Celestia airdrop guide by Bod

Introduction
Celestia is building one of the biggest technologies of the current cycle. It has confirmed the launch of a token, and has raised funds from Binance Labs, Polygon Capital and the Cosmos Hub, totalling over $56M.

Despite all of this, the attention towards this potentially huge airdrop is very low. In this guide you will be taught how to interact with the chain before the other 99% of blockchain enthusiasts will catch on. This early interest will separate your actions from those that will try to farm the airdrop last minute.

But Bod, what exactly is this revolutionary technology Celestia is working on?

Celestia is the first modular consensus and data network, built to enable anyone to deploy their own blockchain. It will power, scale and secure web3 by introducing a complete new blockchain architecture. It will do this by providing a pluggable consensus layer, allowing developers to deploy their own execution layers to run on top of it. This enables endless customizability and sovereignty for applications built on Celestia, introducing the infrastructure needed for a new generation of dApps.

This modular approach uses a scheme that encodes block data in such a way that only a small sample of data is enough to verify that the entire block has been published.

Token
The TIA token, yet to be released, is designed to secure the network, through a proof of stake network. TIA will also be used to pay all the on-chain transactions fees. Eventually, it will implement a fee burn mechanism like EIP-1559 on Ethereum, making it deflationary in nature.

Wallet
Celestia is a Cosmos based chain, hence functions best with the ‘Metamask of Cosmos’: Keplr wallet.
Take all the safety measurements you would take on any other of your decentralised wallets. Don’t screenshot the private key, but write it down physically. Don’t use a password you use for other applications and always double check on which application you connect your browser plug in.

The goal for this guide is to interact with as many Celestia-based applications as possible. An airdrop is confirmed, but it might differ with Arbitrum or Optimism. Therefore, this guide will detail every possible interaction. When qualifying for airdrops, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Airdrop opportunities
There are currently 5 known ways to qualify yourself for the TIA airdrop.

Listed from 1 to 5, based on the technical know-how needed to fully qualify. Start with opportunity 1 and work your way down.

Remember, Celestia has currently not revealed a snapshot date, so there is plenty of time to work your way through the steps.

*Despite opportunity 1 being very easy, it requires capital in ATOM tokens. If you wish to qualify for the airdrop without initial funds, start at opportunity 2, where you get to dive into the network with free faucet funds.

Airdrop opportunity 1
Cosmos-based chains hand out Layer 1 and 2 tokens to ATOM stakers to contributors.

It has not been confirmed that this will happen with Celestia, but it might just give you that extra prerequisite needed. If you are planning to stake some ATOM tokens anyway, possibly for the current 17% APR , be sure to also vote on all the live proposals.

Airdrop opportunity 2
Connecting to the testnet.
Step 1: Connect to the Celestia testnet.
Step 2: Scroll down and press Add/Switch To Blockspace Race Testnet. It should now show on your Keplr browser plugin. If this causes issues, follow:

Step 1: Open Keplr plugin
Step 2: Click on the ‘top left stripes’
Step 3: Manage chain visibility

Finding your Celestia address:
Step 1: Open Keplr plugin
Step 2: Scroll down to TIA (Celestia Testnet)
Step 3: Go to Wallet address
Step 4: Go to My account

Interacting with other testnet chains:
Step 1: Head to the EVMOS faucet and claim tokens
Step 2: Head to the Celestia discord > Arabica testnet + Mocha testnet > request faucet tokens

— These steps are now considered registered actions on the Celestia interface -

Airdrop opportunity 3
There are multiple user-built demos on Celestia that are worth checking out, despite the increase in airdrop eligibility being slightly lower than the rest of the opportunities. A personal recommendation is the GM portal, that allows you to forever register a simple message on the blockchain.
*Disclaimer: The demos work with Metamask, not Keplr, so you will need some ETH testnet funds.

Airdrop opportunity 4
There are currently no DEXs or dApps working on the network. Therefore, transactions can only be done by sending testnet tokens between decentralized wallets. To qualify for this part of the airdrop, follow these steps.

Step 1:
Create a second wallet address. Easily done with your Keplr wallet plugin, by clicking top-right on profile icon.

Step 2:
Use the faucet tokens from wallet 1 to send to wallet 2, both as gas and as the transferred asset. *Make sure to always keep some TIA in your wallet for gas fees.

Step 3:
Switch to wallet 2 and send the testnet tokens back to wallet 1. Repeat multiple times or spread out the transactions over multiple days if possible.

Airdrop opportunity 5

Setting up a node on the Celestia testnet

There are currently no Galxe campaigns, ‘Optimism Quests’ or other easy to track interfaces for the Celestia airdrop. The only other way to qualify, is to show your willingness to explore the platform as a developer or a node operator.
*Disclaimer: If you are inexperienced in setting up nodes, this process might take you an afternoon. This, however, will set you up for a bigger airdrop and an easier modus operandi for upcoming test nets.

Step 1:
Workspace as a developer
Run any Celestia software, used for developing apps on the network. The full tutorial can be found on: docs.celestia.org/nodes/environment

Step 2:
Workspace as a node operator
Run the node to validate transactions. Very possible without technical know-how. It works for both the mocha and the arabica testnet. The full tutorial can be found on: docs.celestia.org/nodes/celestia-node

Step 3:
For both of these workspaces, you need a basic understanding of Docker. This platform is used for running applications and nodes on Celestia. The full tutorial can be found on: docs.celestia.org/nodes/docker-images or follow this 2.5 minute video.

Final words

Even though the Celestia airdrop is extremely likely, the amount of participants on the network is low. The reason being a lack of a clear interface in airdrop steps, lack of ‘easy to farm eligibility’ and the technical know-how needed for some of the steps.

This is an opportunity to distinguish yourself from the average airdrop participant.

Modular blockchains may just become the big theme of the bull market, so an early insight in the technical aspects in one of the biggest contenders will benefit you greatly in the future.

*Remember that for some of the bigger airdrops, you should follow this guide multiple times, spreading out your transactions over multiple weeks.

*Airdrop disclaimer*
Eligible criteria for airdrop differs greatly, but traditionally the protocol looks for:
Bridging, consistency over time, volumes traded and number of transactions. Keep this in mind when following any airdrop guide.