Drop

What Is a Drop in Cryptocurrency?

A drop is a planned release or distribution of cryptocurrency tokens, non-fungible tokens, digital collectibles, or other blockchain-based assets.

The term is informal, so its exact meaning depends on the project and context.

A token drop may distribute fungible tokens to selected wallet addresses.

An NFT drop may open a collection for minting at a particular date, block, price, or supply limit.

A reward drop may give assets to users who completed certain actions before an eligibility snapshot.

In trading conversations, a drop can also mean a sudden decline in the market price of a cryptocurrency.

These meanings should not be confused because receiving a token distribution is very different from experiencing a price decrease.

A crypto drop can be free, paid, public, private, automatic, claim-based, immediate, or subject to vesting.

It can support community growth, governance distribution, product access, fundraising, gaming, art, loyalty programs, or promotional campaigns.

A drop does not guarantee that the released asset is valuable, secure, scarce, legal to access, or likely to appreciate.

Drop vs. Airdrop

An airdrop is a type of crypto drop in which tokens are distributed to blockchain addresses, often without a conventional purchase at the moment of distribution.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Revenue Ruling 2019-24 describes an airdrop as a method of distributing cryptocurrency units to multiple distributed-ledger addresses.

The term drop is broader because it can also describe a paid NFT mint, a game-item release, a public token claim, or a limited digital collectible launch.

Every airdrop can be described as a drop in ordinary crypto language, but not every drop is an airdrop.

A user may need to pay a mint price for an NFT drop even when promotional material uses the word drop.

A token drop may also require previous activity, identity verification, governance participation, or ownership of another asset.

Drop vs. Token Launch

A token launch is the broader process of introducing a new crypto asset and its related market, governance, network, or application functions.

A drop is one possible distribution event within that launch.

A project may launch a token through several stages, including private allocations, community rewards, public claims, liquidity programs, and future vesting releases.

The first drop does not necessarily place the complete token supply into circulation.

Users should study total supply and future issuance rather than assuming the drop represents the final distribution.

Drop vs. Token Unlock

A token unlock makes previously restricted tokens transferable under a vesting or lockup schedule.

A drop creates or distributes access to assets, while an unlock removes an existing transfer restriction.

Some promotional materials may describe a scheduled release as a drop, but the economic effect can be different.

An unlock can increase circulating supply without adding new community participants.

Large unlocks may create selling pressure when recipients are allowed to transfer assets acquired much earlier.

Research should identify whether an announced drop is a new reward, a sale, a mint, or the release of an existing allocation.

Drop vs. Price Drop

A price drop is a decrease in the market value of a cryptocurrency.

It may result from selling pressure, liquidations, token issuance, security incidents, regulatory developments, weak demand, or broader market conditions.

A token or NFT drop can sometimes contribute to a price drop by increasing available supply.

However, a distribution event does not automatically reduce price because demand may grow at the same time.

Users should determine from context whether the word drop refers to asset distribution or market movement.

How a Crypto Drop Works

A project first defines which asset will be distributed and which smart contract or blockchain system will control it.

The project then establishes supply, eligibility, price, timing, wallet limits, and claim rules.

Eligibility may be calculated from an earlier blockchain snapshot or from records maintained by the project.

The assets may be transferred directly to eligible wallets or made available through a claim contract.

For a paid drop, users submit a blockchain transaction containing the mint price and required transaction fee.

The smart contract verifies the request and creates or transfers the asset when all conditions are satisfied.

The blockchain records the resulting ownership or balance change.

A drop may close when supply is exhausted, the deadline passes, or an administrator ends the event.

Direct Distribution

A direct distribution sends tokens or NFTs to recipient addresses without requiring each recipient to submit a claim transaction.

The project pays the blockchain transaction costs associated with the transfers.

Recipients may see the asset appear in their wallets automatically.

Direct distribution reduces the need to visit a claim website, but it can create unwanted tokens or tax and recordkeeping questions.

Anyone may be able to send an asset to a public address, so the presence of a token does not prove that it is genuine.

Users should verify the complete smart contract address rather than relying on the displayed name or symbol.

Claim-Based Distribution

A claim-based drop requires an eligible user to submit a blockchain transaction.

The claim contract verifies that the wallet is entitled to receive a defined amount or item.

The recipient normally pays the network transaction fee unless another party sponsors it.

