Learning the friendly way

You might be familiar with buying and selling cryptocurrencies, but have you tapped into the world of crypto airdrops? Airdrops are essentially marketing strategies that are designed to build awareness and interest in a blockchain-based crypto project. As we set out to provide more information and explain what these are we will also touch on the powerful benefits that airdrops can bring to investors. 

What Is A Crypto Airdrop?

A crypto airdrop is when a project gives out its native coins for free as a marketing tool to generate hype, grow its network and gain wider adoption, essentially providing free money. On occasion, the coins require small tasks such as following social media pages, and other times they are entirely free of engagements. 

These coins are then transferred to current or potential users' wallets for free in the hopes of drawing in more business. Airdrops rose to fame in the ICO boom of 2017 and are still used today. While handed out for free, airdrops can increase in value over time, becoming potentially lucrative to the receivers.

Through distributing coins, projects increase their number of holders (a positive metric for up and coming projects) as well as increase their decentralisation (due to increased token ownership). 

How Do Cryptocurrency Airdrops Work?

An airdrop is typically outlined in a project's roadmap and will commence once certain criteria have been met. While airdrops can range from project to project, they typically involve small amounts of cryptocurrencies, often built on Ethereum or other smart chain, being distributed to several wallets.

These coins are usually distributed for free, however, on occasion users will need to perform small tasks related to marketing (like engaging on social media or subscribing to a newsletter) or hold a certain number of coins in their wallet. A successful airdrop will see its recipients promoting the project and generating hype before being listed on an exchange.

What Is The Difference Between An ICO And An Airdrop?

While both are related to new digital currency projects, the major difference between the two is that airdrops are when tokens are distributed for free while ICOs require participants to purchase the project's tokens with an outlined purchase price. ICOs are a source of crowdfunding while airdrops are marketing strategies.

What Are The Different Types Of Airdrops?

As mentioned above there are several different types of airdrops; exclusive, bounty and holder. 

Exclusive Airdrops

These airdrops are centered around active members of the community or early adopters. In exclusive airdrops, coins are only sent to designated wallets. Uniswap is a classic example of this, distributing 400 UNI to each wallet that had engaged in the platform before a certain date. The governance token allowed holders to vote on the project's future developments.

Bounty Airdrops

Bounty airdrops are when users need to engage in the platform in order to claim their tokens. This typically involves activities related to social media (liking a post, joining a Telegram channel, tagging friends, etc.) and the project might ask to see proof before distributing the coins. 

Holder Airdrops

This type of airdrop is for users already holding the project's token to thank them for their loyalty. Typically the project's team will take a snapshot of the wallet balances at a certain time and reward all the wallets that meet the minimum criteria. 

When creating holder airdrops, projects might use other more established cryptocurrencies in the hopes of tapping into their networks. For example, in 2016 Stellar (XLM) airdropped 3 billion XLM to users on the Bitcoin network, granting them free access to the Stellar network. 

The Downside To Airdrops

Naturally, there are ill actors out there who take advantage and have created airdrop scams. These scams might involve a "project" airdropping tokens into a wallet but when the holder attempts to move these tokens their wallet is drained. 

Another example of an airdrop scam is a project enticing you to sign up for the airdrop by connecting your wallet only to take your wallet details and gain access to your account. These are typically conducted through websites and fake Twitter and Telegram accounts that look very similar to the real deal but are in fact phishing scams. 

It's important to DYOR ( do your own research ) when engaging in an airdrop, and know that a project will never require you to send funds in order to "unlock" tokens or require you to provide a seed phrase or private key. 

Another downside to airdrops is that projects can create an incorrect impression of growth. If thousands of coins are distributed to thousands of wallets this might cause the project to look busier and more adopted than it actually is. When judging a project by this metric ensure that it has an active trading volume that reflects the number of wallet holders, if there are plenty holders and minimal activity consider this a big red flag. 

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The financial industry has seen significant growth within its digital sector due to the adaptation required during Covid-19. With the increased interest in digital payments has come the rise of virtual cards.

Shopping online and online purchases continue to break barriers that traditional financial institutions never predicted. While these institutions do allow users to do online shopping, there are still a lot of limitations and risks to be wary of. 

Every time you shop online, you risk your account number and details being stolen and used against you. Credit card companies have had to evolve, and one way they have done that is through the introduction of an actual account-linked virtual card.

How do virtual credit cards and debit cards work?

Virtual cards are stored on your mobile device and can be used to make contactless payments in store or online. A virtual card has its own unique card number, CVC, and expiration date. These virtual cards are simply a copy of your physical card, linked to your bank account, and stored on your application or phone. Think of it as an online account and card.

Virtual cards are very similar to an actual credit or debit card, with the main difference being that they only exist digitally, and can not be used to withdraw physical cash. Virtual credit cards provide the same features and mechanics as traditional credit and debit cards. 

