Cryptocurrency start-up Moonberg.ai has begun distributing a surprise "stimmy" airdrop that rewards active X (formerly Twitter) users with tokens convertible into U.S. dollars. Recipients posting screenshots on Wednesday and Thursday said they were allocated anywhere from about US$1,000 to as much as US$11,000 after connecting their social-media accounts to the platform. The payouts appear to be calculated from an undisclosed social-capital score, with several users noting they were unaware of their eligibility before visiting the site. While balances now show in users’ dashboards, the tokens cannot be claimed until Moonberg.ai conducts its token-generation event, a date the company has yet to set. The campaign underscores the growing popularity of so-called social-fi marketing, in which crypto projects court online influencers and their followers with monetary incentives ahead of a formal token launch. It follows a run of high-profile airdrops this year as start-ups vie for attention in an increasingly crowded market.