The CPR Cipher 2021 airdrop wasn’t just another free token giveaway. It was a pivotal moment for a project trying to survive in a market that had already moved on. If you held Cipher (CPR) back then, you might’ve gotten free tokens. If you didn’t, you missed something that still echoes in today’s crypto landscape - not because it succeeded, but because it shows how many projects start with big promises and fade into "[Old]" status.
Cipher (CPR) launched in 2018 as a utility token meant to act like shares in a real business. Not a hype coin. Not a meme. It claimed to back a suite of mobile apps focused on transparency, secure data, and real-time business tools. The team was spread across India, the UK, and New Zealand. They didn’t do an ICO. They didn’t raise millions from investors. Instead, they planned to grow by giving tokens to users who actually used their apps. The 2021 airdrop was the biggest step in that plan.
How the 2021 Airdrop Actually Worked
The airdrop was run through CoinMarketCap (CMC), which at the time was one of the few platforms actively helping smaller projects distribute tokens to real users. It wasn’t random. To qualify, you had to have an active CMC account and meet basic criteria like verifying your email, completing a simple profile, and sometimes holding a minimum amount of another token - usually Bitcoin or Ethereum - to prove you were a real crypto user, not a bot farm.
There was no public spreadsheet showing who got what. No official announcement with exact numbers. But from community posts and archived forum threads, it’s clear the distribution was small. Most people reported receiving between 500 and 2,000 CPR tokens. A few lucky ones got up to 10,000. The total value at the time? Maybe $10-$40 per person, depending on the price swing that week. It wasn’t life-changing money. But for a project with no marketing budget, it was a smart way to build a base.
What made this different from other airdrops? Cipher didn’t just hand out tokens and vanish. They tied the distribution to their ecosystem. If you claimed the tokens, you were automatically enrolled in their app beta program. You got early access to features like encrypted business messaging, activity tracking, and real-time analytics dashboards. That’s rare. Most airdrops are just for hype. Cipher tried to make it useful.
The Polygon Migration: Why It Changed Everything
Just weeks after the airdrop, Cipher did something bold: they moved from Ethereum to Polygon PoS. The old contract on Ethereum was deprecated. The new one? 0xaa404804ba583c025fa64c9a276a6127ceb355c6. This wasn’t just a tech upgrade. It was a reset.
On Ethereum, transaction fees were skyrocketing. Gas costs for simple transfers hit $5-$10. For a token meant to be used in everyday business apps, that was a death sentence. Polygon cut fees to pennies. Transactions that took 15 seconds on Ethereum now took 2. The team called it a "Powerful ERC20 version on Polygon network." It sounded impressive. But here’s the catch: if you didn’t manually migrate your tokens, they were stuck.
Thousands of people lost their CPR tokens because they didn’t know about the move. The old contract still showed up on wallets and trackers. Many assumed their balance was fine. It wasn’t. CoinMarketCap even started labeling the project as "Cipher [Old]" to warn users. The migration wasn’t just technical - it was a communication failure. And that’s what killed trust.
![A wallet transitioning from expensive Ethereum fees to low-cost Polygon transactions with 'Cipher [Old]' warning.](/uploads/2026/02/a-wallet-transitioning-from-expensive-ethereum-fees-to-low-cost-polygon-transactions-with-039-cipher-old-039-warning.-cpr-cipher-2021-airdrop-details-what-happened-and-why-it-matters.webp)
What Happened to the Tokens After the Airdrop?
Here’s the hard truth: the 2021 airdrop didn’t save Cipher. The token’s price briefly spiked after the distribution, hitting $0.0012 in May 2021. But by July, it was back down. By 2022, it hit an all-time low of $0.000001. The market moved on. New projects with better apps, bigger teams, and clearer roadmaps took over.
Today, CPR trades between $0.00004791 and $0.00006803. The total supply is still 1.08 billion. But only 186 million are circulating. That means over 800 million tokens are locked up - maybe in team wallets, maybe in dead accounts, maybe just sitting on the old Ethereum contract nobody remembers.
