The zkSync airdrop controversy has been the most talked-about topic in the community over the past two weeks, with users and project developers at loggerheads, culminating in a resigned comment of “the airdrop era has changed.” Various signals indicate that in the new cycle, it is no longer easy for users and project developers to have a win-win situation with airdrops, making it more difficult to realize the original wealth creation concept in the crypto sphere.
Of note is the fact that on the day ZK was listed on the Binance trading platform, Binance announced the distribution of ZK tokens to eligible community members. They offered 52,500 spots and distributed over 10 million ZK tokens to the community.
This move is unprecedented and not only represents an operation centered around the zkSync community, but also reflects the important changes Binance has made in the evolving crypto market environment.
In recent months, the crypto market has favored projects with sufficient circulation, and projects with high FDV and low circulation have been labeled as inhibiting market liquidity. In response to the changing demands of the crypto community, Binance announced a month ago a modification to its listing rules to provide opportunities for crypto projects with medium to high circulation but low market value.
In response to community demands, Binance announced the launch of the HODLer Airdrop on June 19th, using a “retrospective snapshot” to distribute new project token airdrops to BNB holders. This HODLer Airdrop tends to favor projects with medium to low market value FDV and high circulation.
Previously, project tokens were usually listed on Binance alongside Launchpool, where BNB holders could receive rewards through Launchpool or Megadrop. However, these activities attracted significant funds to buy BNB at the start of the activity and then sell large quantities at the end, potentially affecting the price of BNB. To protect the interests of long-term BNB holders, it seems necessary to control the incentive shares of project tokens allocated to Launchpool to some extent.
Through the HODLer Airdrop, project tokens are distributed to the community before being listed on the Binance spot market, allowing long-term BNB holders to receive more shares of new project tokens.
In the predictions of users regarding the development of project developers, “being listed on Binance” often represents a significant attraction for users to participate. Now, in this stage of fulfilling these expectations, a more comprehensive solution has emerged. The HODLer Airdrop makes the process of Binance’s influence realization no longer just a game for large holders, but also a boon for diamond hands.
The steps to participate in the HODLer Airdrop are very simple and straightforward. If you want to participate, you can deposit your BNB into “Easy Earnings” and have the chance to receive airdropped tokens from Binance, regardless of the deposit term chosen.
The HODLer Airdrop is characterized by Binance taking multiple snapshots of user balances and total pool balances at any given hour, calculating the average user balance for each hour. The final decision on how much airdrop reward a user will receive is based on a random snapshot taken before the announcement of the airdrop reward.
In contrast to previous community activities launched by Binance, the HODLer Airdrop focuses more on fairness and accessibility, providing Binance users with the opportunity to participate in activities with low-risk investment returns.
The introduction of the retrospective random snapshot mechanism has added uncertainty to the HODLer Airdrop, with the final decision on the airdrop reward being based on a random snapshot taken before the announcement of the airdrop reward.
The introduction of this uncertainty actually makes community participation more fair. In the crypto market, “investment” and “speculation” often overlap. For loyal users who have long supported Binance and actively participated in community activities, the random snapshot is a recognition and reward for their loyalty. The HODLer Airdrop activity tends to reward investors who steadfastly hold BNB, encouraging users to invest based on their trust in Binance and their long-term optimism about the value of BNB, rather than engaging in speculative behavior for short-term gains.
Furthermore, the HODLer Airdrop also sets a hard limit on the amount of BNB held by each user, which will also be announced in each HODLer Airdrop announcement. This participation mechanism to some extent avoids users with large amounts of funds monopolizing the rewards, allowing small and medium-sized investors to receive larger rewards and emphasizing the rewards for long-term holders.
The setting of project details as a post-publicity is understood as a “blind box lottery,” and this setting involves the trust between the platform and the user.
In participating in the HODLer Airdrop, users do not know exactly what kind of airdropped tokens they will receive. If there are multiple HODLer Airdrop projects running simultaneously, users will have their BNB assets in the BNB easy earnings divided among these projects (unless otherwise stated).
New coins listed on Binance often become hot topics of discussion and pursuit in the crypto community. In this HODLer Airdrop activity, the snapshot has already been taken at the time of the announcement, and eligible users can receive token airdrops within 24 hours of the announcement.
This rapid feedback mechanism provides users with immediate satisfaction, as holding BNB allows them to “passively hold popular assets.” In addition, it is well known that rumors of mining and listing on Binance often affect the price of BNB, and the HODLer Airdrop activity to some extent weakens this influence and extends the holding period for investors. This is a community game involving trust and requires Binance to have enough confidence.
Prior to this, Launchpool had become the “strongest engine” driving the rise of BNB and rewarding community users. Over the past year, BNB has increased by more than 130%, from around $200 to reaching a record high of $721. During the same period, participants in Launchpool received significant returns.
For over six months, Binance Launchpool has launched 14 projects, allowing users to mine new coins by staking BNB. In addition to profits from the rise in BNB, participants in Launchpool also received substantial returns. For example, the average mining rate of return for BNB was 136% before April 16th, and even during bear markets, the mining APY of Launchpool was around 15% to 20%.
Binance later introduced the Megadrop activity, allowing users to purchase BNB fixed-term products and participate in activities in the Binance Web3 wallet to receive points and new token airdrops. For the first project in Megadrop, the public chain BounceBit (BB) saw an increase of over 200% in just two weeks after its launch.
So, what sets the HODLer Airdrop apart from the ongoing Launchpool and the recently introduced Megadrop?
The most significant difference is that Launchpool and Megadrop both have specific funding effective times, while the holding period for the HODLer Airdrop is a random period before the announcement.
From the user’s perspective, the participation path for the first two activities is to see the announcement first and then deposit their BNB holdings into the pool or participate in the activity, while for the HODLer Airdrop, the snapshot of the BNB holdings has already been taken before the announcement.
In the HODLer Airdrop, BNB users enjoy the profit rate of simple earnings and can also participate in the Launchpool and Megadrop points activities at the same time, enjoying the benefits of “one fish, four meals.” The continuous launch of such community activities has created a positive cycle between Binance’s development and the interests of BNB holders. Despite the downturn and narrative shifts, the industry continues to develop, with many projects worthy of attention and investment. Conducting comprehensive investment analysis and paying attention to dynamic alpha is the primary rule of crypto market investment. In addition, following the “smartest money” to earn low-risk returns is also a worthwhile consideration.
Just a month ago, Binance announced changes to its listing rules, indicating support for small and medium-sized crypto projects. This means that Binance will invite high-quality teams to apply for listing projects through direct listing, Launchpools, and Megadrops. In the introduction of the HODLer Airdrop, Binance also emphasized the introduction of large-circulation, strong-community, and organic small and medium-sized projects. The first round of projects for the HODLer Airdrop has not yet been announced, but the wealth effect will be significant. The announcement of the “first batch of diamond hands users” is eagerly anticipated.