Ethereumlayer-2networkScrolljustlauncheditsSCRtokeninahighlyanticipatedairdrop—butsomeapparentbeneficiariesarebemoaningtheevent.

Theproject’sfirstairdropdishedout5.5%ofthetotalSCRsupply—55millionoutof1billiontokens—toearlyuserswhohadalreadycontributedtotheecosystem,accordingtoablogpostfromtheteam.

Ofthatfigure,40millionSCRwasgiventoon-chainparticipantswhoearned200ormoreScrollMarks—orpointsfromusingthelayer-2scalingnetwork.Another1%wassplitevenlybetweeneligiblewallets,andanother0.5%wasintendedasa“bonus”forthosewhometselectcriteria,Scrollsaidinitsannouncement.

Someusersaren’thappy,though,andCryptoTwitter(akaX)isawashwithmemesandcomplaintsoverthepurportedlymeageramountstheyreceived.

“Oneoftheworstairdropsever,”wrotepseudonymoustweeterandEthereumuser,DYOR.eth,whoclaimedthattheydumpedthetokensandditchedScrollaltogether.TwitteruserJoshyy,whohasamassedasizablefollowingwithpostsaboutupcomingairdrops,calleditthe“worstairdropsofar.”OthertweetsmockedclaimsabouttheexpectedscaleandvalueoftheScrollairdrop.

DumpedmyScrollairdropandbridgedallofmyassetsoffthechain(oneoftheworstairdropsever)pic.twitter.com/sIbwjOQWd1

—DYOR.eth(🦍,🦍)(@DyorDotEth)October22,2024

Newprojectsuseairdropstoattractusersbygivingoutfreetokensorcoinswiththehopeofgrowingtheircommunityandrewardingearlyusersandcontributors.

Butthepracticeof“airdropfarming”hasbecomemorecommon,assomeuserstrytomaximizetheirrewardsbyusinganumberofdifferentwalletaddresses,and/orbyrepeatingcertaintasksandactivitiesthattheythinkwillboosttheirtokenallotments.

Scrollairdropfarmersrn😭😭😭https://t.co/559CQTh5ZYpic.twitter.com/XRH2NDT0OX

—Ubongj🐺(@ubong_ephraim)October22,2024

Someofthoseusersandfarmershavebeencomplainingaboutreceivingsmallamountsofcryptoinairdrops—despitebeinginvolvedinthecommunityofaproject.PlayersofTelegram-basedtap-to-earngameHamsterKombathadtheseverysamegripeswhenthegamelauncheditslong-awaitedairdropinSeptember,withsomedescribingthemodestrewardsasbeingakinto“dust.”

TheSCRtokenhassinceplungedinvaluefollowingtheairdrop:CoinGeckodatashowsthatSCRhasdroppedby16%sincetheairdrop,withthepricedownto$1.17.Thisiscommonfornewlylaunchedtokens,whichcanbehighlyvolatile—especiallyasairdroprecipientscashoutandtraderspotentiallybuyinamidthechaos.

ScrolldidnotimmediatelyrespondtoDecrypt’squestionsregardingtheairdrop.

ScrollisoneofmanyEthereumlayer-2networks.Suchnetworksareusedtoimproveachain’sfunctionalitybyessentiallypiggybackingoffofthemainnetwork’ssecuritywhiletypicallyprovidingbenefitslikecheaperandfastertransactions.

Ethereumistheblockchainbehindthesecondbiggestcryptocurrency,ETH,butthenetworkcansometimesbehardtouseduetoslowandexpensivetransactionsduringpeaktimes.Layer-2networkshaveexplodedinpopularityoflate—somuchsothatsomeindustryobserversbelievethey’resuckingvalueawayfromETHitself,despitetheotherbenefits.

EditedbyAndrewHayward

decrypt.co