The app ecosystem? It’s gone. The website hasn’t updated since 2022. The Discord server is quiet. The GitHub repo hasn’t had a commit in over two years. Cipher [Old] isn’t dead - but it’s not alive either. It’s a ghost project.
Why This Still Matters Today
Most people forget about the CPR Cipher 2021 airdrop. But if you’re evaluating any crypto project now, this case is a textbook lesson.
- Don’t trust airdrops without utility. Cipher tried to tie tokens to real apps. That’s rare. Most airdrops today are just for social media followers. They don’t lead anywhere.
- Migrations are risky. If a project says they’re moving chains, verify the new contract. Don’t assume your wallet will update itself.
- "[Old]" means something. When CoinMarketCap adds that label, it’s not a mistake. It’s a warning. The project has lost momentum.
- Transparency matters. Cipher never published exact airdrop numbers. They never showed who got what. That bred suspicion. Today’s best projects post everything on-chain.
There’s no way to claim those 2021 tokens anymore. The window closed years ago. But if you’re thinking about joining a new airdrop, ask yourself: Is this just a giveaway? Or is it the start of something real? Cipher tried to be the latter. It failed. But it showed what’s possible - and what’s not.
What You Can Learn From Cipher [Old]
Here’s what actually happened:
- Project launched in 2018 with a vision: tokens as shares in a business app ecosystem.
- In 2021, conducted a CMC-based airdrop to distribute tokens to real users - not investors.
- Simultaneously migrated from Ethereum to Polygon to reduce fees and improve speed.
- Failed to clearly communicate the migration, causing many users to lose access to their tokens.
- App development stalled. Website went silent. Community vanished.
- Today, CPR trades at a fraction of a cent. The project is labeled "[Old]" on major platforms.
The lesson isn’t that airdrops are bad. It’s that without clear communication, real utility, and ongoing development, even the best intentions turn into relics.
Can I still claim my CPR Cipher 2021 airdrop tokens?
No. The airdrop campaign ended in late 2021. The claiming portal on CoinMarketCap was shut down months later. Even if you had the tokens in your wallet, the migration to Polygon required manual action. If you didn’t move them before the old contract was deprecated, they’re permanently inaccessible. There is no recovery process.
Is CPR Cipher still active today?
Not in any meaningful way. The project’s official website hasn’t been updated since 2022. The mobile apps are no longer available on app stores. The GitHub repository has no new commits in over two years. The team has gone silent. CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko now label it as "Cipher [Old]" to indicate it’s no longer an active project. Trading volume is extremely low, and there’s no evidence of development.
Why did Cipher migrate from Ethereum to Polygon?
Ethereum transaction fees became too high for a token meant to be used in everyday business apps. Gas costs of $5-$10 per transaction made small, frequent interactions impractical. Polygon offered near-instant transactions at a fraction of the cost - pennies instead of dollars. The move was technically sound, but poorly communicated, which led to confusion and lost tokens.
What was the purpose of the CPR token?
CPR was designed as a utility token representing partial ownership in Cipher’s ecosystem of business apps. Holders were meant to get access to premium features like encrypted messaging, real-time analytics, and app development tools. Unlike most tokens, it wasn’t built for speculation - it was meant to be used. But without active apps, the token lost its purpose.
How many CPR tokens were distributed in the 2021 airdrop?
There is no official number. The Cipher team never released exact figures. Based on user reports from forums and social media at the time, most recipients received between 500 and 2,000 CPR tokens. A small number received up to 10,000. The total value distributed was likely under $1 million, but this is an estimate. The lack of transparency remains one of the project’s biggest criticisms.
Is CPR Cipher worth investing in today?
No. With no active development, no app ecosystem, and minimal trading volume, CPR has no fundamental value. The price fluctuations you see today are likely driven by speculative bots or low-liquidity trades. There is no roadmap, no team activity, and no community momentum. Investing in Cipher [Old] is gambling on a dead project, not building a portfolio.