Blockchain Airdrop Evolution: From Universal Coverage to Precision Incentives

Airdrop, as an important marketing tool for blockchain projects, has undergone an evolution from simple to complex, and from universal to precise. Early projects like Uniswap adopted a sunshine-style airdrop, where anyone who had interacted with the platform could receive rewards. In contrast, recent projects like LayerZero and ZkSync have implemented more complex and stringent rules, leading to much controversy.

The Origin and Development of Airdrop

Airdrop can be traced back to the Auroracoin project in 2014, which aimed to distribute free tokens to Icelandic citizens. As the ICO craze faded, airdrops gradually became an important means for project teams to attract users. In September 2020, Uniswap's airdrop pioneered DeFi airdrops, and subsequently, projects like 1inch and DYDX followed suit.

Airdrop Rules Evolution

The airdrop rules have gone through the following stages:

1. Confirm the identity of community members
2. Simple registration or zero ETH transfer
3. Simple Interaction, Sunshine Everywhere
4. Multidimensional Filtering and Anti-Witch Hunt

Recent projects such as Optimism and Arbitrum have adopted more complex rules, involving multiple dimensions such as activity levels and DAO governance participation.

Typical Airdrop Case Analysis

Uniswap

As the pioneer of DeFi Airdrop, Uniswap distributed 400 UNI tokens to all early users, reflecting its gratitude towards users.

ApeCoin

ApeCoin conducts differentiated Airdrops based on the rarity and combination of NFTs, showcasing respect for the individual differences of community members.

Arbitrum

Arbitrum adopts a points system, anti-witch rules, and cluster analysis to strive for a fair and reasonable distribution of tokens.

ENS

The ENS Airdrop is proportional to the duration of the users holding the domain name, while users who set up reverse resolution are given double rewards.

Blur

Blur adopts a phased and incremental incentive strategy, encouraging users to participate continuously through a seasonal system and continuous Airdrops.

IO

The IO project innovatively combines Airdrop with contributions of hardware resources, but this has also sparked some controversy.

Blast

Blast accumulates points through deposit and referral mechanisms, and introduces innovative features such as automatic re-basing.

Merlin

Merlin Chain supports multiple asset staking to participate in Airdrops and enhances user engagement through a team formation mechanism.

Recent Airdrop Controversies

The airdrops of LayerZero and ZkSync have sparked widespread controversy, mainly focused on the following aspects:

1. Complex and opaque Airdrop rules
2. Strict Anti-Witch Mechanism
3. Mandatory donation requirements
4. The project's firm attitude

These disputes reflect the contradictions between user expectations and project strategies, and also expose some issues with the current Airdrop mechanism.

Future Airdrop Trends

As the market matures, simple sun-shining airdrops will become increasingly rare. Future airdrops may exhibit the following characteristics:

1. Stricter anti-witch measures
2. More complex rule design
3. May introduce DID verification
4. Focus more on the actual contributions and long-term value of users.

For users, it is necessary to adjust their mindset and strategy:

1. Rationally view airdrops, control expectations
2. Pay attention to projects that are well-funded but not widely noticed.
3. Understand the intentions of the project team and create premium accounts
4. Decisively abandon unreasonable projects at the right time.

Airdrops, as a game between project parties, users, and investors, will continue to evolve. Future airdrops will more precisely incentivize true contributors rather than just those looking to take advantage. Users need to participate with a more professional and rational attitude in order to gain long-term benefits in this increasingly complex ecosystem.