Airdrop
Also called: token airdrop, retroactive airdrop, airdrop farming
An airdrop distributes free tokens to users who have interacted with a protocol, used to reward early adopters and decentralise ownership. It has become a mechanism in itself: users farm expected airdrops by transacting speculatively across new protocols. Airdrops are taxable as income in many jurisdictions at receipt, which regularly surprises recipients whose tokens then fall in value.