The most common mechanic is the snapshot. At a specific block height or timestamp, the project takes a “photograph” of the blockchain, recording every wallet address that has interacted with their protocol, plus what they did and how much. Then they run analysis on that data to decide who gets what, and how much.
A rough sequence:
- You use a protocol (swap tokens, provide liquidity, bridge, stake or vote, depending on the project)
- The project takes a snapshot of on-chain activity, sometimes without warning
- They process eligibility, often filtering out bots and Sybil wallets
- They publish a claim website or distribute tokens automatically
- If it’s a claim-based airdrop, you have a window of usually 30 days to several months to collect your tokens
Miss the claim window and you’re out. Projects routinely reallocate unclaimed tokens. Set reminders when a claim goes live.
More on how snapshots and sybil filters decide who actually gets paid.