Claim-based distribution allows the project to avoid transferring assets to addresses that no longer want them.

It can also make recipients actively accept the asset and any associated terms.

The process creates phishing risk because scammers can build fake claim pages that request dangerous signatures.

Allowlist Drops

An allowlist is a record of wallet addresses approved to participate in a drop.

The list may be created from applications, community participation, asset ownership, contest results, or previous blockchain activity.

A smart contract can store the complete list, although doing so may be expensive when many addresses are included.

Projects can instead store a compact cryptographic commitment and require each user to provide a proof of inclusion.

Being on an allowlist may guarantee eligibility without guaranteeing that an item remains available when supply is limited.

Users should confirm the exact mint window, allocation, price, and per-wallet limit.

Merkle Drops

A Merkle drop uses a Merkle tree to represent a large set of eligible addresses and claim amounts efficiently.

The smart contract stores a Merkle root that commits to the complete eligibility dataset.

Each claimant submits a Merkle proof showing that the wallet and allocation belong to the committed dataset.

The contract verifies the proof without storing every entry individually.

This can reduce on-chain storage and distribution costs.

The project should publish enough information for users to verify how the eligibility list was created.

An incorrect dataset can exclude valid users or assign the wrong amount even when the proof system works correctly.

Snapshot-Based Drops

A snapshot records blockchain conditions at a selected block height or time.

Projects may use a snapshot to identify wallets that held an asset, voted in governance, used an application, provided liquidity, or completed another activity.

The snapshot prevents users from moving one asset between many addresses after eligibility is measured.

It does not completely prevent manipulation because participants may predict the criteria or divide activity among several wallets in advance.

A snapshot balance may also include assets held by smart contracts or custodial wallets rather than directly by their beneficial owners.

The project should explain whether delegated, staked, bridged, borrowed, or pooled assets qualify.

Retroactive Drops

A retroactive drop rewards activity that occurred before the distribution was announced or fully defined.

This structure can reward genuine earlier users without publicly encouraging artificial activity around known requirements.

Projects may consider transaction history, governance, development contributions, liquidity provision, or application usage.

Retroactive rewards are discretionary unless enforceable rules or agreements establish an obligation.

Using an application does not guarantee that a future token will exist or that a particular wallet will qualify.

Users should not expose substantial assets to untested contracts merely because they hope to receive a future reward.

Holder Drops

A holder drop distributes an asset to wallets that held another token or NFT at a specified snapshot.

The new asset may provide a reward, membership benefit, governance right, collectible, or access to another product.

Holding the original asset after the snapshot may not create eligibility.

Buying immediately before an announced snapshot can be risky because the original asset’s price may rise and then fall after eligibility is recorded.

A holder drop should be evaluated separately from the original token because the two assets may have different contracts, rights, supply, and risks.

NFT Drops

An NFT drop is the release of one or more non-fungible tokens for minting, sale, claim, or distribution.

The ERC-721 standard defines a common interface for tracking and transferring individually identifiable NFTs on Ethereum-compatible networks.

An NFT drop may contain unique one-of-one works or a larger collection with many token identifiers.

The project may use fixed artwork, generated traits, dynamic metadata, game items, event access, or membership benefits.

The mint can be free apart from network fees or require payment in a supported crypto asset.

Ownership of an NFT does not automatically transfer copyright, trademark rights, commercial rights, or ownership of a physical item.

The project’s license and terms must define what the holder receives beyond control of the blockchain token.

ERC-1155 Drops

The ERC-1155 Multi-Token Standard allows one smart contract to manage multiple fungible, semi-fungible, or non-fungible token types.

A creator can use it to release several game items, membership levels, tickets, or collectible editions within one contract.

Batch operations may reduce the number of separate calls needed to transfer several asset types.

Users should check the supply associated with each token identifier because two assets from the same contract may have very different scarcity.

An ERC-1155 item can have one copy or many interchangeable copies.

Open Edition and Limited Edition Drops

A limited edition drop defines a maximum number of assets that can be minted.

The limit may apply to the complete collection, each token type, each wallet, or a particular mint phase.

An open edition allows minting without a fixed final quantity during a defined period or under another rule.

Open does not always mean unlimited forever because the mint may close after several hours or days.

Scarcity claims should be checked in the smart contract and minting permissions.

A claimed maximum has limited value when an administrator can create additional tokens through another function or contract.

