U.S. Investors Face Up to $5 Trillion Loss from Project Blockade...Dragonfly, 2025 Airdrop Report

# Dragonfly’s 2025 Airdrop Report Highlights Trillions Lost Due to Geoblocking U.S. Users According to Dragonfly’s recently published “2025 Airdrop Report,” cryptocurrency projects have incurred losses amounting to trillions of won by geoblocking U.S. users. The report analyzed data from 12 airdrops conducted between 2019 and 2023. ## Economic Impact of Geoblocking in the U.S. As of 2024, the report estimates that the number of cryptocurrency holders in the U.S. ranges from approximately 18.4 million to 52.3 million. About 5-10% of these, equating to 920,000 to 5.2 million users, were affected by airdrop geoblocking policies. Furthermore, approximately 22-24% of all active cryptocurrency addresses globally belonged to U.S. users. The value of the airdrops from the 11 projects included in the report totaled $7.16 billion (about 10.4 trillion won), with around 1.9 million wallets receiving an average of $4,600 (about 6.7 million won) worth of tokens. Due to geoblocking, the estimated value of airdrops not received by U.S. users is between $1.84 billion and $2.64 billion (about 2.7 trillion to 3.8 trillion won). Adding CoinGecko’s additional sample, it is estimated that from 2020 to 2024, the potential value of airdrops missed by U.S. investors could reach between $3.49 billion and $5.02 billion (about 5.1 trillion to 7.3 trillion won). ## Tax Revenue Losses and Corporate Relocation The report also analyzed the individual tax revenue losses the U.S. government incurred due to airdrop geoblocking. From 2020 to 2024, the federal government missed out on between $418 million and $1.1 billion (about 610 billion to 1.6 trillion won) in income tax revenue. State-level tax losses ranged from $107 million to $284 million (about 160 billion to 410 billion won). Combining these, the total tax revenue loss for the U.S government could reach between $525 million and $1.38 billion (about 760 billion to 2 trillion won). Additionally, the relocation of cryptocurrency companies overseas to evade stringent U.S. regulations has led to corporate tax losses. For instance, Tether, a stablecoin issuer, recorded $6.2 billion (about 9 trillion won) in revenue in 2024, but it was not subject to U.S. taxes due to its overseas incorporation. If Tether had paid U.S. taxes, it would have contributed approximately $1.3 billion (about 1.9 trillion won) in federal corporate taxes and $316 million (about 460 billion won) in state corporate taxes. This example is just one instance, and the total corporate tax revenue lost due to the overseas relocation of crypto firms is likely much higher. ## Need for Regulatory Changes in Cryptocurrency The report underscores the importance of airdrops as a strategic tool for blockchain projects to engage users and expand their ecosystems. However, regulatory uncertainties and stringent sanctions have prevented U.S. users from benefiting, prompting companies to relocate overseas in search of more favorable environments. Dragonfly’s report implies that unless the U.S. government improves its regulatory policies considering the growth of the cryptocurrency market, it will continue to lose economic opportunities and tax revenues.