Snapshot Meaning

A Snapshot is a record of the state of a blockchain at a specific block height. It is most commonly used in DAO Governance to determine which users held tokens at a certain time, granting them voting rights proportional to their balance.

This prevents people from "Borrowing" tokens just to vote on a proposal and then immediately returning them (a "Flash Loan" governance attack).Technically, a snapshot is also a "Backup" of the database. For node operators, downloading a "Pruned Snapshot" of the blockchain is much faster than syncing every transaction from the very first "Genesis Block." This allows new participants to join the network and start verifying transactions in hours rather than weeks.In the context of "Airdrops," a snapshot is the "Cutoff Point." A project will announce that everyone holding a certain NFT or token at "Block 19,000,000" will receive a reward.

This encourages long-term holding, as users don't know exactly when the snapshot will be taken, making it a powerful tool for community management and incentive alignment.