Free Mint Drops

A free mint allows eligible users to obtain an asset without paying a stated purchase price.

The user may still pay blockchain transaction fees.

A free mint may also require ownership of another token, use of a specific application, or acceptance of legal terms.

Free assets can expose users to malicious approvals, phishing, spam, and future costs.

The word free should not be interpreted as risk-free.

Paid Drops

A paid drop requires the participant to send a specified asset or amount to the mint contract.

The total cost can include the mint price, network fee, priority fee, currency-conversion cost, and later transfer costs.

A failed mint transaction may still consume network fees even when no NFT or token is received.

Participants should confirm whether the contract refunds excess payment and what happens when supply runs out during transaction processing.

A paid mint is a purchase decision and should receive the same due diligence as any other crypto transaction.

Public and Private Drop Phases

A project may divide a drop into several phases.

An early phase may be limited to approved wallets or previous community members.

A later phase may allow public participation.

Each phase can have a different price, wallet limit, supply allocation, and start time.

Unused supply from one phase may move into another phase, depending on the contract rules.

Users should confirm time zones and blockchain conditions rather than relying only on a countdown displayed by a website.

First-Come, First-Served Drops

A first-come, first-served drop distributes assets according to transaction ordering until the available supply is exhausted.

High demand can produce network congestion and competition over transaction fees.

Automated participants may submit transactions more quickly than ordinary users.

A transaction submitted before the displayed sellout can still fail if earlier transactions consume the remaining supply first.

This format can create a gas war in which participants pay increasingly high fees to improve transaction priority.

The project should consider whether a queue, lottery, allowlist, or longer claim window would provide a fairer result.

Lottery and Raffle Drops

A lottery drop selects participants from a larger eligible group.

The selection may occur before payment or after users register interest.

A secure lottery requires a randomness method that cannot be predicted or manipulated by the organizer, validators, or participants.

Blockchain data is deterministic, so values such as timestamps and block information may not provide safe randomness by themselves.

Participants should determine whether unsuccessful entries receive a refund and whether registration creates any smart contract approval.

Legal restrictions on lotteries and prize promotions can vary by jurisdiction.

Dutch Auction Drops

A Dutch auction begins at a higher price and reduces that price according to a defined schedule until buyers participate or supply is exhausted.

The structure can reduce the need for every buyer to submit a transaction at the same opening moment.

Participants decide whether to buy earlier at a higher price or risk waiting for a lower price.

Some designs refund early participants when the final clearing price is lower, while others do not.

The contract and terms should state the exact pricing and refund method.

Blind and Delayed-Reveal Drops

A delayed-reveal NFT drop allows minting before the final image or attributes are displayed.

All tokens may initially reference placeholder metadata.

The project later updates the metadata or reveals a mapping between token identifiers and final assets.

This can reduce the ability to choose rare traits before minting, but only when the reveal process is fair and resistant to manipulation.

An administrator may have an advantage if final traits are known before the public reveal.

Users should examine the provenance method, metadata controls, reveal authority, and ability to replace files.

Metadata and Storage

An NFT commonly contains or references metadata describing its name, image, attributes, animation, or external resources.

The media may be stored directly on-chain, through a content-addressed network, or on an ordinary web server.

Blockchain ownership can remain intact even when externally hosted media becomes unavailable.

A mutable metadata location can allow the issuer to change what the NFT displays.

Users should determine where files are stored, who controls the metadata reference, and whether the contract can freeze future changes.

A permanent-looking image inside a wallet does not prove that the underlying media is stored permanently.

Creator Royalties

An NFT drop may describe a royalty intended for the creator when the token is sold later.

The ERC-2981 royalty standard provides a common method for retrieving royalty-payment information.

The standard communicates a recipient and amount but does not force every transfer or application to make the payment.

Royalty expectations should therefore be distinguished from automatically enforceable blockchain transfers.

Collectors should also examine whether the royalty recipient or percentage can change.

Game and Metaverse Drops

A game drop can distribute characters, weapons, land, cosmetics, currencies, or other digital items.

The asset may be earned through gameplay, purchased, claimed, or distributed to earlier players.

Blockchain ownership does not guarantee that the item will remain useful if the game changes or closes.

The developer may alter item statistics, access requirements, or supported networks.

A scarce token can lose practical value when few people continue using the game.