A virtual credit card still has an expiry date and 16-digit account number, and CVV codes. They are connected to payment networks like Visa and Mastercard and are generally accepted by merchants who use physical card machines, similar to Apple and Google Pay. 

Your virtual card information and virtual credit card number are stored digitally, eliminating the risk of someone stealing your card and simply entering your details when shopping online. 

Virtual credit cards act as digital wallets, providing more advanced security and ease of online access. Virtual cards are created for one-time use or act as a temporary account number, but what are the benefits of a limited-use virtual card number? Let’s get into it.

Benefits of a virtual credit card

The first and foremost virtual credit card feature benefit that you can expect is an enhanced layer of security. To combat fraudulent activity, a data breach, and account information being stolen, virtual cards have randomly generated and disposable card numbers. This makes virtual cards one of the safest payment methods, eliminating physical and confirmed details, meaning your temporary information can not be stolen or lost. If your info is compromised, you can cancel it without having to create a new bank account or waiting for a new card in the mail.

Control and customization is an additional layer of benefits users can expect from using virtual credit cards. Users can customize how many virtual account numbers they want, set spending limits, choose their preferred currencies, and more. Similar to a normal debit card account, you can also create recurring payments with merchant details, as tailored to the amount, time, and so on.

Some virtual credit cards provide users with point-earning rewards or store credit when used. Credit card companies can also easily access your information to improve your credit score based on your recurring payments set up. 

Creating multiple virtual debit cards allows you to distribute, allocate, and track funds with ease. This means at the end of the day, you have more visibility of your funds going in and out and can create a dedicated virtual debit card for a specific area of your financial responsibilities.

Getting your virtual card number

Whether you are trying to manage your funds with your debit or credit cards accounts, a virtual card can make matters easier. All you need is a debit or credit card account, such as the one offered by Tap and you can create your unique virtual card at the click of a button. With some traditional banks you can even create multiple cards if you want, each with its own unique account number and expiration date. 

These digital wallets and accounts provide ease when you want to shop online, avoid physical wallet and card theft, as well as easier fund management. A virtual debit card is a big part of the future, as we move into the digital era.

Experience a whole new world of digital payments and money management from the safety of your mobile device. You should be able to use your virtual card at any merchant that accepts debit and credit card payments, or contactless transactions, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. Create your virtual account number today and enjoy purchases online and in-store. The future of payments is here.

We are delighted to announce the listing and support of Polygon ( MATIC ) on Tap!

MATIC is now available for trading on the Tap mobile app. Buy, Sell, Trade or hold MATIC for any of the other asset supported on the platform without any pair boundaries. Tap is pair agnostic, meaning you can trade any asset for any other asset without having to worries if a "trading pair" is available.

We believe supporting MATIC will provide value to our users. We are looking forward to continue supporting new crypto projects with the aim of providing access to financial power and freedom for all.
The MATIC token is highly liquid with a market cap of $8,031,194,777 at the time of writing.
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MATIC is an ERC-20 token native to the Polygon Network used for a variety of purposes, such as paying transaction fees, staking, and governance. Polygon (formerly Matic Network) is a Layer-2 solution that operates on the Ethereum network. By using sidechains, Polygon offers developers secure and instantaneous transactions that can easily scale. Those who create decentralized applications (DApps) will find the Polygon network advantageous due to its cheap fees and speedy transaction time.

Get to learn more on Polygon MATIC here.

We are delighted to announce the listing and support of Sandbox (SAND) on Tap!

SAND is now available for trading on the Tap mobile app. You can now Buy, Sell, Trade or hold SAND for any of the other asset supported on the platform without any pair boundaries. Tap is pair agnostic, meaning you can trade any asset for any other asset without having to worries if a "trading pair" is available.

We believe supporting SAND will provide value to our users. We are looking forward to continue supporting new crypto projects with the aim of providing access to financial power and freedom for all.

The Sandbox is a pioneer in the movement to incorporate blockchain technology into the gaming sector. Created in 2011, The Sandbox is an play-to-earn game that allows users to be both creators and players, with the ability to monetize their in-game assets and earn SAND tokens.

Powered by the SAND token, the Sandbox’s native token serves as the foundation for all transactions and interactions. SAND tokens can be obtained by playing games, selling digital assets on the Sandbox Marketplace, participating in competitions, or buying it through a reliable exchange.

Get to know more about The sandbox (SAND) in our dedicated article here.

Gnosis is spearheading the merger of prediction markets with digital assets, enabling the market to take on a more decentralised approach. Prediction markets allow investors to trade on the outcome of events, similar to how they would exchange digital assets. 

What is Gnosis?

Gnosis is a prediction market platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. The platform allows users to trade crypto assets representing event outcomes from around the world, from sports matches to elections. As the results unfold, Gnosis tokens either increase or decrease in value depending on what was predicted by the user. 

