Claim an airdrop safely: official checkers, claim windows and clone sites

Finding the official checker

Eligibility checkers are the most copied pages in crypto. The reliable route is also the dullest one.

1. Type the project's documentation address yourself, or reach it from the project's verified main site.
2. Search the docs for the token or airdrop page. Projects such as Aster and GRVT keep step-by-step claim guides inside their own documentation or help centre.
3. Follow the link on that page, and compare the domain character by character with what you see in the address bar.
4. Bookmark it. Later you open the bookmark, not a search result.

Where we cannot find a checker in a project's own documents, we say so rather than guess. Several tracked projects, for example Lighter, have no claim step at all: its terms say eligible users receive tokens automatically in their Lighter accounts. A "claim now" page for such a project is by definition not official.

Official claim and eligibility pages we track

This table lists only projects in our data set, with the exact page recorded from their official sources. The last column states how we know. "Opened by us" means we loaded the page or its official documentation in this review. "Tracker record" means the project page on this site cites the source, but we did not reopen it here. Where a host did not resolve, we say so and do not claim it is live or dead.

Do not type these from the table into links you find elsewhere. They are here so you can recognise the genuine domain. Open each project page for the primary sources. Most of the entries are closed, which is itself a warning: a page offering to "reopen" a finished claim should be treated as hostile.

A safe claim procedure

1. 1

   Confirm the claim is live

   Read the official announcement and the project status on our pages. If the docs say the window ended, stop. Nothing you can sign will change that.

2. 2

   Prepare the right wallet

   Use the wallet that was eligible. If it also holds long-term savings, consider moving the claimed tokens straight out afterwards rather than interacting further from it.

3. 3

   Open the checker from the docs

   Use your bookmark or the link on the official page. Check the padlock and the exact domain.

4. 4

   Check eligibility read-only first

   Where a public address field exists, use it. Connect only if needed to claim.

5. 5

   Read every prompt

   Confirm the network, the contract name and the amount. Reject unlimited approvals and unrelated permissions.

6. 6

   Keep a record

   Save the transaction hash and the claim date. You will want it later for the tax record.

Claim costs and networks

The tracked documents are specific about where tokens land and less so about what a claim costs. We report what is published.

• Arbitrum: ARB was minted and claimable only on Arbitrum One, per the foundation documentation.
• Kaito: claims opened on 20 February 2025 on Base, per our tracker.
• GRVT: manual claims credit your GRVT account. Registrations made before 17 July 2026 could be paid out automatically to GRVT, BSC or Ethereum. The help article does not mention claim fees or signatures.
• Lighter: no claim step; tokens arrive in the account.
• ZKsync: the claim FAQ mentions only a message signature to verify wallet ownership when associating a GitHub account; it does not describe gas costs.

Gas prices move. Plan to hold a small balance of the network's native token and check the official guide for that network. If a site tells you to send funds first to "unlock" a claim, it is a scam.

What a legitimate signature request looks like

Generically, a claim uses one of two patterns. The first is a message signature, which proves control of an address and does not move funds. The second is a transaction that calls a claim function on a contract the project names. Both should show you readable details in the wallet.

Signs of a malicious request

• An approval that grants a contract unlimited spending of a token you hold.
• A blind or unreadable signature with no human-readable description.
• A request that appears right after a site loads, before you chose any action.
• Any prompt to enter a recovery phrase.

Our custodial vs non-custodial guide explains why account-based claims such as GRVT and Lighter feel different from wallet claims.

Deadlines and unclaimed tokens

Windows in the data set range from a few weeks to several months.

Our editorial reading: a missed deadline is usually final. Never trust a page that offers late claims for a fee.

Open campaigns where eligibility or a future claim matters are limited. Jupiter is tagged as snapshot taken, but its final distribution was postponed indefinitely after a DAO vote, so nothing is claimable. Variational has an officially planned token and a points page, and no snapshot date has been published. Both are summarised on confirmed and latest.

