptocurrency exchanges freely.
Hived off from the “official” Ethereum blockchain, it came into existence in response to the attack on Ethereum’s most notable project, The DAO, and issued tokens to all existing ETH holders in a 1:1 ratio.
Originally intended as a new decentralized business model for commercial and non-profit entities, The DAO was subject to a vulnerability attack which led to a few users siphoning off one-third of its funds to a secondary account.
When the Ethereum community voted to hard-fork the original blockchain in order to restore the lost funds, it split the blockchain into two branches and the unforked blockchain was renamed Ethereum Classic.
For discerning investors, there are many opportunities often available to invest in blockchain protocols before a hard fork and potentially take advantage of the additional new tokens on offer. However, it is important to conduct thorough research and invest only in those tokens that have sound fundamentals in order to make money from hard forks.
Pros and cons of hard forks
Hard forks provide developers with the opportunity to add new functionalities without having to alter the original blockchain, especially when it has a huge user base that would not like any changes to be made.
It also involves less computational power than employing a soft fork and provides more privacy too.
What’s more, token holders and investors are issued extra hard fork tokens, which can be immediately monetized or held to benefit from long-term appreciation, a scenario with a high probability if the hard fork succeeds in its objective and gains prominence in the crypto space.
However, this may not always be the case, as demonstrated by BCH, which is trading near all-time lows since its issuance in 2017.
Apart from the chances of price erosion, users of the hard fork face a higher risk of losing their token holdings in the light of an attack. Because a hard fork occurs as a result of the underlying blockchain being split, it is often perceived as detrimental to the security of the network, making them more vulnerable to malicious attacks.
This is especially true if the split occurs between the nodes and miners, as it exposes the blockchain and its fork to bad actors who could use their computing power to overcome the network to steal funds.
Irrespective of the type of attack, the intention is either to undermine the network’s reputation, which could lead to price erosion for the native token, or to steal funds from the network itself and divert them to accounts on another network.
This would result in investors losing capital on the hard fork tokens as well as the original token. Therefore, it is important to research the actual improvements being made in a hard fork and whether the developers have taken the necessary precautions to insulate the fork from any attack.
Investors can benefit from hard forks if they stay abreast of the latest developments and spot the right opportunities to generate income by earning crypto through hard forks.
Celo rallies 50% as excitement builds for the upcoming ‘Donut’ hardfork
CELO price gained 50% ahead of the network’s May 19 'Donut’ hardfork which will help increase interoperability and lower gas fees.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) has emerged as a transformational force for not just the cryptocurrency market, but for financial markets in general in 2021 thanks to the ease of access and security offered by blockchain-based protocols which operate on smart contracts.
One project that is looking to take the simplicity of DeFi to the next level is Celo (CELO), an open blockchain ecosystem that makes financial tools accessible to anyone with a mobile phone.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of CELO rallied 50% from a low of $4.29 late on May 16 to an intraday high at $6.70 on May 18 on the back of a 740% surge in 24-hour trading volume.
A quick scroll through the project’s twitter feed shows that excitement in the Celo community has been building in recent weeks due to the upcoming ‘Donut’ hardfork that is scheduled for May 19.
Donut is the first of many hardforks that will be planned for Celo, and the first hardfork of the new generation layer-1 Proof-of-Stake networks such as NEAR, Solana, and Polkadot. We are very excited for this new milestone. #DonutIsComing pic.twitter.com/QMeIvesYzw
— Celo (@CeloOrg) May 10, 2021
According to documentation from the team, the hard fork will unlock numerous benefits to Celo users, including increased gas efficiency, improved proof-of-stake interoperability and the ability to connect with many of the Ethereum (ETH) tools available like MetaMask.
Some of the other layer-one protocols that the upgrade will help Celo more smoothly interoperate with include Cosmos (ATOM), NEAR and Solana (SOL).
Bullish momentum for CELO was picked up in the VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, which began to detect a positive outlook for the token on May 13, prior to the recent price rise.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score rose into the green zone on May 13 and remained elevated for two days with a high score of 73 coming on May 14, roughly 67 hours before CELO price rallied 50% higher.
With DeFi still in its infancy and interoperability arising as a go-to feature for any network with long-term aspirations, Celo appears well-positioned to experience further growth and token appreciation thanks to its focus on catering to smartphone users and aiming to make interacting with DeFi globally accessible and user friendly.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Ethereum price all-time high follows reduced gas costs and DeFi revival
Analysts expect Ethereum price to rally to new all-time highs after the Berlin upgrade results in a drip in gas fees and a surge in DeFi activity.
Mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency continues to reach new highs in 2021 thanks to the growth of popular sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFT).
The explosive growth seen over the past year would not have been possible without the Ethereum network (ETH), which saw its price break out to a new all-time high on April 27 following the successful launch of the 'Berlin’ upgrade on April 15.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that the price of Ether has rallied 27% over the past five days from a low of $2,107 on April 25 to a new record high at $2,680 on April 27 as altcoins appear to be gaining momentum.
