I don't think they are recognized as investors by anyone. But for regulatory purposes they are required to pass KYC sometimes in order to receive the tokens by the ICOs that want to be more strict with the rules.
While it's true that some projects requires bounty Hunters to complete kyc, some don't (only investors are allowed). I guess some ICOs don't consider bounty Hunters as "Investors" regardless of the amount of the and effort they invested.
I normally see some crypto projects which promise Investors certain amount of dividend depending on how much coin/token they own.
The word "Investors" is normally used for people who own shares of a particular project/company, but in cryptocurrency this "shares" normally refers to coins/tokens, which makes me wonder if bounty/airdrop hunters are also considered "Investors" since they hold certain quantity of these coins/token
If we see it from that perspective bounty hunters that keep their coins are in fact investors, which is why in those projects that ask for you to confirm your identity, not only the investors need to go through this process but bounty hunters as well, and it makes sense because they are getting a part of the coin and of the possible dividends, if any, the difference is that investors put money into the project while bounty hunters put their effort and time.
Nice to see someone else that sees it this way...
I just keep wondering how some ICOs will differentiate "Investors" and bounty hunters when it comes to time to issue dividend