Airdrop: The Double-Edged Sword of the Blockchain World

Airdrop, as an important means of promoting blockchain projects and incentivizing users, has become an indispensable part of the industry. However, with the development of the market and the improvement of user awareness, the forms and rules of airdrops are constantly evolving, leading to many controversies and reflections.

The Origin and Development of Airdrop

Airdrops can be traced back to 2014, originally pioneered by the Auroracoin project. At that time, the rules for airdrops were relatively simple; community members only needed to verify their identity to receive tokens. With the rise of the ICO craze and tightening regulations, airdrops have gradually become the primary means for project teams to attract users.

In 2017, Electroneum attracted over 120,000 users to download the app and create accounts through Airdrop. In 2018, airdrops from projects like Ontology and Enumivo further propelled this trend. In September 2020, the airdrop of Uniswap's UNI token was considered one of the most influential events in DeFi history, opening a new chapter for DeFi airdrops.

The Evolution of Airdrop Rules

The rules of Airdrop have evolved from simple to complex.

1. Confirm community member identity
2. Simple registration or zero transfer
3. Simple Interaction, Sunlight Shines
4. Multi-dimensional filtering and anti-witch measures

The new generation of projects represented by Optimism and Arbitrum adopts more complex Airdrop rules, involving multiple dimensions such as active users, DAO governance participation, cross-chain bridge usage, etc., and introduces strict anti-sybil mechanisms.

Recent Airdrop Controversies

Recently, two highly关注ed projects, LayerZero and ZkSync, have successively issued tokens and conducted Airdrops, sparking widespread controversy. The controversy mainly focuses on the following aspects:

1. Controversy of the Anti-Witch Mechanism
2. Opaque Airdrop Rules
3. Mandatory Donation Requirements
4. The project's firm stance

These disputes reflect the contradiction between users' expectations for Airdrops and the actual strategies of the project parties, and also expose the problems existing in the current Airdrop mechanism.

Future Airdrop Trends

With the development of blockchain technology and the market, the early benefits of airdrops are gradually disappearing. Future airdrops may show the following trends:

1. Stricter anti-witchcraft scrutiny
2. More complex rules and DID verification
3. Higher participation threshold
4. Pay more attention to the actual contributions of users

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

1. Rationally view airdrops and manage expectations.
2. Pay attention to the project's financing situation and popularity.
3. Pay attention to the behavior and motives of the project party.
4. Balance the investment cost and expected return

Airdrop, as an important part of the blockchain ecosystem, will continue to attract attention and discussion regarding its future development. Project parties, users, and investors need to continuously adjust their strategies in this process to jointly promote the healthy development of the industry.