Players should review transfer restrictions, intellectual property terms, contract powers, and the dependence on centralized game servers.

Governance Token Drops

A governance token drop distributes voting power related to a blockchain protocol or decentralized application.

Recipients may be able to vote on fees, treasury spending, upgrades, incentives, or administrator selection.

Governance rights are not automatically equivalent to shares in a company.

A large portion of voting power may remain with founders, investors, delegates, or treasury-controlled wallets.

Users should examine proposal rules, quorum, delegation, execution delays, and emergency powers.

Receiving governance tokens creates influence only when the holder understands and participates in the process.

Liquidity and Incentive Drops

A project may distribute tokens to users who provide liquidity, lend assets, stake tokens, or support network security.

The reward can attract early capital and increase protocol activity.

High rewards may be funded mainly through new token issuance rather than sustainable revenue.

The value of the reward can fall faster than it is earned.

Liquidity providers may earned.

Liquidity providers may also experience smart contract risk and changes in the relative prices of deposited assets.

Participants should calculate returns after token inflation, transaction fees, withdrawal costs, and price exposure.

Vested Drops

A vested drop awards tokens that become transferable gradually rather than immediately.

The schedule may contain a cliff, followed by daily, weekly, monthly, or block-based releases.

Vesting can reduce immediate selling pressure and encourage longer participation.

It also creates contract, custody, and access risks because recipients may depend on a future claim system.

Users should understand whether vesting rights can be revoked, transferred, accelerated, or changed by governance.

How Drop Eligibility Is Calculated

Eligibility can depend on wallet balances, transaction counts, trading volume, governance votes, application usage, development work, referrals, or social participation.

A project may combine several factors into a score.

It may exclude suspected automated activity, related wallets, sanctioned addresses, insiders, or users from restricted jurisdictions.

Eligibility formulas can contain errors and may not recognize activity performed through contracts, custodians, or delegated accounts.

The project should explain whether users can appeal an incorrect result.

No user should assume eligibility until the official contract or claim interface confirms it.

Sybil Attacks on Drops

A Sybil attack occurs when one participant controls many identities or wallet addresses to obtain a larger reward.

A person may divide funds and repeat similar actions across hundreds of addresses.

Projects attempt to detect this behavior through funding patterns, transaction timing, shared counterparties, device information, identity checks, or graph analysis.

These methods can mistakenly classify legitimate users as related.

Stronger identity requirements may reduce duplicate participation while weakening privacy and accessibility.

Every drop design must balance fairness, privacy, cost, and resistance to manipulation.

Gas Fees and Failed Claims

A blockchain drop may require a transaction fee even when the asset itself is free.

Fees can rise sharply when many users attempt to claim at the same time.

A transaction can fail because the supply is exhausted, the wallet is ineligible, the deadline passed, or the gas limit is insufficient.

Failed transactions on fee-charging networks may still consume fees because validators performed computation.

Users should check the contract state before increasing the fee or repeatedly resubmitting the same claim.

The expected value of a drop may be lower than the cost of claiming and later transferring it.

Drop Scams

Drop scams use promises of free or exclusive crypto assets to persuade users to visit a fake website or sign a harmful transaction.

The current Ethereum security and scam-prevention guide warns that fraudulent airdrops may place tokens or NFTs in a wallet and direct the recipient to a malicious claim site.

The website may request an unlimited token approval, asset transfer, deceptive signature, or recovery phrase.

A scammer may also copy a project’s branding and announce a false mint through an impersonated social account.

Receiving an unsolicited asset does not mean the sender already controls the wallet.

The loss usually occurs after the recipient follows the malicious instructions or signs an authorization.

Fake Tokens and Contract Addresses

Token names and symbols are not unique security identifiers.

A scammer can create an asset using the same displayed name as a recognized project.

Ethereum’s scam-token identification guide notes that fraudulent tokens may imitate legitimate names and may be sent to wallets associated with genuine holders.

Users should verify the complete contract address through more than one official project channel.

A search-engine result or sponsored social-media post should not be treated as sufficient confirmation.

Malicious Approvals and Signatures

A claim transaction can request permission for a smart contract to transfer the user’s existing tokens.

An unlimited approval can remain active after the drop is complete.

Some off-chain signatures can authorize later transfers, orders, or permits without looking like an immediate blockchain payment.

