The disappointing history of XRP airdrops
In hopes of attracting organic activity, airdrops were once a popular way to bootstrap adoption for new crypto networks. XRP was particularly attractive due to its ultra-low transaction fees. When the SEC sued Ripple for conducting an unregistered securities sale in December 2020, several XRP -friendly airdrops were quickly launched. Fearing that the US government might shut down the XRP Ledger, win a debilitating financial settlement against Ripple, or otherwise inhibit growth in the industry, many projects viewed early 2021 as the last opportunity to run a successful airdrop campaign to XRP token holders. However, most social media accounts of airdrops from this time either no longer exist or have become inactive. Some accounts claimed to support a good cause; others used a celebrity’s image — possibly without permission — or used suspicious marketing tactics. Flare (FLR) airdrop The largest airdrop in XRP history was Flare. It took a snapshot of the XRP network on...