ZK (ZKsync) and ZRO (LayerZero) token airdrops have recently sparked controversy and criticism. The question of what exactly an airdrop is has once again led to a wide-ranging market discussion. In this article, we will summarize and analyze past industry viewpoints and recent key figures’ statements for readers’ reference.
Jupiter Co-founder: Airdrops are gifts, not rewards, loyalty programs, or growth tactics
Amidst the debate over whether ZK and ZRO are the “endgame” in the airdrop space, Jupiter co-founder Meow took to social media to express his views on airdrops. He stated, “Airdrops are gifts. They are not rewards, loyalty programs, or growth tactics. They are simply gifts. It’s as simple as that. If you ask what you can gain from it, then it no longer remains a gift, losing its meaning and betraying its original intention. Goodbye.”
Interestingly, Meow later removed the word “Adios” (Spanish for goodbye) from the last sentence, perhaps feeling that it was inappropriate or too decisive in expressing a farewell to users. However, it is clear that he views airdrops as a friendly interaction between project teams and users, just like a gift brought by a friend visiting your home. If you have it, it’s good, but if you don’t, you shouldn’t blame the project team for it.
LayerZero CEO: Pioneering the concept of donating before receiving airdrops
As a leading cross-chain interoperability protocol, LayerZero had high expectations for its token airdrop, which was once on par with ZKsync, one of the “L2 Four Kings.” However, the attitude of LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino towards airdrops is clearly different from the statement made by the ZKsync official account that they would not conduct extensive witch hunts. LayerZero previously launched a two-month-long and high-profile “witch-hunting campaign” on the X platform, perhaps to “ensure that genuine users receive the airdrop they deserve.” Many users were concerned at the time, but the actual airdrop results disappointed many, with only single or double-digit token distributions. This led to criticism of Bryan’s actions, with some saying, “We thought something big was coming, but it turned out to be a ‘big letdown.’ It’s no surprise that Bryan, with his username suffix ‘Stinky Penguin’ on X platform, did something like this.”
Furthermore, as the CEO of LayerZero, Bryan has his own perspective on airdrops. In response to the requirement for users to donate 0.1 USD equivalent in ZRO tokens before claiming the LayerZero airdrop, Bryan responded, “There is no mandatory donation. If you don’t want to donate, then don’t claim the tokens. It’s not something you own; it’s something provided by others.” Based on his previous actions and statements, Bryan sees airdrops as a “gift” from project teams to users, or even as a “bribe.” Therefore, to some extent, users have a necessary and obligatory duty to contribute to the project’s future development through donations.
It is worth mentioning that in the current “mature stage of airdrops,” the unspoken rules of collusion between project teams and users regarding airdrops no longer apply to LayerZero and Bryan. The two parties are no longer “comrades” jointly supporting the project’s valuation and market capitalization but have become enemies.
Regarding LayerZero’s mandatory donation, Yearn core developer banteg commented that this mandatory donation is more like a glorified ICO. He also called for the cessation of bulk funding for Protocol Guild, as it has already successfully attracted funds and should seek other smaller initiatives to support.
Uniswap Founder: “Don’t be stingy with token distribution”
As a pioneer and cryptocurrency giant in the field, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams’s views on airdrops may better align with the expectations of the majority in the cryptocurrency market. What’s more important is that he practices what he preaches.
Uniswap’s previous airdrop received unanimous praise from the market. Within three hours of UNI token’s launch, 13,000 users actively participated, with gas costs amounting to $650,000. The distribution criteria were clear and relatively low, mainly based on a snapshot taken on September 1, 2020, and distributed to “historical liquidity providers, interacted users, and SOCKS redeemers/holders.” Each user could claim 400 UNI tokens, which were worth $1,344 at the time. A few months later, the value of this airdrop reached a peak of nearly $12,000, truly embodying the concept of “less is more.”
It is worth noting that Uniswap’s token distribution at that time had complex internal and external reasons. Internally, community members continuously urged for token issuance, while externally, it faced fierce competition, particularly from SushiSwap, which launched a “vampire attack” through token issuance. According to media reports at the time, Uniswap’s Total Value Locked (TVL) dropped from $1.72 billion to $518 million within 48 hours from September 7 to 9, despite briefly surpassing $1 billion on September 10 and quickly recovering its market-leading position. The competition was intense.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also commented on the SushiSwap incident in a tweet by FTX CEO, expressing his support for Uniswap founder Hayden Adams. He stated that Hayden Adams is an excellent industry participant, and the team has made honest decisions after years of effort. While others were rushing to ICO as quickly as possible, Uniswap did not rush to issue tokens, but it was still attacked in the past two weeks. I have seen Uniswap develop since its launch, and the claim that Uniswap is irresponsible to the community is unfounded. It can be said that he stood up and expressed his support.
In May of this year, when “point systems dominated many cryptocurrency projects,” Hayden expressed his views on token distribution-related issues. Besides firmly believing in “tokens instead of points,” the most important point was his belief in not being stingy with token distribution. His words were, “Don’t be stingy – give generously. If project founders don’t think the community deserves a large amount, then don’t release tokens.”
He also mentioned several other points: don’t blindly pursue the number of farmers, ensure real liquidity from day one, don’t provide biased farmers with excessive token supplies, don’t market token prices, keep it simple, and invest genuine thought and care in token decisions.
As early as July 2023, Hayden stated in an interview that he hoped to see more projects use the “superpowers” of crypto to disrupt mainstream Web2 apps and discover new use cases, instead of focusing on a few existing Web3 use cases such as AMM and lending. He emphasized the need to launch vampire attacks on Web2 and not continuously fork Uniswap.
In my opinion, Hayden sees airdrops as a means to compete in the market, as a bond that can generate more connections with the community, as a medium for genuine thought and care, and as a “superpower” to launch vampire attacks on Web2, rather than a modified version of points.
Conclusion: The essence of airdrops – alternative marketing expenses
For users who have interacted countless times without receiving airdrops or those who receive airdrops but do not see a satisfactory return, airdrops are often seen as scams – “I value their token airdrop, but they value my capital and transaction fees.”
For VCs, funds, and investors who have invested in numerous cryptocurrency projects, airdrops are a logical “investment return” – “I have invested so much capital, time, and effort in the early stages, so it’s reasonable to receive some tokens in return.”
For founders and team members who believe that the project’s success is mainly due to their own efforts, airdrops are gifts to “cooperative users” and should be cherished. At the very least, they should be grateful.
However, in my opinion, just as tokens are the main products in the Web3 field or the cryptocurrency industry, airdrops are essentially alternative investments for “seeding user accumulation, external promotion, and brand marketing.”
Project teams should neither be too generous, distributing the majority of tokens to “token chasers,” “big whales,” or “cluster witches,” nor be excessively stingy, making loyal users who have accompanied the project from 0 to 1 or even 100 feel disheartened and turning them into enemies.
A qualified airdrop is like a marketing campaign based on clear goals and serving the overall development of the project. It requires careful thought and detailed planning, executed step by step, to achieve a certain degree of decentralized distribution of token chips and successful shaping of the project’s market reputation and brand image.
Therefore, project teams should reach a consensus in the future: airdrops are a subtopic of market marketing, and it’s better not to distribute airdrops than to distribute ones with negative effects.
