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How to Claim Your $GAIA Season 1 Airdrop and Delegate

• 4 min read
How to Claim Your $GAIA Season 1 Airdrop and Delegate

The $GAIA Season 1 Airdrop is here! If you’re an early contributor — whether as a node operator, domain holder, or XP participant — you may be eligible to claim $GAIA tokens.

We’ve partnered with Hedgey (@hedgeyfinance) to provide a seamless claiming process for all eligible token recipients. Once you claim your tokens, there’s one critical step to keep Gaia truly decentralized: delegation.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know — from claiming your tokens to understanding delegation and keeping your assets secure.

Snapshot

Key Dates

  • Preview Announcement: August 4, 2025
  • Claim Instructions & Portal Link Released: August 6, 2025 at 10:00 AM ET
  • Claim Portal Opens: August 6, 2025 at 11:00 AM ET
  • Claim Deadline: November 19, 2025 at 10:59 AM ET. Early Contributors will not be able to claim after the deadline.

Future airdrop seasons and GAIA token vesting schedules will be shared later this year as part of Gaia’s governance rollout. For more information please read our whitepaper.

Who's Eligible?

Season 1 recognizes the early contributors and ecosystem participants who made Gaia possible:

  • Node Operators – Provided compute infrastructure and enabled real-time inference across the Gaia Network
  • Gaia Domain Holders / Operators – Registered or hosted Gaia Domains, making intelligent agents accessible and discoverable
  • XP / EP Contributors – Completed missions, engaged in educational content, and supported Gaia’s growth initiatives

Full details on our rewards program are located here.

Airdrop Details

  • Season 1 Allocation: 30,000,000 GAIA (3% of total supply)
  • Total Airdrop Pool: 5% of total supply
  • Blockchain: Ethereum
  • Token Contract: 0x2EE7097BfdD98fCE2AC08A1896038a7cd9aaEd81

Full details Season 1 Airdrop details are located here.

Why Delegation Matters

When you claim your tokens, you’ll be prompted to delegate your voting rights.

Delegation doesn’t mean giving up control. Your tokens stay in your wallet. Delegation simply allows your voting power to count toward governance so that proposals can pass and the network can evolve.

Without delegation:

  • Proposals may fail to reach quorum
  • Governance stalls
  • A few active users end up making decisions for everyone

By delegating, you ensure Gaia’s protocol stays active, decentralized, and user-governed — even if you never plan to vote yourself.

Step 1: Check Eligibility & Claim Your Tokens

How-to Claim Video Guide

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Here’s how to start:

  1. Visit the official claim portal [Live 8/6 at 11am ET]: claim.gaianet.foundation
  2. Connect your wallet used for nodes, domains, or XP contributions
  3. Check eligibility to see how many tokens you can claim
  4. Choose a delegate — either self-delegate (to yourself) or pick a trusted delegate
  5. Check the box to accept the airdrop portal’s terms and conditions
  6. Sign the claim transaction by clicking “Sign Terms and Conditions”
  7. Sign the delegate assignment by clicking “Confirm Delegate” .

    *Note: Previously, we stated that Hedgey, our airdrop portal partner, would fully sponsor gas fees on your behalf. This has been corrected — Hedgey will waive their $0.80 service fee, but users are responsible for ETH gas fees required to claim.
  8. Receive your tokens directly in your wallet

Once complete, your tokens are yours to hold, transfer, or trade.

Step 2: Understand Delegation

Delegation is only about governance. It does not give anyone access to your funds.

✅ You still own your tokens
✅ Delegates cannot move or access your funds
✅ You can change or revoke delegation at any time
✅ You can delegate to yourself if you prefer

Think of delegation as “turning on” your voting power. It keeps Gaia’s governance alive without requiring you to actively participate every time.

Step 3: Pick a Delegate (Optional)

If you don’t want to vote actively, choose a trusted delegate. Featured delegates include early contributors and advisors who have helped design Gaia’s network architecture and governance framework.

If you prefer self-delegation:

  • Simply paste your wallet address within the search bar during the claim process, then scroll down the bar and click on the box highlighted in black, your tokens will support quorum without leaving your wallet

Step 4: Stay Secure

Scammers love airdrops. Protect your tokens by following these rules:

  • Only use the official site: claim.gaianet.foundation
  • Never respond to DMs: The Gaia team will never message you first or ask for your keys
  • Double-check URLs: Bookmark the claim portal to avoid phishing sites
  • Report suspicious activity: Email security@gaianet.ai if you see anything unusual

For support or questions about the claim process please join our discord or contact support@gaianet.ai

FAQs

Q: Can someone access my tokens if I delegate?
No. Delegation only applies to governance voting. Your tokens remain in your wallet.

Q: Do I have to delegate to someone else?
No. Self-delegation works the same way for governance.

Q: What if a delegate acts against the community?
You can revoke or change your delegation anytime using the Tally portal as governance goes live later this year.

Q: I’m not interested in voting. Should I still delegate?
Yes. Delegation ensures your voting power supports the network and helps proposals pass.

Final Thought

Claiming and delegating takes doesn’t take too much time, but it makes a huge impact. Delegation is how Gaia avoids centralization and keeps decision-making in the hands of its users. Your GAIA tokens are more than an allocation — they’re a voice in the future of decentralized AI.

Claim, delegate, and keep Gaia moving forward.

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©2024 Gaia