Reading the table as a pattern

Of the eleven pages in the claim table above, only GRVT is open, and it is open in tranches. That ratio is typical of the whole archive: claims are short-lived events, and most of the pages people search for are already dead. Two practical conclusions follow, both of them editorial judgement.

First, the status check comes before everything else. Our table separates three situations that look identical from a search result: a closed window (Scroll, ZKsync, Arbitrum), a host we could not reach (Celestia, Starknet and Berachain’s checker), and an account-based programme with no claim page at all (Lighter). Each calls for a different response. For a closed window, nothing you sign can help. For an unreachable host, the honest answer is that we cannot confirm anything, so wait for the project’s own announcement. For an account-based programme, any page asking you to connect a wallet is out of place.

Second, the lack of a claim page is itself information. Base has said only that it is exploring a network token, and Grass has closed Airdrop One while reserving supply for future programmes without a date. Neither has a claim page, so a site offering you one is not early; it is wrong. The same logic applies to MetaMask, whose Rewards programme runs inside the app and pays in LINEA, with no MetaMask token claim on its official pages.

Phishing clone patterns

Linea published a security and scam awareness post around its token launch. Reading project-issued warnings before you claim is a good habit. For a broader legitimacy check see legit airdrops.

Worked example: reading a claim announcement

Take GRVT, whose help-centre guide we opened. In a few paragraphs it states four things you should extract from any announcement: the registration deadline (6 August 2026, 00:00 UTC, after which unregistered allocations are forfeited), where claimed tokens land (your GRVT account for manual claims), how the claim works (open the Reward Portal, find the batch, click Claim), and how long each batch stays open (30 days, no exceptions).

Notice what is missing: no fee estimate and no mention of a signature. The honest conclusion is that the document does not tell you, not that the answer is "free". When an announcement is silent on something that matters, that gap is your first question to the official channel, not a reason to improvise.

Contrast that with an account-based programme like Lighter's, where the terms say tokens arrive automatically. With no claim step there is nothing to phish, and any "claim" button is a red flag. With a wallet-based claim such as the old Scroll or Arbitrum ones, a signature or transaction was the point of the page, which is exactly why clones targeted them.

After you claim

• Review wallet approvals and revoke any you do not recognise.
• Consider keeping claim wallets separate from savings; our burner wallet guide shows how.
• Decide in advance what you will do with the tokens. Our sell guide covers the options without recommending one.
• Keep records for tax; see the airdrop tax guide. This page is not financial or tax advice.

Track eligibility across projects with the airdrop tracker, and see how we verify sources in how we verify.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the official airdrop checker?

Start from the project documentation or official blog, not from a search result or social reply. Open the docs site by typing its address, find the airdrop or token page, and follow the link from there. If you cannot reach a checker from the official docs, assume that link is not official until the team confirms it.

Do I have to pay to claim an airdrop?

A legitimate claim never charges a fee to the project. Some claims are on-chain transactions and need network gas in your wallet, while others, such as GRVT, credit an account on the platform. Our tracked documents do not publish gas estimates, so check the official claim guide for the network and expect a fee only in that network token.

What does a legitimate claim signature request look like?

Either a plain message signature that proves you control an address, or a single claim transaction on a network named in the official docs. The wallet should show a clear contract or message. Be suspicious of blind signatures, requests to approve unlimited token spending, or any prompt that is unrelated to the claim.

What happens to tokens nobody claims?

It depends on the project. ZKsync states unclaimed ZK was never minted and sits in mintable supply controlled through governance. Notcoin listed about 210 million unclaimed NOT as burned. Arbitrum documents do not say what happened to unclaimed ARB. Always read the project terms rather than assuming.

What should I do after claiming an airdrop?

Check your wallet for unexpected approvals and revoke any you do not recognise, keep the claim wallet separate from long-term savings, and record the transaction details for tax purposes. Do not click follow-up links from messages about extra rewards. Our revoke guide covers the approval review in detail.