Crypto Airdrop 2021: What Really Happened and What You Missed

When we talk about crypto airdrop 2021, free token distributions by blockchain projects to grow their user base. Also known as token giveaways, these campaigns were everywhere in 2021—some legit, most not. Back then, if you had a crypto wallet and a Twitter account, you were already in the running. Projects like CoinMarketCap airdrop, free token distributions tied to user actions on CoinMarketCap became popular because they didn’t require you to send crypto or share your seed phrase. You just had to follow, join a Discord, or add a token to your watchlist. Easy. Too easy, sometimes.

But not all airdrops were created equal. Some, like the PolkaWar (PWAR) airdrop, a token giveaway that promised rewards for early supporters of a blockchain game, delivered real value at the time. Others, like the Sonar Holiday airdrop, a fake campaign that tricked users into connecting wallets to phishing sites, were pure scams. The line between real and fake was thin. You didn’t need to be a tech expert—you just needed to ask: Why are they giving this away? If the answer was "to build a community," that was usually okay. If it was "to get your private key," that was a red flag. And yet, thousands still clicked.

What made 2021 special wasn’t just the number of airdrops—it was how they shaped the DeFi landscape. Tokens like FLUX and 3ULL, a gaming token distributed through a Web3 airdrop gave early users real access to platforms that later became active ecosystems. Meanwhile, projects like TopGoal GOAL, an NFT airdrop tied to sports fan engagement showed how real-world use cases could tie into crypto—but also how quickly momentum could vanish. Many of these airdrops had no follow-up, no roadmap, no team updates. They were marketing stunts dressed as opportunities.

Today, the ghosts of 2021’s airdrops are still out there. Fake websites still use their names. Scammers still copy their logos. And new users still fall for the same tricks. But now we know better. We know that if a token has zero trading volume and no community, it’s not a hidden gem—it’s a digital graveyard. We know that CoinMarketCap doesn’t ask for your wallet. We know that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Below, you’ll find real breakdowns of what actually happened during crypto airdrop 2021—not the hype, not the rumors, but the facts. Which ones paid off? Which ones vanished? And which scams are still trying to trick people today? This isn’t a history lesson. It’s a survival guide for anyone who still believes free crypto is free.