Cryptocurrency wallet provider Blockchain.com has launched full support for altcoin Stellar (XLM), accompanied by a hefty airdrop of $125 million worth of XLM to its user base. The news was announced in an official blog post today, Nov. 6.
Blockchain.com pitched the mammoth offering as “the largest airdrop in the history of crypto and likely the largest consumer giveaway ever,” suggesting that airdrops are “a great way to drive decentralization and adoption for new networks.”
The firm underscores that the benefit of crypto airdrops for consumers are that they are able to “test, trade, and transact” unfamiliar crypto assets without having to mine or invest first.
Blockchain.com gives the rationale for its choice to launch support for Stellar as being due to the token’s network being “built for scalability,” as well as for its provision of the ability to create custom tokens that represent “real-world or virtual goods and services.”
Prior to adding Stellar support, the Blockchain.com wallet already supported three other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Ethereum (ETH).
As of press time, Stellar (XLM) is ranked sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap on CoinMarketCap’s listings, seeing a strong 5.35 percent growth on the day, trading at $0.258.
In late September, Cointelegraph reported that Blockchain.com had been ranked within the top ten most “sought-after” U.K. startup employers in new listings on LinkedIn. Among its attributes, LinkedIn noted Blockchain.com’s “benefits such as free food and flexible working,” unlimited holiday policy and a bonus scheme for employees paid in Bitcoin.
Airdrops have recently made headlines in less auspicious terms, with China’s stringently anti-crypto central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), announcing it would be widening its regulatory scrutiny to include token airdrops, which it characterized as “disguised” Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in its 2018 financial stability report.