A MEXC study reveals that airdrops drive over a third of new user registrations, surpassing referrals and organic sign-ups. The Commonwealth of Independent States region leads in airdrop participation, followed by Southeast and South Asia.
Airdrops Outpace Referral Programs
A new study by the cryptocurrency exchange MEXC found that more than a third (35%) of new registrations on its platform are driven by airdrop participation. According to the study, this ratio of registrations stemming from airdrops outpaced those from referral programs and organic signups.
The study suggests that in addition to being marketing tools, airdrops also serve as an alternative means of financial inclusion. Previously, airdrops saw the most participation in areas with limited banking. However, new methods like tap-to-earn, the MEXC study report asserts, are now bringing in millions of cryptocurrency newcomers to airdrop campaigns.
As shown by study data, 76% of users who register via airdrops remain on the platform, with 18% becoming active traders and 58% trading occasionally. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region had the highest involvement with 67%, followed by Southeast Asia (51%) and South Asia (32%). Zeroing in on the nearly one-fifth who remain active traders, the report said:
18% of new users associated with airdrop participation become active traders, with an average daily trading volume exceeding $58,000, and some reaching as high as $31 million. Despite the high number of initial registrations, the data reveals that 24% of users display minimal activity after participating in airdrop events.
Indeed, many airdrop hunters or recipients have tended to sell their received tokens relatively quickly, often immediately after the token generation event (TGE). This prompted projects seeking to build communities to impose conditions or requirements such as completing social media tasks, testnet participation, staking, providing liquidity or governance voting. Other projects are experimenting with rewarding long-term holders and penalizing quick sellers.
Meanwhile, the study found diaspora-heavy countries like the Philippines and Pakistan have high airdrop participation because they allow users to acquire digital assets that can later be transferred or exchanged. However, Africa and Latin America, previously strong in cryptocurrency adoption, now show low airdrop engagement. According to the study, this may be an indication that factors beyond general cryptocurrency interest, like token fatigue or decentralized finance (DeFi), may be influencing participation.
In the CIS, meanwhile, airdrop participation has evolved into a significant cultural cryptocurrency phenomenon driven by economic incentives for millions in countries like Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The region’s above-average digital literacy and the widespread use of Telegram create ideal conditions for airdrop campaign scalability.
Source: Bitcoin
