How to run a airdrop on NEAR: pick the receiving wallets, which token they’ll get and the amount for each one
If you need to distribute a token across many wallets, learning how to run a airdrop on NEAR saves you hours of manual transfers and a headache that doesn’t exist on other chains. With a clean batch send you can reward your community, pay the team or airdrop the holders of a collection in minutes and with a single payment.
In this guide I’ll walk you through why an airdrop on NEAR has an extra step, how to run one with the Multisender from Smithii, and what it will cost you based on the size of your list. Let’s get into it.
The extra step behind an airdrop on NEAR
On an EVM network you can send a token to any wallet even if it has never held one before. Not on NEAR. A NEP-141 token can only store balances for accounts that are registered with it, and that registration is done through a small deposit that pays for the storage space of the balance, following the network’s storage management standard.
If you send tokens manually to an unregistered account, the transfer fails. That’s why an airdrop on NEAR takes two operations per recipient: register and transfer, and doing that by hand for hundreds of accounts just isn’t practical. The multisender reads which accounts are already registered and adds the deposit, around 0.002 NEAR, only to the ones that need it.
Which accounts can receive your token
NEAR has two account types and the tool supports both. Named accounts, like alice.near or bob.tg, have to already exist on the network, and the multisender flags the ones that don’t exist so you don’t send tokens into the void. Implicit accounts, 64-character hex strings, are valid even if they have never been used, because they are derived directly from a public key.
How to run an airdrop on NEAR step by step
The Multisender by Smithii for NEAR is a tool that lets you send any NEP-141 token to up to 1,000 accounts in batches, with no code and account registration handled automatically. You can paste the list, upload a file, or pull in the holders of another token or an NFT collection. Once you’re in the interface you’ll see something like this:
If you already have the token in your wallet and enough NEAR to cover the fee and the registrations, follow these steps:
- Connect your NEAR wallet: the one holding the tokens you’re about to distribute.
- Pick the token: select it from your wallet or paste the contract account.
- Set the amount: the same for every wallet (Same) or a different one per line (Different).
- Load the accounts: paste them, upload a CSV or TXT, or pull the holders of a token or an NFT collection.
- Hit Send and approve the payment: the fee goes to Smithii before the transfers kick off.
Each batch goes to a single contract, so it either lands in full or it doesn’t land at all. If one fails, your payment is kept and the Resume button sends the remaining batches without charging you again. It’s that simple, and if any account on the list doesn’t exist, the interface will flag it before you pay.
Three ways to load your wallet list
The most direct way is to paste the accounts or upload a CSV or TXT. To send the same amount to everyone, one account per line is enough; for different amounts, each line carries the account and the amount separated by a comma, like alice.near,12. The tool itself provides a sample file you can download.
The other two options load the list for you. NFT Holders pulls the accounts that hold at least one NFT from a collection, and Token Holders pulls the ones holding a balance of a token, both at 11.55 NEAR. These are the backbone of holder airdrops, since you don’t have to export or clean up any list.
If you’d rather review the list before sending, here’s how to run a holder snapshot on NEAR and download the list as a CSV.
How much an airdrop on NEAR costs with Smithii
The fee is calculated in blocks of 10 wallets: 0.68 NEAR per block started, which works out to 0.068 NEAR per account. It’s paid in a single transaction to Smithii before the first batch goes out.
| Wallets on the list | Blocks of 10 | Smithii fee |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | 0.68 NEAR |
| 45 | 5 | 3.40 NEAR |
| 100 | 10 | 6.80 NEAR |
| 500 | 50 | 34 NEAR |
| 1.000 | 100 | 68 NEAR |
On top of that fee, you also cover the network costs, which come straight from your wallet. These are the registration deposit of about 0.002 NEAR for every account that wasn’t already registered in the token, plus a bit of gas per batch. If your list is made up of holders of your own token, most of them will already be registered and that cost drops significantly.
How to prep your wallet list before the drop
The tool validates every account, but it won’t decide for you who actually deserves the token. That part is on you, and it’s worth sorting out before uploading anything.
- Strip out contract accounts: if you’re pulling from a snapshot, you’ll spot accounts like v2.ref-finance.near, which is the Rhea contract. Sending tokens there rewards no one, since those are pools and not people.
- Remove duplicates: when you merge several lists, the same account can show up twice and end up getting double.
- Set a minimum: in a holder airdrop, a minimum balance filters out the dust accounts that never actually interact with the project.
- Run a small test: a first drop to two or three of your own accounts confirms the format and the result before the big distribution.
If the drop is for your team or your early backers, the amount per line matters more than the list itself. Build the two-column CSV in a spreadsheet, double-check that the total matches what you want to distribute, and upload it as is.
Common mistakes when running an token on NEAR
Almost every issue with an airdrop can be avoided by double-checking the list and your balance before hitting the button. These are the slip-ups that come up most often.
- Misspelled named accounts: a single wrong letter points to an account that doesn’t exist. The tool flags them, but it’s better to fix them in your original list.
- Running short on NEAR: beyond the fee, you also need to cover the registrations and the gas for each batch. Leave some buffer in your wallet.
- Mixing up units: the amount per wallet is written in tokens, not in NEAR. Review the total shown in the summary before sending.
- Lists over 1,000 accounts: split them into multiple drops. Each one is paid for and tracked separately.
If you don’t have a token yet, start by launching your token on NEAR with a single signature and then distribute it from the same wallet.
Before firing off any distribution, think about the goal too. A well-planned airdrop brings in holders who actually stick around, while a badly designed one just triggers sell pressure the moment the tokens land. Our guide on why run a token airdrop walks you through the criteria to decide.
FAQ
How many wallets can I include in an airdrop on NEAR?
Up to 1,000 accounts per drop. The tool groups them into batches of 50 so no transaction hits the network’s limits. If your list is longer, split it into several drops.
Why do some accounts need a deposit?
Because a NEP-141 token only holds balances for accounts registered with it, and registering pays for the space that balance takes up on the network. The multisender checks every account and adds the deposit of about 0.002 NEAR only where it’s missing.
What happens if a batch fails?
Each batch hits a single contract, so either it lands in full or it doesn’t land at all: a failed batch sends no token. Your payment is preserved and the Resume button retries the pending batches without charging you again.
Can I send a different amount to each wallet?
Yes. Pick Different and write the amount next to each account, separated by a comma, or upload a CSV with two columns, one for the accounts and one for the amounts.
Can I distribute my token to the holders of a NEAR NFT collection?
Yes. In the upload method, pick NFT Holders or Token Holders, the snapshot runs for 11.55 NEAR, and the list drops straight into the multisender, no downloading or copying needed.
Wrap-up
Once you know how to run a airdrop on NEAR, you can distribute a token to hundreds of accounts without worrying about storage registration, which is exactly what makes manual sends on this network such a pain. The tool checks the accounts, adds the missing deposits, and resumes batches without charging twice.
Double-check the list, leave some NEAR headroom for storage, and pick your recipients carefully. With that covered, the distribution comes down to one payment and a few signatures.
Content creator and SEO contributor at Smithii. Systems Engineering student and crypto-tech enthusiast.
