Airdrop trends in 2024: User disappointment and deterioration of protocol fundamentals

author:Stacy Muur

Compiled by: Xiaobai Navigation coderworld

from @Delphi_Digital Key insights from the Airdrops report.

It is crucial for users and a must-read for founders.

Even in @Uniswap Four years after the airdrop, this iconic event remains a major milestone for the Web3 market, with a peak value of $6.4 billion, still the largest airdrop in history.

Since then, the industry has grown significantly, spawning a large number ofWitchAnd the airdrop partyXiaobai Navigation.

cryptocurrencyThe 50 largest airdrops in the space have distributed over $26.6 billion in value.

This opportunity for “free money” has not gone unnoticed. Now, every exciting crypto protocol launch attractsWitchAttackers and bots who are eager to get the initial airdropTokena significant share.

Therefore, the protocol must develop new airdrop standards and anti-sybil measures.

Initially, a unified reward system was used (like Uniswap). Later, tiered airdrops appeared (like Jito). The Optimism team popularized multi-standard airdrops. Now, we have a points system.

However, for many dApps popular with airdrop hunters, the main problem with airdrops is the bubble effect: after the snapshot, usage metrics drop sharply.

Let's see @LayerZero_Fndn example of.

Since April,@StargateFinance The cross-chain transaction volume of BTC dropped from $1.67 billion to $406.7 million — a 75% drop in transaction volume. I personally have never participated in $ZRO My allocation was naturally acquired, about $400.

This pattern is very common.

exist $ Before the airdrop,@zksync The daily fees generated are comparable to Arbitrum.

However, since the snapshot announcement andTokenThis number has been declining since the distribution, and recently, daily fees dropped below $10,000 for the first time since the launch week of zkSync Era.

@Delphi_Digital The study explored similar cases in detail:@KaminoFinance,@Parcl,@MantaNetwork and @jito_sol, all of which showed a similar pattern: after the snapshot, activity dropped significantly, and further user stickiness revealed real problems with product-market fit (PMF).

The biggest problem with this unorganic growth is how to fairly evaluate the protocol and make an informed investment decision. The following points may help:

Track the daily active users (DAU) and monthly active users (MAU) metrics over time to see if there is a drop after the airdrop snapshot is announced and the subsequent user stickiness.

• Measure how many users continue to use the platform after a predetermined period of time (e.g. 1 week or 1 month) following the airdrop.

• Count the ratio of new users to returning users in DAU or Weekly Active Users (WAU).

• Monitor the number of transactions per user.

• Observe which features are used and how often. Continued or increased usage of core features after the airdrop indicates continued user interest or product-market fit.

• trackwalletengagement metrics.

• monitorCommunityDiscussion and governance of activities on the forum.

Another problem with airdrops in 2024 is that many new protocols widely adopt the “low circulation, high fully diluted valuation (FDV)” model.TokenModel. This model makes it difficult for new buyers to assess growth potential and offset selling pressure from airdrops. But that’s another topic.

Personal Notes:Airdrops can attract new users, and some may stay. But it's like doing a giveaway on X: some users will come and check it out, a few may become active users, but most will disappear. As an investor, it's important to distinguish between organic and inorganic growth.

As a party to the agreement, we must ensure that we can retain users and build a long-term successful product.

PS: Thanks @Delphi_Digital of this report.

Original link: https://x.com/stacy_muur/status/1811080011103035571

The article comes from the Internet:Airdrop trends in 2024: User disappointment and deterioration of protocol fundamentals

Related recommendations: 0 is justice, teach you how to quickly interact with BTC L2 Photon airdrop project

Recently, Photon launched the second phase of the incentive testnet, Aurora, and the official card has been made public that you can get airdrop reward tokens $PTON by doing testnet tasks. After several baptisms of free money, more and more people have begun to focus on the airdrop of projects in the BTC ecosystem. There is no other reason, just because the airdrop of the BTC ecosystem focuses on a simple and trouble-free airdrop.