The goal at Gnosis is to build a foundation that decentralised applications can use as forecasting tools. This is done by allowing any party access to create their own markets while also gathering public opinion from an uncensored source. The long-term aim is to build a dependable forecasting tool that could help those in finance, business, insurance, and other sectors make more informed decisions.

The platform is made up of three sectors, the Apollo network, Gnosis Safe and DutchX, outlined below. Gnosis also makes use of two cryptocurrencies, GNO and OWL, to ensure their transactions are secure and running smoothly. Even though they're making good progress, they still have a way to go before reaching all their goals, notwithstanding competitors like Augur (REP) that offer similar services.

Who created Gnosis?

The Gnosis prediction market was founded by Martin Koeppelmann and Stefan George in 2015. No stranger to prediction market platforms, George previously founded fairlay.com, a centralised Bitcoin prediction market. The Gnosis platform was one of the first projects backed by the Ethereum-focused incubator, ConsenSys, and has grown into a 50+ team with its main development hub based in Berlin. 

In terms of raising funds, the project successfully underwent an ICO (initial coin offering) in 2017, raising 250,000 ETH (around $12.5 million at the time). In just 15 minutes, the project sold 4% of its GNO supply. 

A few months later, the Gnosis team launched Olympic, a test version of the prediction market platform. The next year, it launched Apollo, version 1.0 of Gnosis alongside DutchX, a decentralised exchange designed to trade and manage digital assets. Toward the end of 2018, the Gnosis ecosystem launched the Gnosis Safe, the platform's integrated wallet. 

How does the Gnosis protocol work?

To ensure a comprehensive experience for all users, Gnosis employs three interoperable product lines and utilises three main products. Entirely built on the Ethereum platform, the three layers to Gnosis' architecture consist of:

• The Core Layer

Provides the foundational smart contracts that power the events, settlements, market mechanisms, and outcome tokens.

• The Service Layer

Offers resources for consumer applications and is used for tools like chatbots, stablecoins, and payment processor integration. It also controls the trading fee model.

• The Applications Layer

Contains the prediction market dapps. The majority of the dapps in this layer were created by third parties who charge users to use them, with Gnosis only building a few themselves.

The three platforms that make up the network are the Apollo Network, Gnosis Safe and DutchX, as outlined below. 

The Apollo Network (Gnosis prediction market)

The Apollo Network, Gnosis' prediction market platform allows users to create their own markets for any events and tokens. Users can then speculate on the outcome by buying and selling positions.

As the outcome approaches, the tokens will increase or decrease in value, and once the event is finalised the tokens representing the final outcome will receive the full value while the others become worthless. 

DutchX (exchange)

DutchX is the platform's decentralised exchange where users can trade and auction off their tokens.

Gnosis Safe (wallet)

Gnosis Safe is a browser and crypto wallet that interacts with Ethereum apps. 

What are the Gnosis digital assets?

GNO Token

Gnosis' native cryptocurrency is GNO, an Ethereum-based token that was sold during the Gnosis ICO. GNO tokens have a maximum supply of 3 million tokens. 

The main use case of GNO tokens is for creating OWL tokens via staking to earn rewards. Users can lock GNO tokens in the Gnosis chain to generate OWL tokens through staking, which is dependent on the length of the staking period. The max time is one year.

OWL Token

OWL tokens on the other hand are used to pay fees on the prediction market platform. These tokens are pegged to the US dollar, with their distribution maintaining its peg. OWL tokens were previously called WIZ tokens before being rebranded at the same time as the website.

Users can also opt to pay fees using supported Ethereum tokens. All fees not paid for in OWL are collected and sold for GNO, then burned. 

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Synthetix offers a unique approach to DeFi (decentralized finance) through its ability to track and provide returns on underlying (synthetic) assets without requiring one to directly hold the asset. By depositing Synthetix's native token, the SNX token, into a smart contract, users can mint synthetic fiat currencies (or any supported underlying assets) known as synths that can be tracked and traded through the platform or other DeFi platforms.

Formerly called Havven, Synthetix rebranded in 2018 and has built up a solid reputation within the crypto and DeFi ecosystem since. 

What is Synthetix (SNX)?

Synthetix is a groundbreaking decentralized asset protection protocol that permits users to mint, hold, and trade derivatives across different asset classes such as commodities, fiat currencies, stocks, and even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This provides an efficient way to gain exposure without needing ownership of the underlying securities or having to rely on centralized intermediaries.

Through the protocol's synthetic assets known as synths, collateralized by the Synthetix Network Token (SNX), users can gain access to classic financial assets and opportunities for new trading strategies while also realizing an increase in the value and liquidity of the underlying assets. The platform also offers binary options, and opportunities to gain capital for different components within the Synthetix ecosystem. 

