ParaSwap Airdrop Timeline
About ParaSwap
ParaSwap is a DEX aggregator in the same mould as 1inch, splitting orders across venues to improve execution. Its airdrop is studied for how it was filtered rather than for what it paid.
Meeting the volume threshold was not sufficient. ParaSwap layered on behavioural criteria designed to catch wallets that traded like scripts rather than people, and excluded large numbers of addresses that technically qualified. Around 20,000 wallets survived to share 150M PSP.
The decision was contested loudly at the time and became a reference point for every team that has since had to decide how aggressively to prune a claim list.
Airdrop Stats
ParaSwap's 2-billion PSP supply is ecosystem-weighted, with 51% to the ecosystem (including the airdrop) for growth, incentives, and community. The retroactive airdrop was 7.5% (150M PSP), distributed November 15, 2021 to ~20,000 early users active across supported chains (snapshot October 8, 2021). Insiders hold ~39% combined Core Team 17.6%, Seed Investors 14%, Future Team 5%, and Pre-seed & Advisors 2.4% with team and investor tokens on 2-year+ vesting (plus a 4-month lockup), and a 10% Reserves pool. ParaSwap is a DEX aggregator live since September 2019 (with $12B+ in volume by launch), and PSP is a staking-plus-governance token. It raised $5.7M across four rounds.
How it worked to get the ParaSwap airdrop
Swap through ParaSwap
Trades routed through the aggregator before the September 2021 cutoff formed the base eligibility set.
Clear the volume threshold
A minimum cumulative volume applied, though meeting it was necessary rather than sufficient.
Trade like a person
Behavioural filters removed wallets whose timing and sizing looked automated, cutting tens of thousands of addresses that met the volume bar.
Claim PSP before the deadline
The window opened in November 2021 and closed in February 2022, after which unclaimed tokens returned to the DAO.
Was the ParaSwap airdrop worth it?
- Meeting the threshold was not enough. ParaSwap layered behavioural filters on top of its volume bar and cut tens of thousands of addresses that qualified on paper but traded like scripts. Roughly 20,000 wallets survived.
- The exclusions were contested loudly. Plenty of people who considered themselves genuine users were filtered out, and the appeals that followed became a reference point for every team that has since had to prune a claim list.
- The precedent outlived the payout. At around $45M the distribution was modest, but the approach to sybil filtering influenced how later and much larger airdrops were designed.
ParaSwap Official Links
Official channels, documentation and community for this airdrop:
This airdrop has concluded. It is kept for research rather than participation.
