- US-based crypto users have missed out on $1.8 billion in airdropped tokens, according to an industry analysis.
- The SEC is reconsidering its past approach to airdrops.
US regulators’ crypto crackdown has cost the country half a billion in foregone tax revenue and its residents billions more in unclaimed, airdropped tokens, according to a recent analysis from venture firm Dragonfly.
Wary of inviting a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission, many crypto firms have attempted to prevent US-based users from claiming airdropped tokens.
That’s because the SEC has suggested certain airdropped tokens are securities and therefore subject to the same registration and disclosure requirements that apply to stocks and bonds. At least one crypto company, Hydrogen, was sued on those grounds, and crypto exchanges have spent hundreds of millions of dollars fighting allegations they offered US investors unregistered securities.
Airdrops are one of several ways that crypto projects distribute newly issued tokens, typically to reward early and active users.
Accounting for post-airdrop gains in token prices, the five largest airdrops of 2024 spread more than $20 billion in crypto, according to one estimate.
“These figures highlight the broader economic consequences of U.S. regulatory policies that drive crypto companies abroad,” the report reads.
“The continued application of regulatory policies that restrict access to airdrops and contribute to the offshoring of cryptocurrency innovation has led to a substantial erosion of the U.S. tax base.”
Looking at a sample of 11 airdrops and blockchain data, the report’s authors found between 15% and 44% of claimants were likely based in the US.
Because those airdrops netted worldwide claimants a combined $7.1 billion in crypto, US users who met all the other eligibility criteria likely missed out on at least $1.8 billion, according to the report.
Because airdropped tokens have been taxed as income, unclaimed tokens have cost the federal government at least $418 million and state governments at least $107 million, according to the report.
“We chose airdrops because it’s just one discrete use case for crypto, because it was something that we could measure,” Jessica Furr, associate general counsel at Dragonfly, told DL News.
“[It’s] someplace where we could show an impact on policies and hope that even just in this small use case, you can feel the impact here to the industry at large.”
To be sure, crypto skeptics are likely to look askance at an analysis produced by one of the industry’s most prominent venture capital firms. Dragonfly has backed some of the largest protocols in decentralised finance, including Lido, Ethena, and Aptos.
Moreover, there were limitations to the study. Dragonfly head data scientist Hildebert Moulié, known by his online pseudonym Hildobby, told DL News he made some assumptions, including the share of blockchain based-accounts that were likely run by bots, rather than humans, and the efficacy of crypto companies’ geo-blocking.
“Most people, I would say, try to avoid getting themselves in trouble,” he said. “But I do think, of course, some [US investors] did get around it and claimed regardless.”
In any case, the actual dollar value of tokens denied US users is likely far higher than the $1.8 billion calculated by Dragonfly. There have been dozens, if not hundreds, of airdrops, and crypto data company CoinGecko compiled its own list of 50 airdrops that netted worldwide users a combined $26 billion. Of those, 29 attempted to block US-based users.
Moulié only analysed airdrops on Ethereum and related blockchains due to the ease of analysing data across similar blockchains.
“I could have expanded the data set for sure, but I think it was sufficient to prove the point that we were trying to make,” he said — namely, that the US has paid dearly for its approach to crypto.
In any case, that approach is fast-changing, according to Furr.
“Post-January 2025, there’s definitely a softening of the harsh stance that the agencies have been taking,” she said.
“There’s a lot of really great conversation happening amongst the industry and the SEC right now to try to put some rules in place. And that does include airdrops.”
Recent major airdrops include Berachain’s release of 79 million BERA tokens, which were trading above $6 Friday, and Hyperliquid’s release of more than $1 billion in HYPE tokens in November.
Aleks Gilbert is DL News’ DeFi Correspondent based in New York. You can contact him at aleks@dlnews.com.