When the platform launched in 2017 it was governed by the Synthetix Foundation, an Australian non-profit foundation. However, by 2020, the ecosystem is now governed by three decentralized autonomous organizations:

• ProtocolDAO: responsible for controlling the funding for protocol upgrades and changes to Synthetix’s smart contracts
• GrantsDAO: responsible for controlling funding for the community proposals for public goods on Synthetix
• SynthetixDAO: responsible for controlling funding for entities that are advancing the network’s development.

Synthetix provides a decentralized, permissionless, and censorship-resistant platform that allows users to gain exposure to both crypto and non-crypto assets without the need for ownership of these assets. This enables anyone with an interest in DeFi to join the industry through the use of synthetic assets regardless of whether they hold the actual assets or not.

Who created the Synthetix platform?

The platform was initially launched by Kain Warwick in 2017 under the name Havven (HAV) before rebranding to Synthetix a year later. Warwick has previously been an Advisory Council Member in Blockchain Australia and an Advisory Board Member at The Burger Collective. 

Warwick teamed up with software developer Peter McKean, the platform's acting CEO and business strategist, market analyst, and sales leader, Jordan Momtazi, who acts as COO. The CTO, Justin J. Moses, co-founded Pouncer with Warwick, an Australian live-action site, and has been a part of Synthetix since its conception. 

In 2018, the platform raised $30 million through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) initiative. In 2019, Synthetix raised a further $3.9 million by selling SNX tokens to Framework Ventures. 

The initial goal of the platform was to create cryptocurrencies that tracked the performance of cash like the U.S. dollar or the Euro on various blockchains, including Ethereum and EOS. After rebranding, the platform expanded its goals to incorporate synthetic assets for commodities and other cryptocurrencies. 

How does the Synthetix protocol work?

Synthetix's synthetic assets minting service is powered by two separate cryptocurrencies. The first cryptocurrency is its native token, Synthetix Network Token (SNX), and the second is synths, a versatile digital asset with the capability to mimic any real-world underlying asset.

In order to generate synths, a user will need to buy SNX and deposit it onto the platform. The platform will then create a new synth token relative to what the user is after. The value of the deposited SNX is then locked and is required to remain at or above 750% of the value of the synth created. I.e. if a user deposited $1,000 worth of SNX to create synthetic Euros, they would receive $133 worth of sEUR. 

Economics

As the SNX token is a tradable cryptocurrency its value is dependent on the open market. As the price fluctuates, the number of synths in circulation will also fluctuate. I.e. when the SNX price rises, the protocol will release additional SNX tokens that are not needed to guarantee previously created synths. These SNX tokens can then be locked up again to create new synths. 

Using the example above, if the price of SNX doubled this would release half of the $1,000 of SNX tokens locked up. These funds could then be used to create more sEUR synths. The higher the SNX price, the more synths can be created. 

Kwenta (DEX)

The Synthetix protocol uses price feeds known as oracles to determine the price of synths. When two synths are exchanged, the first synth is burned (destroyed) and the synth it is being exchanged for will use the price feed to determine its price. The protocol will then automatically create the correct number of synths based on this information. 

Another important element of the Synthetix ecosystem is Kwenta, a decentralized exchange (DEX) that facilitates the trading of synths and cryptocurrencies. Kwenta utilizes peer-to-contract trading, using smart contracts instead of an order book.

Bypassing central exchanges and the capacity to deal with large amounts of orders, this peer-to-contract style of trading easily converts currencies and does not require any waiting periods for matches to be fulfilled. 

DeFi

As synths are Ethereum-based they can be deposited on other compatible DeFi platforms (Uniswap, Curve) to provide liquidity and earn interest. Alongside derivatives, synths play an integral role in building markets and helping them reach equilibrium by facilitating price recovery and assisting to hedge against volatility.

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What is SNX?

Synthetix Network Token (SNX) is an ERC-20 token native to the Synthetix ecosystem. The tokens are used to provide collateral when minting the synthetic assets on the platform, meaning that they are locked up in smart contracts when synths are created, and can also be used for staking. When deposited into the staking pool holders earn rewards, which are generated through transaction fees paid on the Synthetix Exchange. 

Through the derivatives liquidity protocol, the exchange also provides a platform for trading synths (digital assets portraying real-world assets).

There is a maximum supply of 308,069,419 SNX, of which there are roughly 81% in circulation (at the time of writing). 

How can I buy Synthetix (SNX) tokens?

Anyone can add SNX tokens to their cryptocurrency portfolio with the Tap app. This intuitive mobile app allows for a comprehensive and secure experience when trading cryptocurrencies. Creating and verifying an account is straightforward, allowing anyone easy access to buy or sell Synthetix Network Token (SNX) safely. 

Tap into the Synthetix market with Tap's integrated crypto wallet and buy SNX tokens using both fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Download the app and create an account to get access to buy, sell, hold and trade SNX.