Users should inspect the asset, amount, contract, chain, deadline, and permission being requested.

A separate low-balance wallet can limit exposure but does not make a malicious transaction safe.

Revoking an approval after assets have been stolen does not recover those assets.

Recovery Phrase Scams

No legitimate drop requires a wallet recovery phrase or private key.

A recovery phrase can recreate the wallet and give complete control over its assets.

It should never be entered into a claim website, support form, direct message, or token-removal tool.

A user who exposes recovery information should create a new wallet from new secret material and move remaining assets through a carefully secured process.

Deleting a suspicious website or changing an account password does not protect a wallet whose seed phrase has been compromised.

How to Verify a Drop

Begin with the project’s official website and independently confirmed communication channels.

Verify the blockchain, contract address, start time, deadline, supply, price, eligibility, and transaction requirements.

Read the smart contract or obtain a technical review when significant value is involved.

Check whether the contract is upgradeable and which address controls administrative functions.

Review audits while recognizing that an audit does not guarantee security.

Confirm that links use the correct domain before connecting a wallet.

Search for warnings from the project and broader security community.

Test with a low-value wallet when the event remains worth the risk.

How to Evaluate the Economics of a Drop

Research the circulating supply, total supply, maximum supply, and amount released through the drop.

Identify allocations belonging to founders, employees, investors, treasuries, and future incentive programs.

Review vesting and unlock dates that may increase market supply later.

Examine whether the token has a current function or only a proposed future use.

Compare the estimated value of the reward with gas fees, taxes, lock periods, and liquidity.

A displayed price based on a small trade may not be available for the complete drop allocation.

Users should examine actual market depth rather than multiplying every distributed token by the highest recent price.

Price Behavior After a Drop

A newly dropped asset can experience extreme price volatility.

Recipients who paid nothing may be willing to sell at almost any positive price.

Buyers may enter because of scarcity, speculation, product access, or fear of missing out.

Limited initial liquidity can produce large movements from relatively small trades.

Additional claims and unlocks can change supply over time.

The price may briefly rise and then decline as early participants take profits.

No common post-drop price pattern is guaranteed.

Tax Treatment of Drops

Tax treatment depends on the jurisdiction, distribution method, asset, recipient, and ability to control the received property.

The IRS’s current digital asset guidance states that digital-asset transactions and income may need to be reported by U.S. taxpayers.

Revenue Ruling 2019-24 specifically concludes that a hard fork followed by an airdrop can create gross income when the taxpayer receives the new cryptocurrency and has dominion and control.

Other types of promotional, service-based, purchased, or unsolicited drops may require separate analysis.

The fair market value at receipt may affect income and future cost basis.

A later sale, exchange, or use can create another taxable event.

Users should record the date, time, quantity, value, transaction hash, wallet, fees, and reason for receiving the asset.

Professional tax advice may be necessary when an unwanted asset has uncertain value or cannot be sold.

Legal and Geographic Restrictions

A crypto drop may be restricted in certain countries or regions.

The issuer may require identity verification, sanctions screening, age confirmation, or proof of residence.

Participation through a self-custody wallet does not automatically remove legal restrictions.

A token can also represent rights or expectations that receive different legal treatment across jurisdictions.

Users should review the issuer’s terms and obtain qualified advice for significant participation.

Risks for Drop Creators

Creators face smart contract, pricing, distribution, legal, operational, and reputational risks.

A contract error can mint too many items, assign incorrect allocations, trap payments, or prevent claims.

A poorly designed launch can produce bot domination, gas wars, failed transactions, and community complaints.

Leaked signing keys can allow unauthorized metadata changes or token creation.

Unclear ownership and licensing terms can create disputes with artists and collectors.

Creators should test contracts, secure administrator keys, communicate rules clearly, and prepare an incident-response process before launch.

Common Drop Mistakes

One common mistake is assuming that every drop is free.

Another mistake is confusing a drop with an airdrop or token unlock.

A third mistake is trusting a token name instead of verifying its contract address.

A fourth mistake is connecting a high-value wallet to an unknown claim site.

A fifth mistake is granting an unlimited approval without understanding it.

A sixth mistake is assuming that NFT ownership includes copyright or commercial rights.

A seventh mistake is ignoring future token supply and vesting.

An eighth mistake is paying more in transaction fees than the asset is worth.

A ninth mistake is assuming that an audit guarantees a safe mint.

