Arbitrum

The Foundation's documentation allocates 11.62%, or 1.162 billion ARB, to users, and a separate 1.13% (113 million) to DAOs building on Arbitrum. News reports that quote 1.275 billion are adding the two pools together. Nansen's analysis began with more than 2.3 million wallets connected by 6 February and found 625,143 qualified.

Criteria included completing more than four transactions or touching at least four smart contracts, bridging funds to Arbitrum One, and providing more than $50,000 of liquidity. Claims ended at Ethereum block 18208000, which the Foundation says corresponds to 24 September 2023.

The security story was serious. Arkham reported that a hacker had gained the keys to about 2,400 eligible wallets and approved ARB spending so tokens could be swept as soon as they arrived. LlamaRisk separately flagged a cluster of about 1,660 wallets funded from one address, a pattern typical of Sybil farming.

Hundreds of fake airdrop sites also appeared, which Forklog documented. A reading of the figures shows that nearly three quarters of wallets that touched the network did not qualify, so many users who expected a reward received nothing.

The Arbitrum drop became a reference point for the whole industry, partly for its size and partly for the controversy. Governance power was a major theme: ARB gave holders votes, and the early period showed how a few large holders can dominate decisions. Recipients who sold immediately gave up that voice, while those who delegated their votes to active delegates took part in governance without needing to follow every proposal.

Readers should also keep in mind that a figure such as 625,143 describes addresses, not people, so one person with several wallets may appear more than once. That is one reason the Foundation applied filters, and it explains why total token counts and recipient counts can look inconsistent across articles.