ETH/BTC foretold the move
Signs of an impending breakout have been appearing for a while as pointed out by Raoul Paul, founder and chief executive officer of Real Vision Group.
To be brutally honest, I stare at the chart of ETH/BTC and I see an enormous rounded bottom with potentially huge breakout just above.... pic.twitter.com/85hfawq0bx
— Raoul Pal (@RaoulGMI) April 21, 2021
Following the price shakeout on April 24 when Bitcoin (BTC) dipped to $46,000 before springing back above $54,000, Ether gained ground on the top cryptocurrency.
Struggles with high transaction costs and slower confirmation times have weighed heavily on Ether price over the past couple of months as the excitement around DeFi and NFTs led to skyrocketing activity on the network.
After the Berlin upgrade was successfully implemented on April 15, the average gas fee began to decline to more manageable levels resulting in an increase in trading volume on the top decentralized exchanges like Uniswap (UNI) and SushiSwap (SUSHI).
With a majority of the top DeFi and NFT protocols currently operating on Ethereum, the uptick in activity has resulted in the price of Ether appreciating faster than BTC in the short term as predicted by several analysts.
Expecting $ETH to gain another 15% to 20% on BTC in the next couple weeks
— Rager (@Rager) April 27, 2021
There's certainly room to move up on the higher time frames
If this happens, altcoins will have some nice follow up pumps along the way
Don't worry, we still very much ❤️Bitcoin and its pump is coming pic.twitter.com/mEs8EjGg2l
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for Ether on April 25, prior to the recent price rise.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for Ether began to trend higher on April 23 and registered a high score of 71 on April 25, roughly five hours before the price began to rally 11% over the next two days.
With DeFi-related activity again on the uptrend and excitement building for Eth 2.0 and the full migration to proof-of-stake, Ether price looks well-positioned for further upside.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
What the forks? Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum Classic see triple-digit rallies
Following Dogecoin’s lead, Ethereum Classic rallied to a new all-time high and Bitcoin Cash price doubled as altcoin forks start to gain traction.
It’s undeniable that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are currently the two most dominant cryptocurrencies and as a result they receive the most of the attention from the mainstream media, institutional investors, and retail investors, but this doesn't mean that the sector leaders are not occasionally challenged by competitor networks.
Two forked projects that once sought to challenge Bitcoin and Ethereum for their seats at the top are Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). In the past week, both tokens have demonstrated that they are still capable of generating excitement and producing big gains.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that the price of BCH has climbed 125% over the past two weeks as it rose from a low of $523 on April 4 to a high of $1,175 on April 16. During the same time period, ETC staged a 250% rally from $13.30 to a new all-time high at $46.53 on April 16.
BCH/USDT
Bitcoin Cash arose out of contention in the Bitcoin community centering around the scalability of the Bitcoin blockchain and the desire to increase the block size.
As a result of the disagreement, part of the community split off and “forked” Bitcoin to create BCH in order to implement the desired code updates.
The protocol now aims to be a peer-to-peer electronic cash system capable of being used to conduct fast payments around the world with low fees, user privacy and a high transaction capacity.
Momentum for Bitcoin Cash began pickup up at the beginning of April as the cryptocurrency market as a whole received increased attention from the mainstream media and financial markets. One theory suggests that new investors look for older coins with lower valuations as a starting point instead of chasing after Ether and Bitcoin which may appear expensive to new crypto traders.
With Bitcoin now back above $61,000 and its hashrate hitting a record high of 200 EH/s, the top cryptocurrency is out of reach for many smaller investors and miners who may be turning to BCH as a more feasible option.
ETC/USDT
Ethererum Classic emerged in 2016 as the result of a hard fork within the Ethereum community following the hack of a popular platform called The DAO. Initially, the DAO was an early decentralized autonomous organization intended to act as an investor-directed venture capital firm.
ETC is actually the original legacy chain of the Etherum network that didn’t take corrective measures to recover funds lost in the hack as a way of maintaining the ethos of finality.
While Ether has gone on to become the widely adopted version of the network, ETC has continued on its own path and is once again gaining attention from the crypto community as high transaction costs and the transition to a proof-of-stake consensus for Ethereum has lifted ETC to new highs as users looking for compatible options.
The hashrate of the Ethereum Classic network has steadily been climbing over the past 6 months alongside the rising price, helping to make the network more attractive to interested miners and increasing the overall security.
With a higher price comes greater block rewards, which then creates a larger incentive for miners join network. This both increases network security and keeps honest miners happy to do so. pic.twitter.com/Kkob0nvqht
— ETC Cooperative (@ETCCooperative) April 16, 2021
As more participants enter the crypto market in search of good deals on established projects, legacy coins like BCH and ETC could possibly see further price growth.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.