A moment in time when a crypto project records eligible wallets to decide how a token airdrop is distributed. The snapshot is the cutoff — anything done after it doesn't count. Here's how snapshots work and why they matter.
What "snapshot" actually means
In airdrop context, a snapshot is a point in time at which the project freezes a view of relevant on-chain or platform state and uses it to compute who gets how many tokens. Think of it as a database dump: "as of June 25 2026, 18:00 UTC, here is every wallet that qualifies and their score."
Some projects do a single-moment snapshot (e.g., "block 12345678"). Others do a window snapshot ("activity between June 18 and June 25") to make the cutoff less gameable. AgentBet's airdrop uses a window: June 18-25, 2026.
Why projects use snapshots
Three reasons:
- Eligibility freezing. Once the snapshot fires, the eligible-wallet list is locked. Anyone joining after doesn't get this airdrop. This caps the total distribution and stops Sybil rushes once allocation is known.
- Distribution fairness. Pre-snapshot users — people who supported the project before it was guaranteed — get prioritized over post-launch speculators.
- Operational cleanliness. The smart contract or off-chain distributor needs a static list to issue claims against. Snapshot provides that.
What gets snapshotted
Different projects record different things:
- Token balance. Easiest. "Hold X of token Y at snapshot time, get allocated Z tokens of new token A."
- Activity score. "You played N games, deposited M, referred K users — your score is a weighted sum."
- NFT holdings. Common for NFT-tied airdrops. "Own NFT collection X at snapshot, claim Y."
- Behavioral signals. "Bridged at least once before X date, made at least Y trades, contributed to governance" — anti-farm scoring.
AgentBet's snapshot uses a 7-category point system: deposits, wagering, referrals, quality signals, daily check-in, social tasks, and achievements. Each is capped to prevent any single farm vector from dominating. Sybil multipliers (× 0.5 for VPN, × 0.25 for unverified email, × 0 for fraud-flagged) further compress aggressive farming.
The Sybil problem
A Sybil attack is one person creating many wallets to claim multiple allocations. Every airdrop in crypto deals with this. The mitigations:
- Activity thresholds. Require real platform activity (a deposit, a trade, a long history) — expensive for a farmer to fake at scale.
- Behavioral fingerprinting. Track IPs, device fingerprints, withdrawal patterns. Cluster suspicious accounts.
- Multipliers, not exclusions. Rather than hard-banning suspect wallets, scale their allocation down proportional to suspicion. Less prone to false-positive backlash.
- Time-weighted scoring. Reward early users heavier. Farmers showing up the week before snapshot get scored lighter than people active for months.
How to maximize a fair airdrop allocation
Without farming (which usually gets caught):
- Verify your email. The simplest multiplier swing — × 1.0 verified vs × 0.25 unverified is a 4× difference.
- Use the platform from a single residential IP. VPN traffic gets × 0.5. If you must use a VPN, use the same one consistently — not 5 different exits.
- Hit every point category. Some allocation formulas cap per-category, so spreading across deposits + wagering + referrals + social + achievements + daily check-in maximizes total.
- Time it earlier rather than later. Many snapshot formulas weight time-on-platform. Joining a week before snapshot scores worse than joining two months before.
- Don't game the referral system. Referring fake accounts that don't convert is detectable. Real referrals that actually deposit move you up the contest leaderboard and the airdrop multiplier simultaneously.
AgentBet airdrop specifics
The window is June 18-25, 2026. Exact hour is withheld until close to the date to prevent last-minute rushes. Gate is three tasks: verified email, whitelisted BSC wallet, and $1+ deposit from that wallet. After the gate, your point score (capped at ~1,200) determines allocation. Multipliers compress for VPN (× 0.5), unverified email (× 0.25), and Sybil-flagged accounts (× 0).
Distribution is 25% at TGE and 75% vested over 6 months. Whitelisted accounts also get 40% USDT rakeback on platform losses post-TGE. See Allocation Rules v1.0 for the full formula.
Common questions
Why announce the snapshot window early?
To give honest users time to qualify. Last-minute snapshots reward farmers with tooling and punish casual users without it. AgentBet's 7+ day window is meant to be human-friendly.
Can I find out the exact snapshot moment in advance?
No, by design. We publish a window (June 18-25 for AgentBet). The exact moment is withheld until close to the date — this stops timing exploits where farmers spin up activity exactly at snapshot moment then disappear.
What happens if I miss the snapshot?
You're not in this airdrop. You can still earn allocation in future snapshots (often called "second waves" or "ongoing reward pools") — these are common but rarely as generous as the initial drop.
Can I influence my multiplier after the snapshot?
No — the multiplier is computed at snapshot time. Email verifications, KYC clears, or VPN drops happening after the snapshot don't retroactively boost your allocation.
Are Sybil multipliers fair?
Mostly. False positives happen — a real user using a shared family IP or a corporate VPN can get flagged. AgentBet's rule is multipliers (× 0.5, × 0.25) rather than hard exclusions specifically to limit false-positive damage. Affected users can also appeal via support.