A tenth mistake is buying after the drop only because the price is rising quickly.

FAQ

What does drop mean in crypto?

A drop usually means a planned release or distribution of tokens, NFTs, collectibles, rewards, or other blockchain assets.

Is a drop the same as an airdrop?

No, an airdrop is one type of drop, while a drop can also be a paid mint, limited release, game-item distribution, or another launch event.

Can drop also mean a price decline?

Yes, traders may use drop to describe a cryptocurrency’s price falling, so the intended meaning depends on context.

What is a token drop?

A token drop distributes fungible crypto assets to eligible wallets through direct transfers, claims, sales, or reward systems.

What is an NFT drop?

An NFT drop releases non-fungible tokens for minting, sale, claim, or direct distribution.

Are crypto drops free?

Some are free apart from transaction fees, while others require payment, ownership of another asset, or completion of specific activities.

What is a claim-based drop?

It is a distribution in which an eligible wallet submits a transaction to receive its allocated asset.

What is a direct drop?

It sends assets directly to recipient addresses without requiring each recipient to submit a claim.

What is a snapshot for a drop?

A snapshot records blockchain conditions at a selected block or time to determine which wallets qualify.

What is a retroactive drop?

It rewards activity completed before the final reward criteria or distribution was publicly announced.

What is a Merkle drop?

It uses cryptographic proofs to verify eligibility against a compact commitment stored in a smart contract.

What is an allowlist drop?

It limits participation to wallet addresses approved before or during the distribution.

Does being allowlisted guarantee an NFT?

Not always, because eligibility may still be subject to supply, timing, wallet limits, and contract conditions.

What is a free mint?

A free mint charges no stated purchase price for the asset, although the user may still pay network fees.

What is a delayed reveal?

It is an NFT process in which holders mint before the final artwork or traits are publicly assigned or displayed.

Can a drop steal wallet funds?

Receiving an ordinary token does not normally steal funds, but a fake claim site or malicious approval can authorize theft.

Should users interact with unsolicited tokens?

Unknown tokens and NFTs should generally be ignored or hidden until their contracts and instructions are independently verified.

Does a legitimate drop need a recovery phrase?

No, no legitimate token or NFT distribution requires the participant’s recovery phrase or private key.

How can a drop contract be verified?

Users should compare the complete contract address across official sources and review its source code, permissions, audits, and blockchain activity.

Can a free drop create taxes?

It may create tax obligations depending on the jurisdiction, facts, value, and recipient’s ability to control the asset.

Why can a drop transaction fail?

It may fail because supply is exhausted, the wallet is ineligible, the deadline passed, fees are insufficient, or the contract rejects the request.

Are transaction fees refunded after a failed mint?

Not necessarily, because validators may charge for processing a transaction even when contract execution fails.

Does an NFT drop transfer copyright?

No, copyright or commercial rights transfer only when the applicable license or legal agreement provides them.

Do NFT royalties apply automatically?

Not always, because a royalty standard can communicate payment information without enforcing payment in every transfer environment.

Why can prices fall after a token drop?

New supply, recipient selling, weak liquidity, declining demand, and future unlock expectations can place downward pressure on price.

What is the safest way to join a drop?

Users should verify the domain and contract, inspect every signature, limit wallet exposure, understand costs, and reject any request for secret recovery information.

Conclusion

A drop is a broad cryptocurrency term for releasing or distributing tokens, NFTs, digital collectibles, rewards, or other blockchain assets.

It can describe a direct transfer, claim event, public mint, holder reward, game-item release, or retroactive distribution.

The word may also describe a market price decline, making context essential.

Crypto drops can use allowlists, snapshots, Merkle proofs, auctions, lotteries, fixed-price mints, or vesting schedules.

NFT drops require careful review of supply, metadata, licensing, reveal rules, royalties, and administrative powers.

Token drops require analysis of utility, circulating supply, allocation, unlocks, holder concentration, and liquidity.

A free drop can still create transaction fees, security exposure, recordkeeping duties, and possible tax consequences.

The greatest user risks include fake contract addresses, phishing websites, malicious approvals, deceptive signatures, and recovery-phrase theft.

Receiving an unsolicited token does not normally compromise a wallet, but interacting with its instructions can create serious loss.

Users should treat every drop as a blockchain transaction requiring independent verification rather thn as guaranteed free value.