Event Timeline
About Aptos
Aptos is a Layer 1 blockchain built by Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, both former engineers on Meta's failed Diem blockchain project. When Diem was discontinued in January 2022, the two co-founders took the core technology, including the Move programming language and the AptosBFT consensus algorithm, and rebuilt it as an independent chain.
Aptos claims the ability to process over 150,000 transactions per second through its parallel execution engine (Block-STM), which processes all transactions simultaneously and validates them after rather than sequentially. It launched its mainnet on October 18, 2022, becoming the first major blockchain to deploy Move technology in production. The APT airdrop was notable for being announced the same day as mainnet launch with no prior warning.
Airdrop Stats
Aptos allocated the majority at 51.02% to the community, making it one of the more community-weighted distributions among major Layer 1 launches. However the 10-year distribution timeline means this supply enters circulation very slowly, with only 125 million APT available immediately at launch for ecosystem grants and projects. Core contributors hold 19% and the Aptos Foundation holds 16.5%, both on four-year vesting schedules. Investors take the smallest insider share at 13.48%, reflecting that Aptos raised heavily but structured the token to favour long-term ecosystem development over early investor liquidity. The airdrop itself at 2% was modest relative to the total community allocation, with the remaining 49% reserved for grants, incentives, and ecosystem programs distributed over a decade.
How It Worked to Get the Aptos Airdrop
Participate in Incentivized Testnet
Mint the APTOS:ZERO Testnet NFT
Pass KYC Verification
Receive via Email
Was the Aptos airdrop worth it?
Yes, for those who were genuinely building and testing on Aptos. More complicated for those who farmed purely for the airdrop.
- Running a validator node on a testnet requires technical knowledge, dedicated hardware, and real time investment. The 110,235 eligible participants received an average of approximately 181 APT each, worth around $1,810 at the $10 launch price. At the January 2023 ATH of $19.92, that same allocation was worth $3,606.
- The KYC requirement filtered out pure airdrop farmers but also excluded legitimate users in certain jurisdictions who could not complete verification. The controversial tokenomics at launch very low circulating supply and high FDV caused the token to trade poorly in the months after launch before recovering.
- The surprise announcement timing meant that almost no one had farmed the testnet specifically for an airdrop, making this one of the more genuinely retroactive drops of the 2022 cycle.
Aptos Official Links
Official channels, documentation and community for this airdrop:
This airdrop has concluded. It is kept for research rather than participation.
