In the era of the early cryptocurrency market, teams typically used ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) to raise funding. The investments collected in this way were supposed to be used for further development of the project, but in practice, the funds were often misappropriated by the team, leaving investors with nothing.

Due to the discrediting of this format, over time, developers began to use a new market entry model — distributing tokens among active users and community members. Such campaigns were called airdrops, as the team 'drops' assets into users' wallets.

During the 'crypto winter' of 2018-2019, airdrops proved to be a more effective tool for attracting an active audience and entering the market compared to token sales. Depending on who receives the tokens and under what conditions, several types of distributions are distinguished, such as hold-drops, lock-drops, and others. However, the most popular are the so-called retro-drops — distributions that are conducted after the product launch and aimed at rewarding active users.