Back in March 2022, something unusual happened in the crypto world. Over 6.2 million people signed up for a single airdrop. Not because it was the biggest prize ever, but because it was smartly designed. The ONUS x CoinMarketCap airdrop wasn’t just another free token giveaway - it was a precision-targeted campaign that turned a $50,000 budget into a global community boost. Here’s how it actually worked, who won, and what happened to ONUS after.
How the ONUS Airdrop Actually Worked
The ONUS airdrop didn’t ask you to join a Discord server, retweet a post five times, or invite 10 friends. It kept it simple. To qualify, you had to do three things:
- Add ONUS to your CoinMarketCap watchlist.
- Complete identity verification on CoinMarketCap.
- Join ONUS’s official social channels (Telegram, Twitter, etc.).
That’s it. No complicated tasks. No fake engagement. No bot farms. The campaign ran for exactly 20 days, ending on March 20, 2022, at 12:00 UTC. During that time, 6,277,789 people participated. Only 5,000 would win. That’s a 0.08% chance - less than one in a thousand.
Why did so many people bother? Because CoinMarketCap is where real crypto users go. Not for hype. Not for memes. For data. If you’re tracking prices, checking market caps, or comparing tokens, you’re probably on CoinMarketCap. ONUS didn’t buy ads. They got in front of people who already cared about crypto.
The Prize and How Winners Got Paid
The total prize pool was 75,000 ONUS tokens. At the time, that was worth about $50,000 USD. Each winner received 15 ONUS tokens. Not life-changing money, but enough to get attention. The real trick? Winners had to claim their tokens through RICE Wallet.
RICE Wallet wasn’t just another crypto wallet. It was ONUS’s own mobile app - built for trading, earning, and managing ONUS tokens. By forcing winners to use RICE Wallet, ONUS didn’t just hand out tokens. They onboarded 5,000 new active users into their ecosystem. These weren’t people who grabbed tokens and sold them. They were people who had to set up an account, verify their identity, and start using the app.
Claiming had a deadline too. Winners had to confirm their Binance Smart Chain address before April 1, 2022. After that, the tokens vanished. No exceptions. This created urgency. No one could wait and think about it later.
Why This Airdrop Was Different
Most airdrops in 2022 were messy. They attracted bots. They flooded wallets with junk tokens. They didn’t build communities - they built spam lists.
ONUS did the opposite.
They didn’t need thousands of fake accounts. They needed 5,000 real users who already trusted CoinMarketCap. They didn’t need people to hold ONUS forever. They needed them to try RICE Wallet. And it worked. Thousands of new users downloaded the app. Many started using it for other things - trading, staking, earning through other ONUS campaigns.
It was a masterclass in targeted marketing. No flashy graphics. No celebrity endorsements. Just a clean, simple, well-timed offer to a highly relevant audience.
What Happened to ONUS After the Airdrop
The airdrop wasn’t the end - it was the start.
By September 2025, ONUS was trading at around $0.6956 USD. The 24-hour trading volume was over $1.26 million. That’s not a flash in the pan. That’s sustained interest.
One big reason? The token vesting schedule ended on July 17, 2025. For two years, a large portion of ONUS tokens were locked. When they unlocked, liquidity improved. Exchanges could list it more easily. Traders had more confidence.
Then came platform updates. In August 2025, ONUS cut futures trading fees. VIP 3 users now only needed 2,500 ONUS tokens to qualify - half of what it used to be. That made higher-tier benefits accessible to more people. It wasn’t just about holding. It was about using.
And here’s the quiet move that matters: in September 2025, ONUS automatically converted users’ holdings of three delisted tokens - BakeryToken, Hifi Finance, and Self Chain - into ONUS tokens if they held more than 100 USDT worth. That wasn’t just a cleanup. That was a forced buy signal. Thousands of wallets suddenly had more ONUS. And those users? They were already in the RICE Wallet ecosystem.
The Bigger Lesson
The ONUS x CoinMarketCap airdrop showed something important: you don’t need to pay for hype. You just need to be where the real users are.
Most crypto projects chase followers. ONUS chased users. They didn’t care about Twitter bots. They cared about people who checked CoinMarketCap daily. They didn’t ask for donations. They asked for attention - and rewarded it with something useful.
Today, CoinMarketCap has moved on. They launched CMC Launchpad with smarter filters to block spam. That’s probably because of campaigns like ONUS’s. They proved that even a small, clean airdrop can attract millions - if you pick the right platform.
ONUS didn’t become a household name. But they didn’t need to. They built a working ecosystem. People use RICE Wallet. People trade ONUS. People earn from it. And it all started with a simple watchlist.
Is There Still a Chance to Get ONUS Tokens?
No. The original airdrop ended in 2022. All tokens were distributed. There’s no ongoing claim period. You can’t get in now.
But you can still buy ONUS on exchanges like Gate.io, MEXC, and OKX. Or you can earn it by using RICE Wallet - through trading, staking, or future promotions. The ecosystem is alive. The airdrop was just the first step.
Was the ONUS airdrop real or a scam?
The ONUS x CoinMarketCap airdrop was real. Over 6.2 million people participated, and 5,000 winners received their 15 ONUS tokens via RICE Wallet within days of the campaign ending. CoinMarketCap, a trusted industry platform, hosted the campaign. There were no reports of fraud, and the token distribution was confirmed on-chain. The project has continued developing since 2022, with active trading and platform updates as of 2025.
Can I still claim my ONUS airdrop tokens?
No. The airdrop ended on March 20, 2022, and winners had until April 1, 2022, to claim their tokens. After that, unclaimed rewards were returned to the ONUS treasury. There is no active claim portal or extension. If you didn’t complete the steps and claim before that date, you cannot receive tokens from this campaign.
Why did ONUS require RICE Wallet to claim the airdrop?
ONUS required RICE Wallet to turn the airdrop into more than just a marketing stunt. By forcing winners to download and use their app, they gained 5,000 active users who started interacting with the ONUS ecosystem. This helped build long-term utility for the token - not just short-term hype. RICE Wallet became the gateway for future trading, staking, and earning opportunities.
How many people won the ONUS airdrop?
Exactly 5,000 people won. The campaign distributed 75,000 ONUS tokens total, meaning each winner received 15 tokens. With over 6.2 million participants, the odds of winning were roughly 1 in 1,255. Winners were selected randomly from all eligible participants who completed the required steps.
What is ONUS used for today?
Today, ONUS powers a blockchain designed for DeFi and cross-chain trading. It’s used as a utility token on the RICE Wallet platform for trading, staking, and earning rewards. Users can also qualify for VIP trading tiers by holding ONUS, which reduces futures trading fees. The token is listed on major exchanges and continues to gain utility through platform updates like forced token conversions and fee reductions.
